#forkanna writes

~ o ~

Stop me if you've heard this one. A monk walks into a bar… wait, not quite right. I'll try it again from the top.

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful monk. Very few ever got to see her face because from the moment she began training, a veil covered the lower half. Not much is known about the clan she came from other than that they trained as hard as the ninjas in their own discipline. A strong clan of true warrior women. They seemed to favour orange; orange gi, orange balaclava, orange slippers. They wear wraps around their forearms and calves that are yellow to match the yellow trim on the rest of their uniforms. Very sunny, I guess you would say. Sunny warriors.

As you probably have been able to guess by now since you keep asking me so many questions, she used to do what you do, back before the warrior from the west passed you the scroll. "Messenger" is what you'd call a revolving door position. Don't ask what a revolving door is; it's pretty self-explanatory, but also pretty horrifying. Much worse than the Burning Crags or the Underworld.

What a serious messenger the Monk was. Way better than you. She might have been your match in terms of fighting ability and athleticism — or similar, anyway — but she didn't let herself get distracted nearly as much. Discipline of the mind is just as important as discipline of the body, you know?

Yes, this is me asking you to stop with my cabinet. Again. You're like a dog with a bone.

She came in pretty often the same way you did, asking the same questions about how to climb up a wall in her way, catch air currents… you get the idea. And she didn't have as many relentless questions as some people, but we would talk here and there.

"It must be a difficult job, to guide warriors like myself to their fates."

"It's a hobby," I joked. I joke a lot. You have to break the boredom somehow. No, it's definitely not a defense mechanism to cover a plethora of anxieties.

"Oh, it is only a hobby?" She bowed, all deferential and polite. Those intriguing twin cones she styled her hair into barely even moved; she must wrap those ribbons — yellow, because why wouldn't they be — very tightly. Or maybe she just stuck them there; detachable head-cones. I've heard of weirder things. "My apologies, I should not have assumed this was your duty."

"Ah, that's… it's fine. So how do you get your hair like that?"

What? Colour me curious.

"Hm? Oh…" It was hard to tell without her veil, but I thought the way the corners of her eyes crinkled meant she was pleased. Her voice was just as reverent and respectful as always, so no help there. "You like this?"

"Yeah. I mean, it's pretty neat."

Her small-but-strong hand drifted up to caress over one of the cones. "Thank you. Many of the men and women of our order adopt such hair styles; they are appealing but functional. Long hair that is not kept in check would interfere with my ability to battle evil."

"Right, of course. I've often thought about doing something with mine, or maybe getting a cool hat."

"A… hat?"

"You know. Sits on top of your head, fashionably keeps the sun off?"

After a second of complete silence in which I really thought she might turn and stalk out of the room, completely disappointed with my conversational skills, she instead covered her mouth and began to let out the most musical, tinkling laughter I've ever heard in my life. And I've met an actual pixie before.

Don't ask to meet a pixie. The consequences are way too catastrophic.

"Ah, I see. Then I hope you will have a hat one day, Keeper of the Shop."

"Maybe." I was trying not to let on that I was having a good time; it's kind of my thing, to act like I'm just sort of aloof and indifferent. "But I can't help noticing you have pigtails, even though the cone-things are supposed to keep your hair out of the way. Fashion over function?"

She reached back to pull at one of the pigtails. "Yes… they are disliked by my master. But she has admitted that I am a more fierce monk with them in my way than any of my sisters are without them."

"You have sisters? Big family?"

"Sisters-in-arms," she clarified with another small laugh.

"Ahhh. Got it, sorry. Anyway, I think they look nice. As long as they don't get you killed by some ugly hell-beast, of course."

There was a slight twinkle in her playful deep brown eye. "They will not."

~ o ~

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"…"

"What? Don't you think that's a nice story? Isn't it cool to find out sometimes I chit-chat with other Messengers because I get super bored?"

"It's not that. I just thought you were going somewhere else with this."

"Where else? I never go anywhere but this shop. Or do I?"

"…right, but the way you described how she looked in so much detail made me think you were interested in her."

"…"

"Wow."

"What?"

"I don't think I've ever seen you speechless before."

"Watch it, ninja boy. It's just that you kind of strike me as the hapless protagonist type, so I wasn't expecting you to pick up on, well, anything."

"Oh, so you WERE interested?"

"…maybe."

"Huh."

"Oh, stop smirking. You didn't find out any great truth of the universe, you just figured out that a hottie made me take notice because I'm not blind."

"So did you do anything about it?"

"Excuse me? That's getting kind of personal, don't you think?"

"No, not really. I think you started telling me about her, and you like talking enough that you might want to tell me more if I ask."

"VERY personal now. And a little rude."

"You don't have to tell me anything. But it's really not that bad for me to just ask you to keep going, right? If you say no, you say no."

"Touché."

~ o ~

Even though you were a rude boy, and a little entitled, I'll tell you about another time the Monk came into my shop. Which was only forever, and not long at all. You'll know what that means one day, after you dance with magic.

The next few visits were pretty standard and all business. Monk wanted an upgrade that will help her take more hits, another that can transform her staff into a whip and back again. It's weird, she seemed to have a lot of trouble making it turn back into a staff… that wasn't supposed to happen, but oh well. Can't always trust Artificer's inventions but he does his best.

Which was why I gave you the rope dart instead. What would you do if you couldn't have your sword back? That'd be epically rough. Especially in the middle of a boss fight. Besides, some friends of mine had decent success with the prototype.

Then one time was a little different. She had just beaten back a throng of exhausting cultists — long story, too long for me even. And you know how long my stories can get. She seemed to need some time to rest instead of heading right back out into the fray.

"Here, take a seat back here."

"Oh?" After figuring out what I meant when I stood and moved aside, her brow furrowed a tiny bit. "Oh… no, I could not take your seat from you. This is your home."

"Well, not my home exactly… but seriously, I know you fought hard out there. Take a load off. You want some tea? Might not have any of the Astral stuff left, but…"

With a slight bow, she said in a flustered voice, "Please, you do not have to be so kind. I will be fine."

Thing is, polite as she always was even though she could easily kick my ass — and I'm no ten-pound weakling and don't you forget that, ninja boy — I could also tell she was dead on her feet. Copping a quick squat wouldn't be enough. So I did something for her that I have never done for any other Messenger, before or since.

I let her see my room.

~ o ~

"This isn't your room?"

"Yeah, of course it is. You see that big canopy bed in the corner, all those Tower Of Time Quarterly magazines on my nightstand?"

"Huh?"

"No, doofus. This is sarcasm; I'm being sarcastic. I can't sleep here if there's nowhere to sleep."

"…sometimes, you're kind of a jerk."

"And sometimes, you're kind of a doofus. Isn't it great that we can work around our differences for the good of the universe?"

"…"

"Moving on…"

~ o ~

Once we went through the secret entrance you don't get to know about because I don't think you can control your curiosity but it's also NOT that cabinet so don't assume so much, Monk let out a soft gasp when she saw how great my room was. Like, I can't undersell this enough; my ancestors really put some work into this whole place and it's gorgeous. Not super big but not small, either; a decent sized suite. Four stars all the way.

"Oh, it is beautiful!"

"Thanks. So, uh, you want anything to drink or eat? You ought to keep your strength up."

She turned from where she stood in the middle of the room, and it was even harder to ignore how she outshone my room. And this is my room; that's just about impossible.

"No, I could not impose. I am used to foraging. While I pass through the forests or the caverns, I will find mushrooms or wild greens, fruits, and prepare them by a campfire."

"Whoa. Real outdoorsy type. That's pretty dope."

"Dope? I am… you think I am stupid?"

OOPS. That not-old-school slang was going to get me in trouble. "No, no! I meant to say, uh… well, nevermind, I meant it's really neat you can do that. I bet you never have to go hungry that way." This badass warrior turned me into an awkward teenager again.

"Oh," she said softly, and I was relieved to see that slight crease in her brow fade again. Good; I already felt like crap for making her feel bad, even for a second.

"I'm really sorry. But yeah, here - I've got… okay." Yes, there was a little kitchenette. Did I not say my room was epic? "Instant ramen; I think you'll like that. Or at least, it'll fill you up and give you that carb-energy so you can do your thing tomorrow after you rest up. Man cannot live by potions and wild mushrooms alone."

"I assure you, I am fine," she told me with that laugh that set all my hair follicles tingling. "I am very grateful for your help, but please, do not go to so much trouble."

So I made her cup ramen. And yeah, you called me out on carrying a tiny torch for her monkness, so I should go ahead and admit that this wasn't exactly your top-tier first date activity. On the plus side, it wasn't like me giving her a place to rest counted as a date at all.

By the time it was finished, she had sat at my little two-person table. Honestly, I had always thought the second chair was a little redundant when I never had visitors, but figured there was no real reason to throw it out. Now I was glad I was lazy. I set one cup in front of her and another in front of the other spot - which actually wasn't my usual spot. But there was no way I was gonna tell Monk she couldn't have my seat. Even if it did bother me, which it didn't, I would have let her sit wherever she wanted, any day of the week.

"Thank you," she breathed with her palms pressed together, bowing slightly to me. She reached for the chopsticks laying across the paper lid.

"Oh - wait, you have to wait a couple of minutes."

"Hm? Why? I thought you prepared the food already…" She seemed uncertain.

"Yeah, but it's still, uh, steeping." I figured if she knew tea, she would get that one.

I was right. "Ahhh, I see. What is it? I believe I smell a broth…"

So I explained ramen. Turns out, she had something kind of similar in her own village, but definitely not the instant kind. Which I figured — for reasons. You're not ready to hear about all that.

"Okay, here," I said when it was done turning into the good stuff. I took the chopsticks and peeled off the paper fully, started stirring. "Just gotta stir it up good before you start in."

"Yes, I see," she said in a very serious tone. Why was it cute that she was serious about this? It wasn't; I just thought she was cute, so everything she did was… I'm gonna stop talking about that.

After I slurped up some noodles, I watched her carefully. Maybe this would be when I got to see her face. It was fine if she wasn't ready, or was shy, or if it was part of her tradition that monks didn't show their faces. I can relate. But if I was allowed…

No such luck. She leaned forward in such a way that her veil hung forward, so I still couldn't see her face but she was free to bring the noodles to her mouth. Then she sat back and chewed. Dang. Still, at least she seemed to like them well enough, if the way her eyes closed briefly in contentment was any indication.

"Not too hot?"

"It is very good, thank you." She let out a tiny sighing noise that may have been a burp; she was that kind of badass angel that could make even that adorable. Literally goals. But I noticed she was staring at me very intently.

"What?"

"What more can I do? Against the Primal Fear. I would really like to conquer it very soon, and help to restore peace."

"You're not ready," I told her simply, even though I was a little distracted by that thumping noise. What was it? Oh — right, it was my heart.

"I am ready. You have told me yourself that I'm the strongest Messenger you have ever seen. Is it not my duty to go and stop this darkness, so no others need to die?"

"Oh, if only it were that simple." Wow, it was so hard to endure the intensity of those eyes staring through my soul. I almost felt like I wouldn't make it. Before I knew what I was doing, I reached across the table to rest my hand on top of her clenched fist.

"Give it time. You have trained harder than anyone I've ever met, but training isn't the same as out there doing the real thing. Kick a little more butt, take a few more names, and you'll get there. You'll be ready for the Primal Fear someday."

A little at a time, the tension in her posture began to ease. I really expected her to say something like thanking me for putting everything in perspective, or for her to argue with me about it again. Instead…

"Do you like to… touch my hand?"

"Do I huh? Oh." After an awkward pause, I took my hand away. "Sorry about that. Probably should have cut that out once I was done saying my thing."

"You do not need to apologize. I'm beginning to think you care for me."

"A-ahh, well that's not-"

"I care for you, too."

Well. I'm really damn lucky she cut me off, because I had been about to deny everything. It's not my job to hit on The Messengers; it's my job to make sure they carry the scroll, that they don't come back as corpses. Even though I didn't really want to lie to anybody, it was way smarter not to get feelings complicating the whole arrangement.

Except she went and said that. Went and told me I wasn't the only one.

"Y-you do?"

"Of course. You have been so helpful to me, so wise and generous. I could not have come this far without your guidance. What kind of monster would not grow to care for you?"

I'm looking at you, ninja.

"Aww, I'm just doing what I can…"

Leaning forward intently, she said, "You must have been a very strong Messenger. I would love to spar; there is so much we could learn from each other."

"Spar? Really? You and me? I, uh… I might be a little out of practice." Not very. I mean, I still tried to keep fit, even though there's only so much you can do standing behind a desk in the shop all day. Still, I knew I couldn't drop my guard entirely; any day I might be called upon to step in again. I just hoped it wouldn't be for the usual reason.

Monk finished off another slurp of her noodles and sat back to nod eagerly at me until she was finished chewing. "Yes! Even if you are, I am sure I will still learn much!"

"Well… if you wanted to go now, we could. Probably better now than after we finish all our noodles."

"Oh, will they not grow cold?"

"I can heat 'em up again, no sweat."

So we got up and paced into the middle of the room. Have I mentioned how happy I was that she was taller than me? God, tall women are absolutely goals. She took up her staff and pointed the business end at me, though her head tilted to one side after a moment.

"You will not take off your robe?"

"Oh. Yeah, that would probably be good, even though I don't really need to." We had all trained to fight in those big blue robes. I mean, if you can't fight in your uniform, then it's obviously a pretty crappy uniform for an order of mysterious warriors, right?

When I took it off and draped it over the back of my chair, I heard a quiet noise from Monk. Of surprise, maybe? I hoped not of disappointment. But when I turned back to look at her, she was all business, ready to start smacking each other around.

"You okay?"

"Yes," she confirmed with a dutiful nod. "I am ready when you are."

So we did the martial arts thing. I'm sure you know how this goes well enough that I don't have to explain. I wasn't all that surprised that she kicked my butt from here to Glacial Peak, but I did at least put up a pretty good fight first. At some point, I tossed aside my belt and we both kicked off our shoes, and we went a lot harder than you would probably think I could, anyway. We traded bruises and bloody lips and we loved every minute.

Eventually we collapsed back into the chairs with two cups of cold water in front of us that I had grabbed before giving up on being able to move for a little while. Even though I couldn't see her mouth, Monk looked elated.

"You… have fun beating me up? Huh, bully?"

She seemed alarmed by that accusation, even if it wasn't serious. "I… I am not!" But then we both laughed breathlessly. That old thing about really getting to know somebody when you fight them? I guess it was pretty true, even though a good cup of tea and a long conversation will do a pretty similar job for you.

"Was only kidding," I panted a minute later, when we had caught our breath and downed some water.

And I know this is probably getting annoying, but if I thought she was the bee's knees before… with her face flushed and chest heaving, sweat matting her hair slightly — not to mention the strength just radiating off her in waves…

"Keeper?"

"Huh?"

"I asked if we could have a rematch another day," she repeated, eyes crinkling at the corners in amusement. I got distracted way too easily; maybe it was because I had burned up my ability to ignore how good she looked while sparring with her. Yes, normally I can keep my eyes on the prize, but watching how gracefully she fought… it tested me more than the sparring.

"You… bet we can." Another sip of water to coat my suddenly-dry throat. "Sorry… I was supposed to let you… rest."

"It is alright. You do not need to worry about me; I can resume my mission now."

"No, no way. Stay, finish the noodles, take a shower and grab a nap. Or, I mean, in whatever order…"

But Monk was already shaking her head. "I cannot take that much time away from my mission. Great evil will not wait to be vanquished; it will punish the world until we stop its progress."

"Actually… it can wait."

"What?"

"Okay, so this might be a little high-concept for you, but…" Normally, we would put her through the big challenge and unlock some new abilities — don't ask, spoilers and all — once she had proven herself before she got to know any of this, but I could give her a few basics. "Time stands still in here. More or less. So when you're in here, it's like everything has stood still out there."

The Monk blinked a few times, sitting perfectly still.

"Think about it this way; imagine you're on a surfboard-"

"No, no, I already think I understand. I am just… confused as to how this can be true. You also will not tell me where this really is, and why I can come here from so many different doorways. It is magic, yes? But what kind of magic can be so powerful?"

Damn, that would teach me to underestimate a badass amazonian warrior monk.

"That's… a secret. You might find out someday. But yeah, take a load off, rest and recuperate. Then you can head out in the morning, ready to kick primal caboose - and it will be like you never left. Trust me."

Chuckling a little at my wordplay, she said, "You are… very kind." Then she took another long drink. "Very well. I will do this, because there is wisdom in what you say; if I am exhausted, I will stumble, and cannot be the best hero for our world that I can be."

"There ya go. That's all I was trying to say."

"Do you have a hot bath? It is very good for relaxing the sore muscles."

~ o ~

"What a player."

"Hey, watch it, kid. I didn't 'play' anything."

"You got her into a bath."

"Uh, yeah, in another room. I promise, not one second did I spend in the same room as the bath. I saw nothing."

"Hmmmm."

"Do you want to hear the rest of this story or not?"

"Actually… I'm not sure. It's starting to sound like it's too personal for me to hear."

"Oh."

"What?"

"No, you're just always such a busybody that I kind of expected you to keep drinking this up like Kool-Aid."

"Like what?"

"It's… don't worry about that one. One day, you may be ready for the legend of the Purplesaurus Rex. I'll skip ahead a tiny bit."

~ o ~

Or a lot.

Like I said, not a dang thing happened other than me giving her some hospitality. Yes, I got to see what she would look like in a blue robe after her bath, which was kind of exciting in a weird way. It was like she was closer to me because she was becoming part of the Order — even though that was a ways off. Still gave me a little cold chill.

Monk had been through quite a bit by the time there was another shift. We sparred a few more times, shared meals and conversations. And she came back battered and scarred, I put her back together. She slid me all the Time Shards she found in the past and I did what I could for her with them. We were definitely friends, and probably somewhere in the best friend category, no matter what the Artificer says about him and me. The Prophet is actually his bro.

And she underwent her Trial. More on that for you when you're ready.

Don't give me that look. Be a big boy and wait your turn.

God's honest truth was, it hurt my soul a little to see her becoming a bit more jaded. Not a lot; don't get me wrong, she was still the strongest Messenger I've ever known, and brave, and like a ray of sunshine in a Dark Cave. But I could see the cracks forming in her heart that anyone got when they faced great evil day in and day out.

That's why I tried to give her so many breaks. More and more often, she would sleep on the futon I got for her, since she had outright refused to use a real Western bed; said it wasn't good for her back. I've heard it both ways, but didn't want to argue. And we laughed, trained, ate, and generally got very comfortable with each other. Even though to her, it was like we only met up once every few days. But to me, I saw her all the time — not that I'm complaining, of course.

My Monk had just come back from a particularly brutal battle in which she managed to restore Rivière Turquoise to its former glory. This time, I wanted to surprise her with something a little fancier. Don't ask me how, but I got my hands on some damn good sushi, and a bottle of sake. I knew she didn't believe in imbibing alcohol while she was on mission because it dulled the senses and ability to react, which I can't argue with, but I also knew this one was going to mean she needed to rest up and recuperate more than usual. I was grateful to steal more time with her whenever I could. Oh, I wasn't going to do anything to force that, but I sure as hell wasn't going to fight against it, either; I would just appreciate every moment we had together.

Remind me to tell you the story about the crystal pumpkin patch sometime.

She was leaning pretty heavily on her staff when she came in. I felt my stomach drop. Was she going to make it? I hurried out from behind my desk and helped her along.

"I am fine," she hissed through her teeth.

"Liar."

"I do not lie! I… I will be fine. That is the truth."

"Yeah, well… can you tell me what hurts? Your leg?" A reluctant nod as we entered my sparkly, sparkly room. Like, seriously, if you ever saw it you wouldn't be able to get over it, man. "Alright, we're officially giving you a vacation."

"I do not… want…" But a heavier wince made her bite her lips and nod. "Yes. I do not want to… fail at our mission, so I will… do as you say."

"Thank you. And hey, it's not gonna be so bad. Do you… do you wanna eat? Maybe you're not in the mood to eat."

"I must," she told me with a half-snort. I was sure she was smiling, even though I couldn't see. "If I am to heal, I must have nutrition, yes?"

So we ate. I made sure the sake was hot, both to soothe her aches and because like, it's supposed to be hot. Cold sakes are a different thing. Anyway, she told me all about her fight to help bring her buddy, the Butterfly Matriarch, in and dispel all the creepy crawlies. Fun stuff, but I'm trying to avoid that story-within-a-story thing so I'll just say she's kind of amazing. In case you haven't figured that out already.

"Ohhh, that was perfect," she sighed as she relaxed back against her chair.

"Thanks. I ordered it myself."

"So modest. You still wished for me to have this wonderful meal. I feel… appreciated. Cared for." We shared a smile, even though neither of us could see the other's mouth. We just knew. "And a little affected by the cups."

Trying to tease, I said, "Oh, you got drunk? Off just that?"

"Not 'drunk'," she huffed playfully. "I said 'affected'."

"How affected, then? Do you wanna take a nap before we get you that hot bath?"

"No. I just want to continue to speak with you, and to relax. We can do both of these together." I could see her glance at me, then away. "My arms are very sore."

"Yeah, I bet they are."

Another tiny hesitation. "I might want some help washing my back."

"Oh, right — I have a back scrubber. It's just mine, so I didn't wanna assume you would want to use it after me. Some people are funny about sharing stuff like that."

~ o ~

"WOW."

"Listen, I know you are probably all suave and cool with the ladies, Mr. Forever Alone Ninja, but I definitely didn't have any game. And hanging around alone in a shop for years on end doesn't polish that social skill, either."

"Right, but even I know when someone asks for help with washing their back, they don't mean they just want you to get them a brush."

"Yeah, yeah…"

"No, no, it's kind of cute."

"Excuse me?"

"You act so all-wise and all-knowing all the time that it's nice to hear you being very human."

"I do not act like that."

"You totally do."

"No. I'm just serious about my job."

"Then why are you always sharing stories about your eternal wisdom?"

"Not once have I said 'eternal wisdom'. I just like to contemplate the complexities of the universe, and try to unravel a few of them. I think every well-rounded mind does the same."

"Well, I don't."

"Did I stutter?"

~ o ~

Anyway, if you're through interrupting… yes, she did blink stupidly at me as if waiting for me to catch up. You might be rude, but you're not wrong.

"You… want me to…?"

"I apologise," she breathed with a low bow, her balaclava brushing the table just in front of her plate. "This was too forward of me."

"No, no way! I only… I didn't want to make any… yeah, I'm not good at this kind of thing."

"At washing another's back?"

"No, at…" I stopped when she started to giggle. "You're mocking me. Great. I really am the world's biggest idiot."

"You are not. But I think it is sweet that you do not want to… corrupt me, perhaps. You are so wise and your heart is so pure."

Trying to make myself keep talking before her praise really caught up to me and the stammering began, I blurted out, "Yours, too. I mean, you really are the best person I've ever known in my life. And I've known persons."

We both laughed a little at that last part, starting to relax. She rose from the table with some difficulty, and I was quick to put my arm around her, and hers around my neck, helping to support her as she made her way into the bathroom.

"In our temple," she began to tell me as I turned on the tap to fill the tub with hot water, dumping some bubbles in distractedly, "there is no modesty. Our order is only women, and there is nothing to fear. The males of our clan are much the same in their temple, though they are not warriors in the same way we are."

"Matriarchal society? That's pretty neato."

"We also… will take lovers, at times. Some from the other temple, some from the same temple. Some from both. All is equal to us."

The way she spoke as she began to unwind the bindings around her forearms and calves was very careful, contemplative. I could see her watching me for reactions, as if hoping I wouldn't freak out and say she came from a bunch of weirdos.

"That sounds like an amazing place," I reassured her. And I meant that from the bottom of my heart.

"Yes. One day, I may take you there if it is possible. They frown on visitors inside the temple, but I could show you the grounds."

Why did that sound like a dream come true? I mean, even though taking a tour of a hidden monk temple where they trained the world's best badasses would be cool regardless, going with her… "Yeah. Maybe once all this settles down, we can do that. Sounds like one of the best places ever."

"I have always felt this way. If not for my calling, I would love to finish my days there, making our order the greatest it can be."

"Must be nice." When I saw her reach for the lapel of her gi, I turned away and put my hand over my eyes; never can be too careful.

"You are shy."

Called out. "Well, nah. It just… it's no big deal where you're from but it is where I'm from. Especially for complicated reasons I won't go into. So I'm just gonna… not."

"I respect that," she told me deferentially. There was a quiet splash, a few more noises of shifting around in water. "I am covered. You added soap to this bath?"

When I turned back and saw that she was, indeed, up to her shoulders in suds, I let out a sigh of relief. Laugh if you will, but I was already all twitchy just from the situation as it was; I didn't think I could handle more than that. "Well, it's a special soap."

"What makes it special?"

"The way it looks and smells," I answered honestly. "I thought about bath-bombing you, but I don't have any on hand, and I already made a special trip for the sushi."

She looked over her shoulder. Of course she still had the balaclava on; even in the bath. Weird but it seemed to be a thing. "You would cause my bath to explode?"

"Oh… no, it's… nevermind." I pulled up a tiny stool and perched it behind her, picking up the soap and a washcloth and dipping it into the water. Would music be too much? I did have a jukebox… no, I decided it was too much. "Hope I'm not getting too irritating."

"Irritating? In what way?"

"Demanding you hang back and rest. I know you know it's important and don't need me telling you; I'm really not trying to parent you or anything."

Her head shook very slightly as she reached up to begin undoing her head-cone-things. That surprised me; since she left the veil on, I thought those would stay in place, too. "It is not a bother. Sometimes…" She hesitated, both with words and actions. "Sometimes I do become focused on my task and I forget to rest, especially when the task is so great."

"Oh, I don't think it's so great," I tried to joke. She only looked puzzled; I had to stop doing that. "I mean, it's rough that we have to put you through this. Crucial for our survival, but rough."

"Yes, I understand this very well. I know you would not wish to put anyone in danger if it were not important."

All I wanted was to keep my mind focused on the task at hand, and on our conversation. Not on how strong and graceful her back was, her shoulders, her slender neck… honestly, that "broke the mold" joke is stupid. I usually hate it. But with Monk? Yeah. There aren't any others like her in at least five space-time continuums — and that's just how she looks.

"Keeper?"

"Hm?"

"I said that your hands are very gentle. Was this the wrong thing to say?"

"Sorry," I laughed nervously. "Normally I'm more eloquent than this. I blame TV."

"Tee-vee?"

"Nevermind." Ugh, I said I was going to stop doing that! All she was doing was being her usual self and I was tripping all over myself like a noob. "Thanks, I'm… trying to help as best I can. It's not just a job, it's an adventure."

At least that dated reference just sounded like a normal phrase.

"This is not so adventurous," she said with a soft chuckle, her eyes smiling at me. Smizing; I got Monk smizing, I was stepping on cloud nine. "But I would have it no other way."

"Yeah, you don't want to have to jump over spike pits on your downtime, too."

"Not this. I meant…" She turned carefully in the water — I could tell it was out of respect for me and how shy I was, trying not to make me see anything I wasn't ready for. Honestly an angel. "It is an honour to share this quiet peace. I sense the sweetness of your soul, and the pains that have brought you to this place and time. Even though I have met your brothers, I do not feel this connection I feel with you."

~ o ~

"You have brothers?"

"Don't worry about that."

"I'm gonna worry about it."

"See, that's the problem with you. Even when I give you what you've been clamoring for, this extremely private story, you still complain that I'm not giving you every last niggling detail. You must be a riot at parties."

"…"

"Now stop interrupting."

~ o ~

Actually, you know what? You need to learn that actions have consequences. Even unintended actions. In this case, nagging and interrupting and generally being a bad listener aren't even unintended, so we're skipping the rest of the bath. No - don't make that face at me, you spoiled shinobi. I had a rhythm going and you threw me off, so I'm just going to advance to the next checkpoint. Maybe if you were a better audience I'd teach you how to do that in your mission. It's actually super easy.

Nope, too late now. You played yourself.

Once she was clean and I was glad I had my hood up to hide my glowing red face, she had changed into a spare robe and I tossed her outfit in the laundry. Like, that was the least I could do. We sat in front of the fireplace — hey, there's a fireplace — and relaxed in silence for a little while. When I got anxious, I put on some music from the jukebox; might as well.

"Ohhh, this is very interesting," she told me as she sipped from the water glass I also got her. Yeah, I'm a real charmer, pulling out all the stops. "I have not heard music like this before… I am not sure how to feel about it."

"Yeah, it's called hair metal."

"It is made from metal and hair?" When I was just silent, she laughed. "I am sorry. I have sensed that you are from a very different world from mine, and I am not familiar with your customs. But I have seen how you try to accommodate my ignorance."

"No, no, not ignorance. Just… okay, yeah, that is the right word. But it's only because you've never even had the chance to see my world. I'd give you a crash course, but I feel like it would be a lot of random stuff you just don't need, especially when you're trying to focus on the mission and all."

Monk crossed her legs comfortably. When the hem pulled up past her foot, I had a random thought: that bare ankle would really get me going if I was from a bygone period of history… but then I realized that I was in a bygone period of history from my own perspective.

Yes, there's your big spoiler: I'm from an advanced civilization. You should be able to figure that out by looking around this shop.

"And after my mission?"

"What?"

"When I am finished battling the Primal Fear and any other forces of darkness; when I restore peace. May I return to hear about your world?"

I don't know why this caught me by surprise. Honestly, it shouldn't have; we got along pretty well, but I still was shook. "You'd want to come back?"

"Of course. Are we not becoming friends?"

"Yeah! I mean, of course, I could consider us pretty good friends by now. I just didn't want to assume… I mean, it could be a work-friends deal."

"Work-friends?"

"You know, we're comrades-in-arms. Doesn't have to mean we want to hang out after the war is over… but I would, for sure," I was quick to reassure her. I didn't want to even leave one second in which she thought I was done when this was done.

"Ahh, yes, I understand this." She bowed her head slightly. "Thank you for considering my feelings. Even if…"

My heart froze as I waited for her to respond. Finally, I said, "Even if…?"

"Even if you do not understand them. I thought I was making them clear. But I know it is perhaps not what you expected — especially from a woman. Our masters teach us that not everyone's minds are as open as those of our order-"

"I'm gonna stop you there. Where I'm from, most people are open like that. A few are still stuck in the bigoted past of our own region, sure, but… you're not scaring me off. In fact, I…"

Now it seemed to be Monk's turn to hold her breath. I felt bad seeing her lean toward me a little and whisper, "Yes?"

"Sorry. I've actually never felt like this about anyone before. Didn't think I could. So I just… normally I know what to say, but I never developed this skill."

"Do you?" She looked away slightly. I mean, the opening of her hood did; I could tell even less what she was thinking or feeling with that hood up. Makes me sympathize with even you. "I had told myself that my heart was foolish. You were not from our world, your women did not accept feelings from women, or… you only felt friendship for me. I would have understood."

"Oh, same, same," I reassured her quickly. "We really- sheeze, this is some sitcom BS."

"Hm?"

Leaning over, I took one of her hands. Hard as it was to push through my hangups and self-esteem issues when it came to this kind of thing, no way was I going to leave it up to Monk to make every move. This was about both of us; it should be both of us moving forward. I might look lazy sitting behind my counter all day every day, but no. I'm not lazy. I don't believe in laziness at all.

"If you're sure… then yes. I'm right there with you."

Her breath caught, and her other hand came up to hold onto both of ours. Her hands were somehow both soft and rough; a result of her being so gentle but training so hard. I kinda loved that.

"Then we are here together."

"I guess so. I don't know where 'here' is gonna be, but I'm… I am absolutely ready to find out if you are."

Monk laughed at me a little as we both stood up. "This is a simple journey, Keeper. I have traveled it before, though the destination was a parting. Perhaps with you… we will not part."

"So, a lot of guys in your past?" I guessed. She shook her head. "Girls?"

No comment. Instead, all she did was push our hoods together and…

~ o ~

"What, no interruption?"

"Are you kidding? You made it pretty clear I was interrupting too much before."

"Wow. He CAN be taught."

"But I do have to confess, I'm… surprised about a couple of things."

"Go on?"

"Well, first of all… you know."

"What?"

"…"

"I mean, does it really matter? Whichever of the two things that are immediately coming to mind. I don't think either of them matter in the long run."

"I suppose it doesn't. Especially since we're supposed to be worrying about defeating evil, not morality."

"Morality. Right."

"But I hope you two are happy together."

"Yes, well… that's another story for another time. Not this one in this time."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Nah, it's fine. I haven't even explained the rest of what happened. But you should probably get going; there's a lot of violent jerks out there to take down."

"Yes, I do want to stop the Demon King. But take care of yourself, alright?"

"Always do."

"And I'll be back for what happened later."

"Oh, I know. You never seem to get enough of these stories, no matter what I do to discourage you from asking me to tell them. So I'm sure I'll see you again soon."

"I'm sure you will."

~ o ~

Okay. He's gone. I wasn't about to tell that little pervy ninja all the sordid details; it would distract him too much from the mission. But you? I guess I could let you hear the rest. Obviously you're still here, so you must have an insatiable curiosity.

No, not the ninja. You. Can't you tell I'm talking to you now?

All the Monk did was push our hoods together and ghost her lips over mine. Such a simple start to something so powerful. My experiences were very limited but I knew enough to know this was bigger than anything else I had experienced before.

That was without my poor brain trying to figure out how in the hell I got Monk interested in me. Monk. We didn't even know each other's names! I know that in the end, a name can only tell you so much about a person, but it still seems like some kind of prerequisite for a meaningful relationship.

"I have been too forward."

"No, no," I was very quick to reassure her as my hand moved up to rest on her shoulder. "Just forward enough. One of us has to do something or we'll never get anywhere."

We stood awkwardly for a long moment, trying to figure out where to go from there. We shared another kiss, a little longer, a little more firm. Her lips were as soft as the pressure was strong, and I was living for that contrast. Our hands explored each other's bodies through those blue robes that served a function we both felt was becoming increasingly unimportant in this current moment.

"How… will we proceed?"

"Huh?"

Voice coming over a little shy, she continued quietly, "I… think you have figured out by now that you cannot see my face. My clan will not allow it. And neither will yours, is it not true?"

"It's… discouraged, yeah." My fingers ghosted over lips I could not see in the darkness under her hood. "And I really wish that wasn't the same, because I bet you're the most beautiful woman on the planet. Maybe a few planets."

At least I could make her laugh. But the laughter turned sad towards the end. I knew she was fighting certain feelings and needs warring within herself, and I wanted nothing more than to push a button and solve that war for her. No human as phenomenal as her should have to endure such inner conflict. But the world is a crappy place sometimes.

"We… cannot. But perhaps if there were no lights…"

She had a good point. That was about the only way we could probably move forward. So I reached both hands over my head… and clapped twice, plunging my room into utter darkness save for the dim flicker of the fire in the fireplace.

"What- what is this magic?"

"The Clapper. It's an ancient artifact from another reality; pretty mundane stuff there. But if you ordered one, they would give you a second one for free - you just had to pay separate processing and handling."

"Oh I see. I should not be impressed, and so I am not." The playfulness in her voice sent a tingle down my spine. "Have you trained in darkness to sharpen your senses?"

"Yeah. It's been a while, but…"

Maybe I imagined it, but there was a slight lilt in her voice as her hand slid down my forearm to take mine. "I will lead you."

She led me. Even though she had only been in my room a handful of times, she pulled me through the darkened room over to my bed as if this were her room and I was the guest. I don't know about you, but that kind of confidence does things for me. Butterfly-stomach things.

"Can your clapper extinguish the fire? There is still some light."

Knowing it was corny as hell, I leaned in to whisper, "Nothing can extinguish my fire." At least it worked; she kissed me again with no waiting, hands clasping at my back and shoulders.

The best part was, we both forgot to care about anything else as the passion roared, our need to be as close as we could be overpowering our caution and duty to preserve our secrets. Or modesty for that matter. The firelight was low enough that I still couldn't see her face; just outlines of shapes. But I knew if I could see more I would think her no less beautiful than I already did.

Even with our hormones cranked to eleven, there was a brief intermission once we were bare to each other and our bodies pressed flush.

"Oh? O-oh."

"Monk-"

"I… I see. You truly are from another world."

"Sorry, I know I might not be what you expected. Say the word and we can put those robes back on, or I can go check to see if your gi is dry."

I more felt than saw her head shaking as she kissed her way down my chest. "Do you think I cannot rise to such a simple challenge as this? How you underestimate me."

"No, never. I'm just trying not to overestimate me."

"You do not," she breathed kindly against my hip before kissing it. And that was it. No messy overreactions, no long talks needed. We connected and it was pretty great.

Acceptance can mean everything sometimes.

Not to get too detailed, and I'm still not going to get as detailed as you might wish I would, but neither of us is known for slacking off exactly. We were fit and we were determined, and it took a couple of hours and a dozen different positions before we were both satisfied completely. Even then, we still lay panting on our backs with some of our limbs entwined, not wanting to be too far from each other.

"Well… that was a thing."

"It was a very good thing. I… I am relieved that I did not do anything… which did not please you."

"Huh? Oh, it's all good. I'm not even usually that interested in, uh, in this. But you're different. You… make me want so much more."

Monk rolled to curl her form around me, and I tell you what, I almost started it all off again. I wanted to, and felt like I could have, which is pretty rare for me, to be honest. She just felt that phenomenal. "I am different?"

"N-not in a bad way. Not at all."

"Yes. Well, I feel the same for you; I am… delighted at our differences. Exploring this with you was very enlightening, and… and I have very much enjoyed every revelation."

Man, when was the last time I smiled this much? I don't know. Probably never. "Right back at you." Experimenting with a very unfamiliar action, I kissed her temple, and she hummed her appreciation. So that went well, I guess.

"You have given me so much. Today, you have given me something twice."

"Oh, so that was twice. Cool. I wondered if… well, you made beautiful noises and all, but it didn't have to mean-"

"It did mean this," she reassured me, and we both laughed a little. "I have another question."

"Shoot."

"It is really alright for me to rest? I feel restless, as if I must confront the evil right now. But you have assured me that time will not pass here. If… this is really true…"

I turned to face her. In the dark. Why? Don't ask me, it was a natural reaction. "Yeah, it is. Why, what's up?"

"Then I would choose to stay with you for another day."

"Why?" Another automatic reaction; I tried to fix that. "I mean, u-uh, yeah. Yeah, definitely. There's no one to come into the shop since you're the current Messenger, so I don't really have to go to work. And… there's nowhere else I'd rather be than this bed, with you."

Listen. It might have been a line, but some of that stuff just comes out naturally when you catch the big L-word. And I was pretty sure I was terminal.

"You cannot mean this." She hesitated, then pressed that goddamn hot yoga body right up against me even harder. "But if you do, only after passing one night together, then I will stay."

"You'll stay," I agreed, unable to believe my ears. "A-and, uh… don't worry, we'll robe up again when we have to move."

"Thank you. I want to see your face, and I have known your desire to see mine is strong. If not for the ways of my clan…"

I nodded. "Yeah, I get it. And it's not as hard and fast for mine; more like a suggestion to keep things clean and easy. But it only feels right that we both respect it so it's not, y'know, one-sided."

"Yes, I understand this feeling. But if you wanted to show me, I would feel no anger."

"Noted." That teasing hand between my thighs made me hiss, "Wow, you are- this is more than I expected."

"You are more than I expected. And you are ready for another… sparring session?"

"I, uh… I really don't think we should call it that." Feeling bold, I moved my hand to the corresponding area on her body, and I probably enjoyed her gasp of surprise a little too much. Oh well. "Seems like we're in the same boat."

I could just barely hear a laugh — because she was busy rolling over on top of me, kneeling, her hips over my hips. Then to my surprise, she started raising one of my legs up to drape over her shoulder, shifting herself sideways until she was positioned above my thigh still resting on the bed. And if that doesn't paint a good enough word picture for you, well, I'm not going to try again.

"You are familiar with… the Splitting Bamboo?"

"I… I, uh…" I had read the Kama Sutra, yes. Did I remember every position? No. I just never imagined I would need to know them for any reason, at all. Not until this phenomenal Monk entered my life and did her best to turn it upside-down.

"You will become familiar with it. Tonight."

Talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy…

  EPILOGUE

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what? That we're playing Twenty Questions? Oh — right, because we're not doing that."

"That you were sending me off to fight your ex-girlfriend."

"You know what? This, right here. This is the reason you're not even my favorite ninja from the village. Rock Lesieur would have been way less of a pain in the tail…"

"…"

"Fine. Yes, the Queen of Quills is the Monk. Or at least… I'm certain of it now."

"You weren't before?"

"Just had a fairly strong feeling she was."

"Shopkeeper, I will search for a way to get her out of that swamp."

"Marsh."

"What?"

"It's a marsh, not a swamp."

"What's the difference?"

"Swamps have more trees. In fact, they should have a lot of trees, while marshes usually just have shrubbery, et cetera. And fungi, as you probably picked up on."

"Oh. Wow, learn something new every day."

"Don't try to sound smart now that you just had your ignorance gap filled."

"…okay, I'm going."

"Wait."

"What?"

"Thanks. For offering. I don't really believe there is a way to save her now that she's been so far gone for so long, but… maybe the fact that her form is…"

"…"

"Nevermind. I'm not getting my hopes up. Just go do what you do best."

"I'll try. See you soon."

"Fingers crossed."

~ o ~

Listen, I know I'm a little harsh on the kid. But he needs it if he's ever going to be a big strong Blue Robe.

A little bow on top of this story — just for you, not for him. The last thing a guy like that who already has a swelled head needs is yet more swelling. Therefore, he doesn't get to know the full details of this ending.

We did the thing. Every last scrap of evil we could find on Messenger Island had been eradicated. And of course, the issue was, there was no time while we were busy trying not to wind up as scurubu-chow for my old flame and I to reconnect and decide how we felt about everything. Crazy how near-apocalypses can kill the mood like that.

While everybody was patting each other on the back, and old Phantom was trying to catch up on all he missed thanks to the efforts of the Artificer and the Prophet's conversational skills, I managed to steal Monk away to my room — where Ninja still couldn't follow us. Don't worry, he and Iron Hood were chatting about collectible figurines or some crap; they were occupied. Nobody was a total wallflower in this we-defeated-Demon King-finally celebration.

"Keeper of my Heart!" she breathed as soon as the door was closed, throwing her arms around me. That familiar weight, the firm muscle beneath her soft, well-worn gi, breathed new life into me that I hadn't even noticed was absent when she was absent. It was like a rebirth.

"Shhh, shhh," I soothed her when I heard the tears begin. Someone so strong and she was breaking for me… or maybe she was strong enough to break around another person. "I got you, Monkey. Oh geeze, I missed you so much…"

By the time we could actually talk again, I had brewed us some non-Astral tea and we were sitting in my new chairs. Oh yeah, I got new chairs; they had slight cushions to the seats. I decided there was no reason to sit on rigid wood when you could add a dash of comfort. At the same time, I didn't want to add too much comfort, or they would be… you aren't listening. You stopped listening and at this point, I'm almost entirely certain you are skimming through this paragraph to see where the next interesting development comes about. Fine, I guess I won't mince words, since you don't appreciate them anyway. Unless you did legitimately read this far, then all is forgiven, naturally.

"Have you told the others?"

"Huh? Told them what?"

She dipped her head the tiniest bit in chagrin. Shoot me, but that was the cutest thing ever. "Of who we are to each other."

"Are? I mean, I haven't seen you in… it really has been a long time. Even here. So I've just been mourning on my own time, when I haven't been hand-holding that cloud-stepping goofball out there."

"He is not so bad," she laughed softly, her balaclava rustling slightly as she looked down into her cup. "After all… he made it possible for you and I…"

She had me there. I leaned forward on my forearms to whisper, "I would babysit for his kids for the rest of my life if that was what it took. And I hate kids."

"Ah, yes, I remember you mentioning this to me. No matter." She took a contemplative sip before setting the cup down on the table. "Keeper, I want to tell them."

"Tell them what?" She just blinked. "Oh, about that. Why? Do we really need to complicate things by-"

"I am proud to be close to you. For us to have paired our hearts together for all time. Are you not proud of the very same?"

Well, when she put it like that… "That's not what this is. Of course I wouldn't mind having the hottest Monk in the world on my arm, but I kind of also… like… it's silly."

"Tell me."

"I like having you all to myself. My little secret — me being your little secret. But…" I sighed, turning my own teacup. "You're right. It's been fun, but we lost too much time. I don't want to waste more trying to be cagey and sneak around, when we can just come out to everybody as here-and-queer."

"We are coming somewhere queer?"

"Hey, we tried that once, and it was uh… different," I half-joked. But then, of course, I did the legit explaining. "But this time, what I meant was, uh, that we aren't a 'traditional couple' according to some people. They might look at us funny. But I would never let that stop me, and I know in your culture it's not even a thing, anyway."

The corners of her eyes crinkled in vague bemusement. And love. It still struck me temporarily dumb to see so much affection in those deep, contemplative eyes of hers.

"I know you would not. For you are far braver than most of those who wear the blue robe think. I know that if your ninja had failed to save me, you would have done it yourself."

"Oh yeah? And how do you know that? You act like I'm just such a useless gay that-"

Her fingers were suddenly covering my mouth, which she found so easily despite the presence of my hood. Closer and closer, she slid as she pressed me down into my chair, and I was so mesmerized by her eyes…

…that I almost missed a magical new detail. The faintest hint out of the corner of my eye of beautiful lips, ones I still had yet to see until that second, forming words that spawned brand new butterflies.

"Not useless. Never useless to me, Keeper of my Heart."

Then she was kissing me, and I couldn't worry that I had seen more than I should have, or that she was going to be mad, or that her clan was going to throw her out, or any of that. All I could think was that she was beautiful, she was strong, she was wise, she was… everything. Whatever crazy notion made her think I was worthy of her, it would be really stupid to look a gift-horse in the mouth.

Because against all the odds, I had my Monk back. That was the gift that kept on giving.

Which is the end of this story. There are other stories, about her donning the blue robes for good, and then there was this thing with an alternate dimension because their Corrupted Future was trying to spread, and those two worlds… but I'm putting a pin in those. Not even you could handle most of them, anyway, much less my hapless Ninja friend. Maybe someday, you'll be ready.

And not just for the stories.

Just promise me, when it's your turn… don't be so oblivious you can't figure out the scroll is a map. I mean, seriously, who doesn't open a scroll when carrying it for days on end? Some people are just born clueless. Don't be those people.

Be like my Monk. Flawless. Yeah, do that.

Anna and Jane didn't have the heart to point out how the fangirling was the only real downside to hiring her; other than that, she was incredible. On par with Imelda, who had been severe but passionate before they lost her to cancer at the end of their final tour. That had been the true reason the band drifted apart; they all needed time to heal.

Time was also, in the end, what brought them back together. Life was too short to waste it, to not spend it with the people they cared about, doing what they loved. It had taken a bit of persuasion with Merida; she had moved all the way back to Scotland and "given up touring", as it turned out because she had been harbouring a secret fear of flying for many years. So to get her back to Dell Valley had been a bit tricky. But it was worth the effort – and all of Merida's hours of therapy – in the end.

Or at least, Anna hoped it would be. It felt like it would be already, but age truly was catching up with them. At least when she got home, she could relax. Her wife seemed to do nothing but work lately – though she was coming to the end of her 'project', as she called it. As though it wasn't a culmination of years of work and waiting and patience.

Before she had even realised it, Anna had a dreamy, dozy expression plastered on her face. Her mind tended to wander when she was tired, and she should probably have been concerned but she often daydreamed anyway. Honestly, the worst thing was when Merida snorted at her expression. She rolled her eyes, but there was affection there, honed by decades of friendship.

"Ah, go'n home," she said, making a shooing motion with her hands. "We've been 'ere all day an' we'll be 'ere all day tomorrow."

"Oh, Mer, the least I can do is help you clean up," Anna said, waving her away. It only lasted a brief second because Jane let out a snort that sounded as if it came from a gorilla, not the petite woman.

"Oh, you think we'll clean up? You're very funny, Anna dear. No, we just arrive before you do so you don't notice."

"Not blimmin' hard, either," Merida grunted under her breath. Anna let out a sound that may have been an "oi!" imitating the both of them, but it was really hard to tell under all the laughter.

Once the two old heads said they were taking the fresh meat out for drinks, despite Moana's insistence that she was barely 21 and had never so much as tried a sip of beer before, Anna bowed out gracefully. There would be plenty of time for getting to know the new girl another night. For now, she just wanted to make her way home.

Traffic was pretty ridiculous, but Anna was able to avoid the worst of it by bypassing the skyway – which was always jammed. Backstreets helped with that. She used her vocal shortcuts to place a virtual order and picked up some Thai food on the way home.

"Welcome home, Anna," announced the computer voice as she kicked the door shut.

"Thanks, EVE. News."

"Tension growing in the rural regions of-"

"Happy news."

"A litter of puppies was born in a teacup ride at a Disneyland. Sources say the mother wriggled into the park through a gap in the fence, previously thought too small for anyone to come through."

Anna smiled sappily as she set the bag of food down on the kitchen table. Those stories worked on her, every time. "Awww…"

Once she set out the food, and no one else had greeted her, she set off down the hallway. "Always working…" she muttered under her breath as she came upon a plain white door, save for the flickering LCD screen of a sleepy face, complete with little cartoon 'zzz's. Smiling softly, Anna ignored that status update and knocked gently on the door before pushing it open.

"Hey, sweetheart? I got some takeout for dinner…"

"Ggrmm."

Elsa's voice was barely a sound; it was obvious she had been sleeping, even without the screen telling her what she had been doing. Hunched over her desk, paper marks pressed into her skin and her hair a mad tangle, it was entirely likely that Elsa hadn't had a solid night of sleep for a week.

"Hey, what did we say about sleeping in here?" Anna asked. Her voice was reprimanding but still gentle as she came to rub Elsa's back in slow, soothing circles. Elsa gave a yawn, and then another, before she could answer.

"I know, I just… this deadline is really coming up and it's nowhere near done, and-"

"And it will be waiting for you after dinner and after sleep. Come on…"

"Mmmhh."

With a mixture of leading and pushing, she finally got Elsa into the hall and heading towards the kitchen. "Have you eaten today? At all?"

"Don't talk to your… mother that way," she said, interrupted by a yawn. When Anna laughed, she smiled blearily. "Alright, alright. Yes, I had a hydrated bagel with instant lox this morning with my coffee. Is that better?"

"It would have been better if that had been after you had a good night's sleep. But yeah, I guess I'll take it for now."

Once at the table, they set about tucking into dinner. Her mother had bags under her eyes, but even with those, she still looked very vaguely younger than Anna. That was thanks to the treatments, of course. They all lived healthy lifestyles, but Anna had never gone into the future for a treatment that wasn't available yet; it was an abuse of the power of time travel. Maybe eventually, when they got to be elderly, they would partake again. For now, their timestream-hopping days were at an end. And they had exactly the results they wanted.

When Elsa glanced up from her plate, rubbing at one eye with her fingertips, she blinked in surprise to find Anna watching her. "What?"

"What-what?"

"You're staring."

"So?"

"Why are you staring?" she said impatiently with a slight smile.

"Why not? Can't I just want to watch a perfect face?"

Elsa rolled her eyes, rolling the noodles around her fork. "What a weird way to phrase that. But… I suppose you may."

"Oh, thank you for the permission, Your Highness," Anna sassed. Elsa pointed her fork, dripping with noodles, at Anna.

"That's 'Your Majesty' to you," she said, grinning before finally taking a bite. "What time does Jennifer's flight come in?"

They both turned to look at the clock, even as Anna said, "Just before midnight." She heard Elsa put her fork down, ready to speak, but she beat her to it. "And no, you're not coming with me to pick her up."

"But-"

"Nope, no 'buts'. You need sleep, Elsa - real sleep. Not just a nap in the car."

She huffed, but there was a slight smile on her lips as she said, "You sound like me."

That was enough to break the tension, if it had ever truly been there in the first place. They ate dinner in peace, Anna telling her about the changes the band had made, what they were up to in gearing up for their big reunion tour. Elsa shared the progress she had made on her novel, the changes her editors wanted that she didn't agree with.

"Just don't change it," Anna suggested, shrugging. Elsa gave a long-suffering sigh; they'd had this discussion before.

"I have to. I don't have any… what's the term? Cred?" Anna snorted, and Elsa glared. "If I want to start building a portfolio, I need to write what the publishers want."

They didn't stay on that topic long – there was no need to rehash an old argument. Elsa had not been writing nearly as long as her ex-husband and didn't have unrealistic expectations, Anna thought she should reach for the stars… rinse and repeat. At least they both agreed that the work was worth doing.

After dinner, they had a quick dessert of fruit salad and cream before hopping into the shower. They took a little longer than if they hadn't shared, but that also would have been the boring option. There was still plenty of time before Anna had to go and pick up Punz, but she refused to entertain Elsa's suggestion of queuing up a movie before she had to leave.

"Nope, you need rest, Elsa," she said sternly. Elsa scowled at her, and it would have been effective had it not been broken by a yawn.

"But I never see you anymore…" It wasn't completely true, but it wasn't exactly false, either. With their individual projects and differing schedules, they often only saw each other at breakfast as Anna ran out of the house, and at dinner. That may have been a very common trap many couples fell into, but it didn't make it any better that they missed each other so much.

So to help remedy that, at least for the day, they came to a compromise. Sleep for Elsa, and a catnap for Anna until she had to go and pick up her wife. At least this way, they got to lie together for a little while.

"I wish you weren't going on tour."

"I know," she sighed softly. "But I have to; I owe it to the girls, and to the fans. And you need to focus on your book, anyway."

"It's almost finished." But it was a weak protestation. Playfully, she whispered, "You're my daughter and you'll do as I say."

"It's because I'm your daughter that I won't." They both shared a laugh about that.

The time flew by once the chatter subsided and they simply enjoyed each other's closeness. Finally, Anna sat up and pulled her jeans up over her purple panties, a bra around her trim frame that used to be a little trimmer once upon a time. Elsa didn't seem to mind if the way her arms slithered around her middle was any indication.

"Come back soon. I'll sleep until you get here, I promise - so I can save up my energy for when you get back."

Anna melted completely into the touch. "Stop. I gotta run…" But the kiss against her neck made her sigh. "You're terrible."

"I'm in love."

"Yeah." Then she turned and got a handful of Elsa's face, shoving her back to bounce against the mattress with a little surprised laugh. "Me too."

"Alright, alright! See you soon, sweetheart."

In mere minutes, Anna was on the highway with her speakers blasting a steady stream of oldies from her usual internet radio choice. Most of them were from the 2000s, but a few from the 80s slipped in there. Tears For Fears cropping up brought a huge grin to her face that didn't fade until she was taking the exit for the airport.

Jennifer was already waiting for her along the terminal line. Her hair was getting long again, and she had gone back to blond; Anna knew she was going to miss being able to muss it up, even though she always got smacked for doing so. Despite the dim light of the lamps and a hundred other cars' headlights, her wife looked tired – or perhaps it was because of such light washing out her pale features. Either way, she perked right up when she saw their familiar car pull up alongside her.

"What's a gorgeous girl like you doing out alone at this time of night?" Anna asked when Punz stuck her head in through the window. She got a soft, if tired, smile as a response. She didn't actually speak until after her bags were safely stowed and she was in the passenger seat, kissing her wife soundly on the mouth.

"Oh, geez, I've missed you," she said, once they broke for air. "Told myself I wasn't going to say a word until I got my hello-kiss."

"Well then, hello."

"Goof," Punz laughed as they shared another brief peck. Putting her seatbelt on, she glanced around. "Elsa at home?"

Anna made a vague noise of annoyance. "Yeah, her dumb ass has been staying up too late and getting up too early trying to meet these editor's demands." Her grip tightened briefly on the steering wheel before she forced it to loosen. "You can ask her tomorrow. But how was your trip?"

"Not as exciting as it could have been," Punz answered wryly. "I think Los Angeles would be more fun if I weren't stuck inside the whole time with a band that's getting a little big for their britches. But that's what they pay me to do."

Anna pulled a face, releasing the wheel so she could hold Punz's hand. "Well, you're home, safe and sound."

"How is the reunion planning going? How is the new girl, uh… Mona?"

"Moana. She's… nice. Good at what she does, which is all anyone can ask."

They fell into more casual conversation after that. There would be plenty of time to debrief in the following days; for now, it was late and both women simply wanted to appreciate the others' company. It wasn't as though they hadn't gone without one another before; they had, many times. But each time it felt longer, seemed to suck a little more out of their sails. With Anna's reunion tour looming over their heads, and the potential for book tours in Elsa's future, their stable home life was somewhat uncertain.

"So have you been rehearsing?"

"Yeah, of course. Every day. I swear, Jane sounds better than she ever did in the old days; must be all those concertos in London. And we got…" Catching the look in Jennifer's eyes, she cringed. "Oh."

"Yeah, oh."

"You mean rehearsing THAT."

Swatting Anna's arm, she said, "Yes, THAT! It's only a few days away now. And you have to get every word exactly right, or we might not-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. And I have been rehearsing. It's just…"

"Just?"

"Well…" Sighing, she pulled off the highway and began driving into Dell Valley proper. "I still feel bad. I know we're not really gonna be lying to her, but it feels that way. Since everything is rehearsed."

Jennifer's hand came up to pet along her arm. "Hey, I know. But it's so important you get this right! Or else… we might lose everything we've come to love about our lives over the past couple decades."

"But look at us! Are we really happy? Always running around, barely seeing each other? Sometimes… sometimes I wish I'd never gone into the past at all!"

The silence was long and heavy. "Do you?"

"No. But I'm just stressed, okay?" Turning on the self-driving and slumping down a little further in her car seat, she let Punz tousle her hair a bit. "Thanks for putting up with my cranky ass. And you're the jetlagged one, too."

"Not that jetlagged," she laughed lightly. "Just ready to be home."

"And we're ready for you to be home, too," Anna assured her. "Even if Elsa is probably asleep because she really has been running herself ragged."

Punz smiled softly. "I'll try my best not to wake her. Sounds like we could all use a good night's sleep tonight."

"I know that I always sleep better when I have both of my favourite girls with me, not just one of them…" Anna said, shooting Punz a sidelong glance. Her wife's grin lifted her spirits considerably.

Luckily for the both of them, they lived on the side of town closest to the airport; instead of having to drive the extra twenty minutes, they were home barely half an hour after leaving the terminal. They snuck in like two teenagers who had just played hooky, leaving the suitcases by the door to be dealt with tomorrow. Punz wasn't sure whether to have a shower or forego it. Fortunately, she didn't have to decide because Anna simply shepherded her towards the bedroom. She didn't smell at all; it was just that she had been flying all evening, and the warm water would do anyone a world of good after travel.

That turned out to be the right call, because no sooner had she crawled into the centre of the bed about thirty minutes later when a second pair of familiar arms wrapped around her from the other side.

"Hey, Elsa," Punz whispered softly. She got a grunt for her trouble, but Elsa's arms still tightened a little more around her. Scooting closer so Anna had some room to join in, she kissed Elsa on the cheek. "Go back to sleep," she urged gently.

"No," she shot back petulantly, which made the other two chuckle.

"Elsa, has Anna been practicing her lines?"

"Hey!" Anna burst out. But Elsa's answer was kind enough that she didn't have to stay upset for long.

"She has. And she has the spirit of the message down. There's sometimes one or two words of variation, but past-me is going to eat it up regardless."

Punz settled in between them, and Anna felt Elsa curl around her other side more tightly. She reached across to clasp their fingers together as they both nestled their faces into either side of Punz's neck, earning a little hum of satisfaction from its owner.

"I missed this," she breathed.

"Me, too," Anna agreed. There was a long pause.

"If you're waiting for me to say 'me, three', it's not going to happen. Ever."

Grinning, Punz whispered, "Except you just did, Elsa."

When Anna laughed, the hand squeezed hers a little tighter for one second but she made no further comment. All three of them were swiftly dozing off, but none actually wanted to take the leap into dreamland. They just wanted to enjoy this tender moment a little while longer.

"When was the last time we were all together like this?" Anna asked. The reply came in unison.

"Your birthday."

There was a brief silence before Anna let out an ungodly snort. "That was an adventure and a half."

"Mhmm," Elsa sighed in agreement. "I didn't know a human adult was capable of making the noises you did."

Punz giggled. "Oh, and your breath smelled for days afterwards!"

"Whose bright idea was the chocolate-covered pickles, anyway?"

Both Elsa and Punz's voice rang through the late night. "Yours!"

Once more there was silence, though this time it was broken by a soft, "Oh yeah…"

As they tended to try doing when they were reunited, all three of them pushed their faces in together for a three-way kiss. It was a lot more comical than it was romantic, but they persisted, and always ended up grinning and giggling into the contact. Then they settled in again to relax.

"Ever think we would all end up in a cuddle puddle?" Punz whispered.

"Not I. Who wants to be in a cuddle puddle with their daughter and her wife?"

"Elsa McFly, duh," Anna joked.

"Hey – that's Cyndi Lorraine Mann to you, and any legal authorities who ask, thank you very much."

"You're welcome, Mommy." The slight poke into her ribs made her grin. "Okay, okay, we know how you feel about that."

Punz leaned up just enough to kiss the tops of both their heads. "Come on, you guys. I know we joke but we have a great life. Don't pretend we don't."

"You're right, Jennifer," Elsa whispered as she clasped Anna's hand again, resting the both of them on Punz's stomach. "I wouldn't trade it for all the tea in China. Even with all the twists and turns and time travel, I just love you both so much."

Anna sighed contentedly as she settled in again. "Yeah. It's been… educational."

As they drifted into dreamland, Anna McFly had the world's biggest smile on her face. With those two women beside her and the future looking brighter than ever, she felt like she was on top of the world. And her future had room to get brighter still; they had nothing but time.

Through pure chance, it fell on a Saturday, so she and Punz spent the day together, able to freely ignore the demands of classes. They had planned to see a movie and go out to dinner. And it was nice, it was, but on the drive home Anna couldn't help the little bead of sadness that kept pestering the back of her mind.

It felt… weird, not seeing Elsa on this particular date. Or hearing from her. And while she absolutely appreciated Jennifer and everything they did that day – everything that she had done to make her birthday special, like the incredible girlfriend she was – it was still depressing not to hear from her mother at all, and it weighed on her.

Clearly Punz knew. Anna tried not to drag her down, because she didn't want Punz to think she didn't love spending time with her, but she could still tell when Anna wasn't feeling completely okay. Maybe she had known that if Elsa didn't contact her then Anna would feel down, because when they got back to the dorm, there was a surprise waiting that Anna never would have guessed.

Or rather, wouldn't have guessed all of it. She had hoped – and to a certain degree, expected – they would have the traditional birthday sex at some point in the day. The thought that Punz would take it further than she ever had before didn't even cross Anna's mind. Punz was gorgeous and sweet and so, so receptive. Not passive, just… reactionary.

So when she pushed Anna onto the bed, moving to sit astride her as she pulled her shirt off, it was the most heavenly surprise.

"You're mine tonight," she said, leaning forward to capture Anna's lips in a possessive display of power. The quick view Anna had of the extra-lacy bra was enough to get her heart pumping. Any remaining thoughts of Elsa temporarily slipped beneath the waves of her own arousal.

"What does that mean?" she found herself whispering a short time later, as her own body was shucked of its trappings. "Do you… want me to call you 'master' or something?"

Punz flashed her a dark smile. One Anna could tell was completely pretend, but she appreciated all the same; this girl didn't have a sinister bone in her whole body. "Hmm, I like the sound of that. What about 'Miss Punzel'?"

Though privately, Anna felt weird about that because she used to call Jennifer's mother that sometimes, but she more often called her "Mrs. P" so it wasn't as odd as it could have been. So she simply nodded and whispered, "Miss Punzel, you're trying to seduce me."

"Oh, so now I'm your mom and you're me, huh?" Then she wrinkled her nose briefly. "Wait… that doesn't work, because your mom seduced you, not me. Nevermind, my Graduate metaphor totally fell apart."

"It's okay," Anna laughed. Privately, she thought Punz was a failure as a Dom, but she didn't want her to be a Dom. She wanted to be with her girlfriend - even if that meant playing their roles a little longer, just for fun. So she cleared her throat and started over: "Miss Punzel… what are you going to do to my body?"

Jennifer bit her lip for a long moment, eyes sweeping up and down her half-stripped form. "Mmm… anything I want. And there are a lot of things, little Anna."

"Little?!"

The outburst, minor though it was, allowed Anna to see a glimpse beyond the dominant act Punz was putting on; it made her shirk back, just a little; made her eyes slip from where they looked into Anna's. Made her look…

Scared. That really shouldn't have been a surprise to Anna at all. This was so far from the realm that they usually explored – or rather, the realm that Jennifer usually took charge of. If there was any roleplaying to be done, Anna orchestrated the entire affair. Punz was doing this purely to make her happy. Stepping beyond the bounds of her own comfort zone to do something she knew Anna enjoyed.

Anna had to kiss her for that. Then she had to divest Punz of the rest of her clothing just so she could look at her. Of course, it was the lacy red bra that held her attention the most, but she did make sure to appreciate the matching pair of panties that clothed Punz's glorious behind.

It was then that she remembered that Punz was supposed to be in control; how easily she handed it over! As fun as it would be to turn the tables, it was also glaringly obvious that her girlfriend had a plan; so, leaning forward and letting her hands caress the skin of Jennifer's thighs, Anna whispered, "Tell me what you want, Miss Punzel."

The small whimper Punz let out was delicious, but she was quick to regain control. "On the bed. Naked. Now. Right now." Okay, perhaps not as in control as she intended, but that was okay. This was new to the both of them.

But just as Anna was removing her shirt, there came an unwelcome interruption from the door. The worst part wasn't that someone was trying to get in; it was that they were succeeding. At the first thump, Anna had dreaded a stranger either calling out "Sorry!" or someone knocking and asking if they were in. Unfortunately, instead they heard the sound of a key scraping in a lock.

"Shit!" Punz whispered frantically. "The RA!"

At least it wasn't the RA, or anyone else on staff. In the darkened room, they could make out a blonde head peeking through the door, joy dancing in her eyes. Once the door swung a little wider, the eyes turned from amused to shocked.

"OH! O-Oh my GOD!"

"Elsa!" Anna hissed under her breath, trying to pull the sheet over hers and Punz's bodies and failing completely; it was pinned down by her own weight. "What are- did you- maybe KNOCK or something?!"

"Sorry!" she hissed, edging into the room and closing the door behind her. "Girls, I'm very sorry, I didn't- the lights were out, I thought I could surprise you before you got back from… well, from wherever you were!"

"Well consider me surprised!" Anna called out. There was still anger and disbelief in her tone, but that wasn't the only thing; once Anna had stopped trying to cover herself, it was easy to see how pleased she was. Her mother hadn't forgotten her birthday, after all.

"I'll come back in… in an hour?" she asked. It was too dark to make out her expression. Punz just sat atop Anna awkwardly – at least she wasn't facing the door. But even after offering, Elsa made no move to leave. Punz twisted her head a little, just to observe the older woman. Elsa's gaze was glued to Anna – in fact, Punz was certain that if she hadn't been there, Elsa would have stalked forward and done… well, exactly what she had been trying to do.

Hand shaking and voice trembling, she reached out to gently palm one of Anna's breasts. "If that's what Anna wants." God her voice sounded so frail, and it was nearly drowned out by Anna's gasp.

"I really am sorry," Elsa breathed, reaching over to set a couple of things on one of their desks. In the darkness, it was hard to tell what they were. "You can get on with whatever you were doing before, and I'll… catch you another time. Happy birthday, Anna."

The fact that Anna was about to let her go, without chasing after her for once, seemed to light a fire under Punz. Elsa had actually turned the doorknob and pulled it already when she squeaked, "Wait!"

"Hm?"

"Wait, Mrs… Elsa. I, um, I wanted to ask… to ask, um, what are you here for? Just like, because I know you didn't… that this wasn't on purpose, so what were you…"

After a few seconds when there had been no interruption of the sentence, she shrugged and whispered, "You're right, I wasn't trying to... interrput. I was just going to surprise Anna, but I think you have that covered!"

"She does," Anna said in deference to Punz. "But I mean, thank you. Seriously! It's just… y-yeah, we were in the middle of something."

"Of course! I completely understand."

"But you can come back in… an hour or two, and we can go out for ice cream or something like that. Right, Punz?"

But a very thoughtful look was on Punz's face. Not that Anna could see much in the darkness, but she had a feeling Punz was still blushing, and could almost feel her breath coming faster in some kind of panic. It worried her, until she whispered, "Yeah. I mean, you could stay now, too, if you wanted. Anna definitely wants you here, I think."

"No, no, I wouldn't want you two to stop for my sake," Elsa tried to laugh it off. She had stopped moving towards the door though – an invitation for Punz to continue, perhaps, or an indication that she didn't really want to leave, either. Maybe both.

"Who says we have to stop?" Punz shot back. Anna could hear the defensiveness lacing her tone, as much as it was shaking from anxiety, but she was more distracted by the words. And her own arousal. If Punz meant what Anna thought she meant, then…

Swallowing, Anna lifted herself up onto her elbows. She was still naked from the waist up, and the knowledge that both people in the room were aware of that fact… well, it certainly wasn't making her arousal fade.

"Wait, Jen," Anna began. "Do you mean like– we keep going? With Elsa still there?!"

Truth be told, it was something she hadn't considered. This was already weird enough – no need to make it weirder by inviting her girlfriend to have to confront it face-to-face. There was so much 'nope' already for any typical person to handle. But then, if Punz was offering – was okay with doing what she suggested, and Elsa okay with it, as well, then Anna saw no reason to argue. The longer she thought about it, the more appealing it was. But could either of them really be okay with that?

The best part was that even though she had asked a question, Punz didn't feel the need to verbally respond. She knew Anna's body – knew all its little signs and indications. So when she placed her hand on Anna's chest, gently rubbing circles against a pert nipple, it was more than enough of an answer.

Anna groaned and Elsa murmured a heated, "Oh goodness," and stumbled over to the unused bed on the other side of the room, sitting down heavily. As if she had sea legs.

"What's the matter?" Punz said, still sounding somehow both petulant and taunting. "You can't act like you've never seen her like this before."

"It's not that," Elsa assured her in a raspy voice. "Well… it'll sound silly to admit that I felt a little weak in the knees. I really should get up and shut the door, though…"

A thrill of dread shot through Anna's stomach. The door was still very slightly open; just a crack, so anyone walking past wouldn't see much. But they might hear something. After a split second's indecision, she scrambled out of the bed and shot toward it, practically slamming it shut.

"That's one solution," Elsa chuckled, a little amazed at the situation they found themselves in. Anna could relate.

"Good. Now, um… where were we?"

Punz stood from the bed. "I'll make this really easy for you, Anna." For a moment, she was afraid that her girlfriend would move to the door and leave, and that would be that. A horrible conversation to have the next day that would involve a lot of regrets and maybe some shouting.

But instead, she moved to the bed where Elsa sat and plopped down right next to her. Even in the low light, it was easy to see how much she was shaking as she looped her hand around Elsa's waist – prompting the elder woman to let out a quiet yip of pure surprise – then patted her own lap with the other.

"Come get your present, Anna."

The tremble was evident in her voice, too, but it seemed she genuinely wanted to go through with this. After all, she had always thought Jennifer was one of the bravest people she knew - and not because she was never scared. But because she could always push through that fear when it was important. Anna's eyes flickered over to Elsa, who was sitting stock-still as though any motion would send Punz scurrying for the hills.

"Well? Come on, Birthday Girl, it's not gonna wait around forever."

Smirking to herself, Anna finally began moving forward. Punz wasn't very convincing, but it wasn't like she didn't want whatever was going to happen. Her two favourite women were offering her a dream situation; she had to at least see if it would lead anywhere. Straddling Punz's lap, though, she had a brief moment of doubt.

"Wait, was my present this? Or was it… y'know, you?"

As soon as she asked, though, it became obvious that it had been a very stupid question. Punz froze, and her face darkened; this did not seem like a good blush, though. It didn't take a genius to figure out why Punz suddenly seemed so unsure of herself. Anna wasn't sure how to break the spell she cast, but it seemed she didn't have to.

Or rather, she could rely on someone else. Elsa, having been silently watching them for the past few minutes, made a very slow, deliberate motion as she moved her arm around Punz's side. It came to rest between her shoulders and her waist, but the real surprise was the tender, if platonic, peck she placed on Punz's forehead. Here was Mrs McFly, housewife and mother.

"Well, go on. Give her this present you keep talking about." And there was the hint of Elsa, the closeted teenage lesbian with the raging hormones to rival literally anyone of the 80s, who had grown into a cunning cougar over the course of thirty years. The woman Anna loved more than her own mother.

"Jeepers," was all Punz could make herself breathe. Instantly, Elsa withdrew her hand, but a moment later there was a quiet giggle. "S-sorry. I really don't know… I mean, I've barely done this stuff with Anna, let alone…"

"Can't handle the challenge?" Elsa prodded her very gently. Her coy smile made it clear – at least, to Anna – that she was only teasing. Her hand didn't return, and she didn't make any more advances toward the other college girl in the room.

But that wasn't how Punz perceived it. She took the smirk at face value, and frowned over at Elsa for a moment before snapping, "Hey, I might not have a half-century of experience like some old ladies…"

She couldn't help herself. Anna let out a cajoling "ooooooh" in Elsa's direction. Even though she wanted this, and wanted her mother to feel comfortable, she knew that Punz had more rights that night. Also, as the more nervous of the two, she needed the support - and she could show that by dishing it out at her mom.

"Hah!" Elsa burst out, finding it funny instead of insulting. "Didn't anyone ever teach you to respect your elders?"

"Well, you're definitely an elder." However, the banter was enabling Punz to loop her arms a little tighter around Anna. To find her confidence again. "What was it like before cars were invented?"

"Says the girl who isn't old enough to use one," Elsa fired back, still smirking as she let her hand drift down to rest on Anna's rear. It made the redhead let out a shaky sigh, appreciating their touches both independently and as a combined unit.

If Punz had been about to retort that she was, indeed, old enough to drive, it seemed to die on her tongue as Anna's pelvis tilted forward. Her chest was right there, in all its pert and uncovered glory. But she also didn't seem to know exactly what she wanted to do – if she did, then she lacked the courage. Here she was, sat in her underwear with her girlfriend atop her lap, and said girlfriend's mother sitting next to her. It was like a scene from an amateur porno - one that could never come true.

But Anna kept looking at her, all warmed up and clearly eager to get started. It was too late to back out now. Hands sliding up, they cupped Anna's breasts; small globes that fit perfectly in her palms. Anna sighed once more, leaning her head back as her right hand came to rest on Punz's. Her other hand travelled south to meet Elsa's, and she rolled her hips again.

It was, in part, an act. Even with the extra thrill of another person, there was no way she was that sensitive. But it was distracting, and before she knew it, Jennifer was kissing Anna's throat, licking and leaving little red marks. Anna let out a low hum at the sensation.

Fingertips dug into Anna's rear in reaction to the touch. So far, Elsa had mostly been egging the two of them on, but she was also being quite bold simply by not having left when the decision was put to her. Punz even moreso, since she was less experienced and already wasn't quite as comfortable with Anna's other relationship. Understandable as that was. It was interesting to see how they each handled being in this situation with the other present.

By the time she heard a shaky sigh from Punz, she was already practically aching with need from the kisses and light fondling, the other hand clutching down below. When she pulled back to shoot a questioning glance down, her girlfriend looked a little shy.

"Elsa's getting f-fresh," she whispered.

"I was not," Elsa said immediately, frowning over at her.

"You were heading for my ass!"

"No, I was petting your back! I promise you that I wasn't going any further downward than I had." But after a few seconds of stony, red-faced silence from Jennifer, she added, "Do you want me to demonstrate what that would feel like to prove it?"

"NO! No, just… ugh, I'm so bad at this… why can't I relax and just… let things happen? I know in my brain that it's alright for us to both 'play' with Anna together, but like… I still wanna punch you."

At that last word, Anna blinked in shock. "Punz!" But she also inexplicably felt her pulse increase. The idea of either of them fighting for her, claiming her as their own, was both alarming… and a slight turn-on. Not only that, but the fact that Punz had been so brazen with how she felt, that was a good thing – at least to Anna. Even in her arousal-addled mind, she could see that Punz was perhaps not seeing Elsa as "Mrs McFly" nearly as much as she used to.

But the fighting words really weren't getting anyone anywhere, least of all Anna. "Okay, you two," she breathed. The words were directed at both Elsa and Punz, but her gaze was fixed squarely on her girlfriend. She needed the most encouragement, after all. "There's a half-naked, entirely revved-up college girl sitting on your lap. And she really wants to be touched. And unless one of you starts, I suppose she'll just have to take over herself. Which would be a shame, really, because there's two equally gorgeous ladies who are allegedly trying to give her some birthday sex."

As she finished, Anna made sure to smile at Punz. She and Elsa had already played this particular game – the one of give and take – but Punz had yet to gain experience with it. She was as unsure as Elsa was - though in the latter's case, it was because this was so new and she was trying to be respectful of Punz's wishes.

But at the same time, Anna had been serious with her words. When Jennifer still hesitated, she sucked her bottom lip into her mouth at the same moment her hand snaked down. With the way she was straddling Punz, it couldn't have been more obvious what she was doing.

So it ended up that both Punz and Anna said "Oh!" at the same moment. It sounded a bit different, but the feeling expressed was parallel. Anna rocked her hips into her fingers as Punz was startled into silence, watching with wide eyes as her girlfriend began to work on her body.

"You're going to let her get away with that?" Elsa whispered. Cajoling, prompting. It didn't take much longer for Punz to begin kissing down her chest again, for now content to simply assist her girlfriend rather than taking over.

Meanwhile, it seemed Elsa had another tactic in mind to move things along. Her nails raked down Anna's back, causing her to hiss through her teeth and arch her back forward. Suddenly, Jennifer found herself with a mouthful, though she quickly adapted and began to lap and nibble at the erect teat between her lips.

"There we go," Elsa sighed, clearly a little affected by what she was watching but still not quite joining in. Not fully. "I'm sure she's been wanting that for a while now."

Jennifer didn't rise to the challenging words. Just the challenge itself, the needs of her girlfriend that she was determined to sate.

Anna was beyond happy; she felt like crying because it was more than she had ever dared ask for, even in the back of her darkest fantasies. A few times, she had thought about something like this, then reprimanded herself for being "gross"… and here it was coming true. They were both helping her get off at the same time; her heart was overflowing.

That alone meant that it really didn't take long for Anna to reach her finish. One of her fastest, too – though that wasn't including the foreplay, which took a little longer than usual. The sensation of Elsa's fingers scratching into her back and Punz kissing and sucking at her front worked in tandem to set her nerves alight. The final touch was her own fingers, going exactly where she needed them. Where she knew they would have the most influence.

Neither Punz nor Elsa quite knew what to do when she was finished – that much was obvious. Punz kept kissing, though there was no urgency that often came with her either attempting to sate herself or to encourage Anna to go again. And Elsa seemed not to want to give up her small grip on Anna. Of course, it couldn't last. With gentle motions, Anna removed her hand, wiping it on her stomach while her clean one came to cup Punz's cheeks and bring her face up so she could look into her eyes. And…

This kiss felt different, and Anna couldn't quite place why. True, even for her it was a little weird having Elsa right next to them as they made out; Punz probably felt similarly. Anna watched Elsa from the corner of her eye, and wasn't ashamed to admit – at least to herself, privately – that the brief look of want that passed her mother's face was hot.

After all, Elsa had obviously snuck in with her own plans in mind. Now they would just have to be fantasies.

Too soon, Punz had broken the kiss. She let out a little giggle when Anna whined and pressed her head forward, but didn't give in to Anna's wish for another.

"I need a shower," she announced, eyes flicking to Elsa for the briefest of moments before she was staring somewhere between Anna's ear and her chin. "You have some um, catching up to do."

"Maybe we could all shower," Anna purred with wiggling eyebrows. But all she got was a shove, so she popped up from Punz's lap to let her collect some clothes.

"I'll be right back. Have fun!" She looked a little sad, even though she was smiling. Then she was gone.

"I am so sorry," Elsa began immediately, before Anna could even turn around to look at her properly. "Honestly, I saw the lights off, and I didn't think… well, I should have knocked, at least."

"Maybe, yeah. Still… wow, that just happened."

Her mother chuckled a little and stood to cross the room, flicking on the overhead light. "It did. Not something I expected to have enjoyed tonight…"

And to Anna's surprise, it really seemed like it wasn't. Now, she could see that the desk had an expertly-wrapped gift and a chocolate cake in a plastic domed container. Simple, actual birthday trappings. There also seemed to be a plastic grocery bag full of assorted other things.

"You… were you gonna throw me a surprise party?"

"Not much of a party with just the two of us, possibly three. But just a little pleasant shock to your system, yes." Her hand came to rest on the cake. "We could still light candles and let you blow them out, if you like…?"

"Sure," Anna giggled, actually pleased. For some reason, it was nice to see some evidence that Elsa still remembered she was a person and not just a potential future wife, after all the time-hopping.

It was decided – mutually and silently – that they would wait for Punz before doing the cake-thing. But that didn't stop Anna from digging into the grocery bag or unwrapping her present. Inside the box, Elsa had placed another box – and inside that box was a photoframe, and in the frame was a picture Anna hadn't even been aware existed. Tori, in 1985, on stage at the Enchantment Under the Sea dance. Given her smile and the energy, it was likely when she was playing Bananarama.

"Where-?"

"They put it in the paper the next day. It was really no hassle to travel back and get them to develop another picture for me- or rather, for you."

Anna's fingers trailed over the glass. She looked ridiculous in those clothes, red hair wild; you would have to know it was her not to assume it was a lookalike. But that was the girl Elsa had fallen in love with. That was the beautiful part. "Thank you," she whispered earnestly. "It's… gnarly."

The corner of Elsa's mouth twisted in a smile. "Happy birthday, Anna."

Gently moving to place the picture on her desk, Anna was distracted by the grocery bag. "What have we here?" she asked, more to herself than Elsa.

Party hats and poppers filled its contents, and those terrible little party horns that unravelled as you blew into them. It entertained the both of them for a good ten minutes, and broke some of the tension of the previous moment. At least, until the RA did actually show up and chastised them for being too loud. She looked at Elsa a little longer than necessary, but Anna had a suspicion that it was more because she was unfamiliar than her age. The treatments from the future really had done wonders.

By that stage, a good half hour had passed, and Punz still had not returned. Her showers normally didn't take that long. "She's probably just run into a friend. Always the extrovert, that Jennifer Punzel!" Anna said. Elsa just looked at her. Sighing, Anna slumped. "Yeah, you're right. This is Punz we're talking about…"

"But it's alright. I get you to myself for a little while longer; I don't hate that."

Grinning, Anna kissed her on the cheek, and they snuggled for a moment. But nothing more came of it. She felt a little guilty for having reached her own heights without doing the same for her mother, but Elsa didn't seem particularly wound up. Just glad to spend time with her.

Eventually, Punz did return, looking pink and freshly scrubbed. When they asked what took so long, she cleared her throat and tried to be evasive.

"Oh hey, a cake!" she cried out. "Looks good, too… and the candles look ready to go."

"Did you get off in there?"

Punz didn't answer. Elsa glanced at Anna's amused face, then back to Punz. Finally, she shrugged and said, "It's not like we don't all do it. You had a very good reason to on this occasion, I might add."

"I did," she sighed weakly, glancing at Anna – who had long ago pulled on an oversized tee. "Sorry… y-yeah, I needed to blow off a little steam in there."

"You really could have told me to get lost, though. That way, Anna could have returned the favour instead of you having to run off – or you could have done it with me here, anyway. You're together and have every right-"

"In front of you? N-nah… I'm not ready for… well, for that kinda stuff." By now, she was beet red, but she did keep glancing at Elsa's patient smile. Anna felt her eyes narrowing in suspicion, but she also knew intellectually that she just wasn't used to doing anything "bad" in front of someone she still saw as a parental figure.

And besides, it wasn't like she had any right to be jealous, particularly not of a perceived attraction between Punz and Elsa. One she was probably imagining anyway.

"C'mere," Anna offered, brushing away that silly thought. It was still her birthday for another few hours, and that wasn't nearly enough time to waste any on stupid notions of jealousy.

Punz didn't move forward, though. Anna saw her glance at her own bed, biting her lip, and she knew precisely what was going through her girlfriend's head at this given moment. This called for something bigger.

"Jen… please?" Holding her arms out, Anna tried not to let her bottom lip wobble too much. Didn't want any overkill, after all.

But it had the unintended side effect of making Elsa sit up, ensuring there was an appropriate distance between herself and Anna when she said, "Perhaps I should be going…"

"Don't!" Punz piped up. Only after she said it did she seem to realise what she was saying, and she glanced down toward the floor. "Well… you did come to help Anna celebrate her birthday, and I know you kinda did that part, but like…"

Elsa's smile was definitely of a motherly type. "Very sweet of you to offer, but I can tell what kind of evening you two intended to have. And I've intruded on it enough - even though it's been… interesting."

Anna looked between them for a moment. Elsa wasn't leaving very fast; she seemed to be waiting for Punz to speak. For her part, she seemed to be indecisive; probably because she felt asking Elsa to stay was the right thing to do, but she wasn't used to arguing with "adults".

"You get in bed," she told Jennifer as she stood up. "I'll just be a sec." Then she took Elsa's elbow and steered her toward the door.

"You don't have to throw me out," Elsa giggled. "I have two perfectly good legs."

"They are perfect legs," Anna conceded, and her mother's head dipped in very slight chagrin at the unexpected compliment. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I know it's my birthday, but, um… can we do something nice for Jen?"

"Hm? I mean, if it's what we just did for you, I don't think she's interested in that from my direction."

Waving a hand, she hissed, "Not that! But what if we get her some of that cake and cuddle her? I want her to feel loved; not in the sexy way, just like, that we both really care about her and she's not just the third wheel when you and me are together."

Thoughts were clearly flying back and forth behind her mother's blue eyes. "You really don't think she'd be uncomfortable?" Anna shook her head, and Elsa shrugged one shoulder. "We can try it. I'll feel a little strange about cuddling her, myself, but I think I can fake that I'm not better than she can. And… well, I do really want to make it up to the both of you."

Anna bit her bottom lip. She didn't want Elsa to have to fake it. But maybe that was what they needed right now: a chance to get used to this changing dynamic. When this whole thing began, it wouldn't have been a radical assumption to think that neither Punz nor Elsa expected their own relationship to change this much. In fact, Anna was fairly certain Punz thought they would get along less, if only because, well… her first reaction to the news was to throw up. And now she was actively giving them space.

What did she do to deserve such a wonderful girlfriend?

That question that filled her mind as she walked back over to Punz. She did as she had been told, but she still seemed unsure; she was sitting cross-legged, curling herself up just enough to seem smaller than usual. Like she was the one trying not to intrude. Anna's heart went out to her. She was so good. Nevermind what Anna did to deserve Punz: she didn't. But for whatever reason, Punz had chosen her, and Anna needed to live up to that.

She would do her damndest to try, at any rate.

"Okay, here's what we're going to do," Anna announced, clapping her hands together once. "We're gonna sit on that bed and watch a movie and eat cake, and you're gonna let us cuddle the shit out of you, okay?"

Her words were fierce, and her tone even moreso. Punz kind of looked like she had been warped into an alternate dimension where everyone had horse-heads. "What?"

"You heard me." When Anna noticed Elsa was already opening up the cake pan, lighting the candles, she let out a self-conscious little laugh. "Oh, we don't still need to do that."

"Of course we do, and I think Jennifer would agree. Right?"

After only a slight hesitation, Punz swallowed hard and nodded. "Y-yeah. It's the only part of this crazy birthday that still looks normal. We have to, Anna - you deserve a real cake and all!"

So Anna let them sing "Happy Birthday" to her, and she made a big deal out of conducting their performance until they all started laughing. Then she blew out her candles and they cut the cake into slices, Elsa insisting that the other two start the cuddling while she served them. The mom coming out in her again. Soon enough, they were all half-lying against the headboard and watching an old classic that Anna had selected.

"Truly one of the greats," Elsa muttered around her bite of cake as the words "The Goonies" appeared on the black screen. "Turn it up."

Punz did, too nervous to eat quite yet. "Um… is it okay to say that I've never seen this?"

"What?!" Anna burst out in so much surprise that her bite fell back into her bowl. "How have we been going out this long and I'm just learning about this now?!"

"Manners, Anna," Elsa chastised as Punz gave a sheepish shrug. Anna rolled her eyes and picked up the piece of cake.

"Lucky we're fixing that, then. This is a classic. And it has the Chinese kid from Indiana Jones – and Josh Brolin way before he was cool, Samwise before he hit the Shire!"

"Just let her watch the movie."

Punz shot Elsa a grateful smile. Then she took a small bite of her cake and settled in against her girlfriend to watch the movie. To Anna, she looked a lot more comfortable than she would have expected. But that was good. It was more than that, really: it was nice.

And it only got nicer. They finished their cake and got cleaned up. Anna ducked out for a "super duper really quick shower," and when she got back, Elsa and Punz were in almost the same position that they had been in when she left. There was a little more distance between them versus with Anna, but honestly, it was hardly noticeable. When Anna returned to her seat, all clean and cool, Punz even moved closer to Elsa to give her room.

Even more wild, they stayed that way. Punz may have curled up against Anna more closely, but Elsa curled up against Punz - and she didn't seem to mind. Even if nothing particularly risque happened at all, it was so heartening to see them growing that comfortable with each other. Maybe this really was going to work out.

For Anna, there was only one disappointment: when the movie ended, and Elsa made to get up.

"Wh- where are you going? Don't- don't you wanna stay here tonight?" Anna asked. Punz looked between the both of them, obviously halfway asleep already. She was awake enough to catch the small look Elsa gave her, and awake enough to do something about it. Putting her hand on the older woman's, she stared at them for a second.

"If-if you wanna stay, that's fine. Don't think you're not allowed… okay?"

"You're a sweetheart, Jennifer. But I really didn't intend on staying the night anyway. You're both tired and there isn't a lot of room." She leaned forward, across Punz, to kiss Anna's cheek and then her lips. "But I hope you had a wonderful birthday, my darling." She kissed Anna once more, and when she drew back, they both noticed something odd.

Punz was staring at them. Well, more precisely, she was staring at Elsa.

"Punz…?"

"Huh?"

"Did you, uh… were you staring at her b-"

"Would you like a kiss, sweetheart?" Elsa to the rescue with her blunt words and soft tone. At least it kept Punz from having to admit that she was checking out her girlfriend's mother's cleavage - even if Anna wasn't entirely sure tha twas the case. Immediately, Punz's face began to darken, and she looked away.

"N-n-nah, that'd be weird for you, probably. I m-mean, you're Anna's mom and her, uh, other girlfriend? Or whatever you would call that. A-and you and I… we're not…" But it seemed the more she stumbled over her words, the more she was making it sound like she really was interested in getting some variety of affection from the older woman. Whether or not that was truly the case, she clamped her lips shut.

So Elsa kissed her cheek. It was still a lot more affectionate than either girl expected, but the lessened level of intimacy compared to Anna's kiss seemed to set Punz at ease a little. She let out a slight sigh, eyes closing until the lips left her face.

"We both care very deeply for Anna," she told her gently as she patted her forearm before standing up. "Which means we should care for each other, as well. I already did before this whole craziness, because I could tell you're a sweet person who deserves her affections. Though I know it's difficult to navigate… well, whatever this has turned into. Doesn't mean I'm not willing to try."

Punz looked like she was going to blush until she melted, so Anna quipped, "I'm pretty lucky to have such hot sisterwives."

"And don't you forget it," Elsa told her in a slightly sharper tone, though she was smiling. They both shared a laugh as she put her shoes back on and gathered her purse. "Happy birthday. And when Jennifer comes back to reality, tell her I said 'goodnight' for me?"

"Uh-huh," Punz just managed to mutter. Anna rolled her eyes.

Once they were alone, she finally did seem to come back to herself. As they turned off the TV and finished getting ready for bed, she asked her, "Punz?"

"What?"

"Are you starting to crush on Elsa?"

"N-no!" she hissed in alarm. "I mean… okay, so she's really hot, and I do like her, but it's not the way I feel about you. Just that… I dunno, I didn't expect any of this, and it's all… hinky."

Sighing, she abandoned her own bed to crawl into Anna's and get it warm for the both of them. They did sleep separately most of the time because the beds were too small to truly accommodate two people, especially with the way they both tended to sprawl out during sleep. However, sometimes creature comfort was more important.

"But I mean, I definitely would rather your mom give me a little cheek-peck than deal with like, jealous fighting or whatever."

"That makes it sound like the lesser of two bad options," Anna pointed out, sliding in next to her girlfriend. Punz didn't say anything at first; only wrapped her arms around Anna and snuggled in.

When she did finally speak, it was to apologise. "Sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" Anna asked. There was a laugh in her tone and she lifted a hand to run through Punz's hair. "What's going on? Between this and the Halloween party…" When all she got was a shrug, she pressed on. "Please talk to me…"

Letting out a sigh, Punz pushed her face in closer. "I'm just sorry. I'm probably making this harder for you and Elsa than it has to be."

"What? If anything, you're making it easier! Why would you think that?"

"I just feel like I… get in the way sometimes. So I try to give you space but that always backfires…"

Wrapping her arms and legs as tightly around Punz as she could, she whispered into her hair, "Shhhhh. You are never in the way. Never, you hear me? Just… I mean, I appreciate you giving Elsa and me some alone time, just like I appreciate Elsa ducking out to give us some. But that doesn't mean you're 'in the way'."

"Okay," she finally sighed, even if she was still quite tense. "I'm… I know, and I know you mean that. Just feels that way sometimes, anyway. It's dumb."

"It is dumb. But I get how you feel that way. Even if I hope you can start to feel that we both care about you. It's not like, just me tolerating you, and Elsa wants you gone. She loves you, too - even if it's not like the way I love you."

Snuggling in closer, Jennifer whispered, "I'm just not used to having a mom care about me. On top of her looking more like your big sister now. Like, it's a good feeling; a weird one, but a good one. I just have to get used to it, I guess. This whole thing. But I think… if you're sure you want me around…"

"Double-sure. Triple!" They both giggled a little. "I mean it."

"Okay. I trust you, Anna."

And those were the last whispered words either of them breathed before drifting away to the realm of sleep.

~ o ~

But the notion that Jennifer would always feel a little left out until they did something about it stayed with Anna as she returned to her daily routine. After a few weeks, she began to jot down ideas. It wasn't easy, but the next couple of times Elsa popped her head into Anna's life, she cornered her so they could plot for the future — hard as it was to resist engaging in other activities.

Eventually, summer break came around, and they spent the first couple of weeks doing the beach-themed vacation they had planned on. After that, the initial strategy was to go back to campus and work to help offset costs.

And they did, for a bit. Until one weekend in July…

"Hope so, Mom," she whispered under her breath as she stretched and got up. No trace of "Elvira" remained, but she didn't need reminders. At least, not tangible reminders; her legs hurt and she was pretty sure that any kind of sexual activity would be off the table for a good week at least. They had made the most of their time, that was for sure.

Ignoring the stabbing in her heart – because despite her own reassurances, it still hurt to have Elsa skedaddle – she began gathering her clothes and a shower basket. Punz would probably be back soon, and she didn't need to see Anna like this. Truthfully, Anna didn't want her to, either; what she did with Elsa was private and only for them. Plus, and back to the original point, Punz probably really didn't want to think about it.

Her plans were dashed, just like her hopes that Elsa would stay, when she left her room to head towards the showers. The path led her right through the common room; there, on one of the couches, lay the sleeping form of her girlfriend.

"Oh, Jen…" She usually didn't call her that. It seemed to slip out when she was worried or sad. Dropping to one knee, she wrapped her arms gently around her girlfriend's form and drew her in close, startling her awake.

"Wha-?! Oh, I… I'm sorry, I'll move…"

But Anna shushed her gently, rocking her until she snapped out of it enough to realise she wasn't being chased off. "It's okay… oh, Punz, I'm sorry… I thought you were going to stay with somebody."

"Who would I stay with?" she breathed softly. "I barely know Kida. But… y-yeah, it's probably dumb that I said I would. Gosh… I'm sorry, Anna, that was kind of like lying, and I h-hate the idea of lying to y-"

"Shhhh. It's okay. It's okay, Punz."

After a moment or two, she got Punz bundled into her own bed. After all, she was still sleepy and worn-out from trying to nap in essentially the entire building's communal lounge room. Then she went off to shower. Bad as she felt about leaving Punz alone so soon after finding her like that, she knew she wouldn't want her to cuddle while she still smelled like…

"God, what am I DOING?!" Anna burst out at herself in the shower. Her predicament seemed just fine most of the time that she was technically dating two women, one of whom was her mother. Polyamory was a thing, wasn't it? But once in a while, she felt that flash of doubt that refused to be ignored.

Jennifer's words bobbed about her head, feeding that niggling feeling and letting it grow. 'Who would I stay with?', she had asked. Anna hadn't realised. They shared a dorm, but not the same course load, and she had thought her girlfriend's life would be far bigger than just school and work and Anna. Apparently not. Unbidden, tears rose to Anna's eyes, and she had to bite her lip to hold them back. While she had been off having mind-blowing sex, Jennifer had been alone. God, she even used a technique that she only ever practised with Jennifer – had she learned how to do it for their sake, or to impress Elsa?

And Elsa… had she seen Jennifer lying on that couch, been too busy to notice? Or had she slipped out too early to catch her?

Anna felt like she didn't deserve either of them. She was Elsa's daughter! Though that particular thought had little effect nowadays; it was too easy to remember the girl in 1985, especially after the treatments. But Jennifer… she definitely didn't deserve someone as sweet and kind and loyal as that.

Wiping the water from her face, she finished up, a washcloth wiping between her legs only for as long as it had to. She had already wasted enough time ignoring her girlfriend and didn't want to waste any more in the shower than was strictly necessary. It was still only early, and most students would be hungover – if not still drunk, honestly. That meant that her walk back to her dorm was unimpeded, save for the debris strewn everywhere. She paused just outside the door, closing her eyes briefly to prepare herself. One thing was clear: she would have to make it up to Punz.

But not right away. Her girlfriend and roommate was already asleep again when she got back into the room. She hadn't moved from where Anna put her except to curl up a little. So Anna simply kissed her forehead, picked up her laptop, and got to work.

                                                  ~ o ~

By the time Jennifer did wake up a few hours later, Anna was ready. The minute she sat up, she was holding out the calendar app on her phone. When she only blinked at it blearily, Anna knew she would probably have to elaborate.

"Mani-pedis! We have an appointment at five."

"Wha…? Who are you and what did you do with Anna?" They both laughed, even if one of their laughs was clearly a sleepy one. "But… what's this for? You've never had a mani or a pedi your whole life."

"Sure I have! Just… okay, not since I was in junior high, and even then it was a 'just for fun' thing. But it's never too late to start!"

Her smile a little pitying, Punz said, "You don't have to do this. Seriously, I know I messed up by lying about having somewhere to crash, but… you don't have to 'make it up to me' for being with Elsa. She's part of your life. Everything's fine."

"But… I messed up too…" Anna said softly. "And I-"

"No, you didn't," Punz interrupted. "You did nothing wrong. You had a nice evening with someone important to you, and I don't want to ruin the memory of that by letting you think you did something bad. I'm the one who messed up by lying."

Anna didn't agree with her, but Punz was becoming agitated and she didn't want to make it worse. Instead, she just said, "Well, okay then. But we're still doing this mani-pedi. Think of it as a… a thank you? Maybe?"

Punz smiled again, this one far less pitying. She leaned forward to kiss Anna gently on the nose. "You're welcome, dork. Let's go get our nails did."

"...okay, never say it like that again."

Laughing as she finally peeled herself out of bed, she demanded, "What? Why not? Isn't it cool?"

"Not when you say it."

"But…"

                                                  ~ o ~

Two months flew by after that. When she saw Elsa at Thanksgiving, it startled her to see her looking slightly older and with a few more wrinkles again; did the treatments not take? But a private word later explained that Elsa had donned a prosthetic face to affect the appearance of her own age. It was almost funny that she miraculously turned back time and now had to use such means to turn it forward again, for her family's sake.

Though of course, Kristoff and Anna knew. They just couldn't let John and Wendy in on the secret, or anyone else in Dell Valley. It seemed they had decided the time wasn't right to tell them Elsa would be moving overseas. Yet. But they couldn't avoid it forever.

Christmas was a similar affair. Apparently, despite her previous insistence that she would hang around through the holidays, Elsa had literally left after Black Friday and driven the time machine straight to December 23rd. The only reason she showed up early was to have a night with Anna before the rest of the family dropped by…

Which they did. Not one like the last time, but they held hands and kissed here and there. Cuddled in front of the TV. It was simple and sweet, and a different kind of glimpse at what life could be like once they finally were done with this experiment of theirs.

Christmas itself was a lot of fun, and the family got along the same as they ever did. It was kind of nice to forget the greater worries and just enjoy the holiday. She and Elsa and Punz were getting used to keeping the strange nature of the mother-daughter relationship under wraps by now, so there were no slip-ups that were noticed by the siblings.

Everything was wonderful… until the day after Christmas. When Elsa made her announcement.

They were all sitting around the kitchen table, leftover Christmas morsels spread across the lacquered wood. Veggies and chicken and ham, all piled high, with pie and custard still sitting in the fridge for dessert. John and Wendy were helping themselves to food – though only a sparing amount. If they were anything like Anna, they too were probably still stuffed from yesterday. Elsa looked a little queasy, but Anna's wasn't sure why. At least… not at first. But with the way Elsa was touching the mask on her face, and the way she kept shifting her gaze between Anna and Kristoff…

Anna only had a moment to realise what was about to happen and brace for impact before it was already happening.

"I hope everyone had a happy Christmas," Elsa began, smiling softly. There was a slight quaver to her voice, and Anna wasn't the only one to notice it. John and Wendy stopped arguing over the last drumstick and sat up straight, looking concerned.

"Ma?" John asked. The corner of Elsa's mouth quirked up at his tone.

"I have some news," she continued. Anna watched her siblings carefully. Both seemed to want to interrupt and guess, but were staying quiet out of respect. "Or rather, your father and I have some news."

"You're pregnant!" John blurted. The whole family turned to look at him. "What?"

"She's pushing fifty, you idiot," Wendy sighed.

"So? Didn't you see that new special about the woman who is almost sixty who got pregnant? This stuff happens!"

"No, John, I'm not pregnant," Elsa interrupted with a weak laugh to head off further bickering and keep them on the subject at hand. "I am… moving out."

Instant. Furore. And a comical gasp from Anna that was fake enough to break through some of the outrage.

"What's up with you?" Wendy managed to ask, but Kristoff was already shushing them because John was still babbling something about "one of THOSE moms" that was probably going to get him slapped.

"Now, now, we've been discussing this for a long time. Your mother and I are still good friends; we'll always be close. I would never mind living with her, either way, but… well, you go on, dear."

Nodding her thanks, the clearly-nervous Elsa took in a deep breath. "So… I'm not just moving out, but moving away from Dell Valley. There are a lot of interests I've been wanting to pursue, and I simply can't do that here. I want adventure in the great, wide… somewhere. While I still have time."

"You sound like something out of a musical!" Wendy cried out, pounding her fist on the table. "This is unacceptable! Where will you go? Who is going to take care of you?"

"I don't need anyone to 'take care' of me. I'm not an invalid."

"But you are getting up there, Ma," John reminded her with his index finger raised. "You can't be so idealistic that you won't face facts; you're gonna want to be around here when things start falling apart."

One withering look from Elsa got him shrinking back, and Punz had to suppress a snicker at the tactless man. Shaking her head, Elsa looked around to all of them. "I'm sorry if this is a shock to you. But I was sort of waiting for all three of my babies to be grown and out of the house before I moved on with my life."

"Moved on? Jesus, Mom."

It was impossible to pick who had said it, but it seemed that all the fight had gone from Elsa in one fell swoop. The woman visibly sagged, eyes falling to the table as she lowered herself to her seat. John and Wendy were still arguing, bouncing off one another in their fervour. Kristoff was trying his best to get them to stop, but went largely ignored.

"Hey, guys-" Anna began. It was a mistake.

"Anna!" Wendy cried. "You knew about this? And you're letting her?"

"Oh, I- what? How can you say-"

"Well you didn't seem all that surprised. What other secrets are you keeping? Don't you realise this is going to tear this family apart?!"

Wendy's words rang the loudest, and most painful. Everything seemed to freeze for a second before, to everyone's surprise, Punz stood up.

"Elsa- I m-mean, Mrs. McFly, wanting a chance to be happy is… going to tear this apart? Or… is that not your reaction, Wendy? Sorry, I know I'm kind of new here, but you aren't being very supportive."

There was a light sniffle, and all heads turned to the end of the table where Elsa sat. She didn't look up at her family, though if she had she would have been met with a stoney silence as John and Wendy, contrite, stared down their plates of food.

"Of course you should be happy, Ma," John began. "But do you have to bring everyone else down while you do it?"

Anna snorted. At least no one was yelling over the top of anyone else now. "Bring who down, John? None of us live at home now. You only come over on special occasions now, which is only like three or four times a year." Her eyes grew hard. "So what the fuck is the problem with Mom being happy when the only person it really impacts is Dad, and clearly he's known about it for a while?"

"Dad, you can't let Mom-"

Kristoff laughed over the rest of those words. "Let her? What have we been teaching you kids that you think Elsa can't make her own decisions?"

"I'm over here a lot more often than John is, though," Wendy snapped back at Anna. Ignoring her father, which made the man sigh and rub at his face. "Don't you care that… I mean, I'm going to miss you? Or did that not factor into your decision?"

Elsa's features grew dark and severe. "Of course it did! Don't you dare tell me what I do and do not feel, Wendy Moira Angela McFly!"

The entire table got very quiet at her outburst. The tears were still on her cheeks, but her face had gone furious as she lost her ability to suppress her feelings. Punz sat down, a little scared to see Elsa so angry, and the others weren't expecting it much more, either.

"Mom… listen-"

"No, you listen," she told John. "This is my journey, and the decision isn't yours whether or not it's necessary. I love you all so much that you'll never truly know, but just spinning my wheels here, doing this tiresome job, without having seen the rest of the world… it's not what's right for me anymore. There's something else out there, something that I intend to find. So please, just… if you can't support me, then just… don't make this any harder?"

"Sure, Mom," John breathed, clearly very put in his place. But of course, it couldn't be that easy.

"No," Wendy snapped, standing up from the table. Her own eyes were misting over by now, cheeks reddened. "I'm sorry, I… this isn't fair. It's just not fair for you to expect us to…" Throwing up both hands, she turned on her heel and stomped to the front door. There was barely a pause as she yanked it open and left.

And that was when Elsa just… broke. She didn't make a sound as she stood up, though the chair scraping along the floor was more than enough. Everyone turned from the door to look at her, but Elsa was already out and heading towards the bedrooms.

"I'll go and find Wendy," Kristoff offered, voice low. Anna merely nodded. She felt Punz slip a hand into her own, but she could hardly react. Anger boiled inside her, flowing through her veins.

But at the same time, so did the overwhelming sadness. This was the dysfunctional family she remembered; always at each others' throats. The only difference had been that Elsa had gone to her room, and not to the liquor cabinet. She wanted to cry, or scream or something. Instead, she looked at her brother and said nothing. At least he had backed off, and he certainly did look somewhat contrite. Coughing gently to clear her throat, Anna said, "I… think you should talk to Mom…"

There was nothing she could do. She could offer empty words of comfort, but the only people who had any control of the situation were Elsa, John, and Wendy. And if at least two of those people could reconcile their issues, the differences and beliefs… well, that was better than nothing.

As soon as they were alone, Anna curled in on her girlfriend. It wasn't the most comfortable position, but that didn't matter. "I thought it'd go better than that," she said softly. "Even- even without our weird thing, I don't know why it's such an issue for Elsa- Mom… for her to finally do what she wants to…"

"I don't know, Anna…" Punz said softly. Her hands trailed through Anna's hair, stroking the scalp beneath gently. "Wendy must have a reason, though… right?"

The way she phrased it was of little comfort. At the same time, there was little point in wondering, either. There were only two possible outcomes: Wendy would come back, or she wouldn't. All they could do now was wait.

After a while, John came back, looking distinctly shaken and with wet eyelashes. He went right past them into the kitchen, then came back with one of his dad's beers. Cracking it open, he only glanced at Anna and Jennifer helplessly before taking a swig.

"How did it go?" Punz asked. The only one who felt like talking out of the two.

"Terrible. But… well, not really terrible, just hard. I think I get it now. Still don't understand what she thinks she's going to find out in the world that she can't find here. I mean, the internet has everything now, right? What's the difference?"

"The difference is that it's Elsa, not you. Maybe looking at pictures of places she wants to go isn't enough."

"You two would say that, after your big summer," he snorted. But it wasn't in an unkind way. "Maybe it's a girl thing."

"Or maybe it's just a thing," Anna grunted.

"Maybe. Anyway… now I feel like a jerk. But I still want her to stay, too. That's weird, right?"

Sighing, Punz glanced at Anna, then at the hallway. She clearly was less than comfortable doing this with people she wasn't related to, and had no business bossing around, but the situation was important enough to ignore the boundaries of her comfort zone. "It's not weird to want her to stay. She's your mom. Just kinda mean to guilt her into giving up something she really needs."

"How… how long has she been thinking of this?" John asked. Anna shrugged.

"A while now. She was scared everyone would react like this and I told her not to worry." She scoffed, looking away. "How stupid."

"I'm sorry…"

"Yeah? Well I hope you told her that."

Silence descended upon them. Anna had nothing left to say, and it seemed that John didn't, either. Their ears pricked up when the sound of footfalls coming up the path reached them, but it soon became clear whose it was.

Kristoff opened the door, looking drawn and defeated. His eyes met Anna's, and within them swirled a deep sadness. They had both been hoping for a positive outcome, it seemed. And why wouldn't he have, truly? Elsa's happiness meant just as much to him as it did to Anna.

And if John and Wendy reacted so terribly to the news that Elsa was off on an adventure, well… there was no way they would ever be able to reveal the full extent of their relationship. Not that Anna had ever had any plans to do so, but it had been a comforting thought: family would always accept one another. Not this time, it seemed.

"Try not to be too hard on her," her father was saying as he dropped into a chair at the table again. "This really did come out of nowhere for you kids. And… your mother's moving overseas, it's a big change."

"Wendy isn't a 'kid'," Anna snapped back immediately. "She's older than me, and the one throwing a tantrum."

"Yes, but she's also very close to your mother, Anna. She might not be over here every weekend, but she does try to call if she can't stop by. It's going to be a big change, having to figure out… you know, Skype calls or whatever."

She knew he was making things up, trying to pretend the change really would be that Elsa was moving away. Not that she would vanish from the planet only to reappear a month or two later. So Anna only nodded and looked down at her hands.

"I did say I was sorry," John muttered, a little late. "And gave her a hug. I don't want her to hate me, or think I hate her. Just wish she'd reconsider."

"Maybe she will." Kristoff clapped his son on the forearm. "But if she doesn't, I don't want to hear another word out of you against her plans. You're not too old to take over my knee, you know."

That got him to half-laugh, half-snort, "DAD!" But at least it broke the tension in the room, and the others chuckled weakly. Nothing was going to put them in a good mood, but at least they weren't moping quite so much.

John left not long after that, though. He knocked on Elsa's door to say goodbye, but there was no answer. She had probably fallen asleep, Anna thought, but she didn't voice it. It wouldn't help anyone.

"We'll let her know," Kristoff offered. John nodded, just once.

"Thanks, Dad. I'll uh, I'll drop in to see her during the week, maybe?"

Anna and Kristoff shared a glance that was, blessedly, unnoticed by John. "Sure," Kristoff said. "How about Friday night? We can all have a week to think and… and cool off…"

John nodded. In a way, Anna was proud of him. She had been sure he would kick up the most fuss because… well, because that was the kind of person he was. He didn't always think about others. This was different – a good different.

There was little left to say after that. John finished off his drink and then excused himself. Punz began cleaning up the failure of a dinner. Anna joined her not long after – and there wasn't much to clean up, really. Just to put the food back in their containers and wash up the plates that had actually gotten that far.

"What did Wendy say?" Anna asked Kristoff quietly, once she had summoned some courage.

"Just that she needed time to think. She was kind of tight-lipped after that outburst. It's…" He sighed and shrugged. Clearly, he didn't know what to say, either. "I'm going to try to talk to your mother. Who knows if it'll do any good, but…"

They let him get on with it. Nearly an hour passed before he came back out, looking a little drawn but no worse for wear than that. Flashing a weak smile toward Punz, Anna slipped in to take his spot.

"Hey," she whispered, caressing over her side. She was curled into a ball on their bed, facing away from the door. She hadn't even taken off her shoes in all that time, still looking exactly as she had when she made the announcement.

"Go away, Anna."

"C'mon, don't be like that." Elsa didn't respond, so she kept petting. "I'm sorry everything went to shit."

"I feel stupid for being surprised. That's the worst part; I should have known this was going to be… difficult, and it was, and I'm still shocked anyway. Disappointed with myself."

Frowning, Anna whispered, "How they reacted… it's just… they're being babies."

"Exactly, Anna. They're being babies. My babies."

"Well…" She didn't know what to say to that.

"I'm their mother. Your mother, too, in case you forgot somehow. I'm being irresponsible. Motherhood doesn't end when they grow and leave the house."

"But it does! Like, you're still family, but now it's up to them to finish growing up on their own, right?" When she got no reply, Anna curled around Elsa's back and snuggled close. "I'm sorry. But I think… they'll get better. John already is, he just had to flip out for a second first."

"But what if it doesn't?" Elsa asked quietly. She sounded so fragile. "What if- what if, by doing this, I do manage to- to tear this family apart?"

"No, you won't. If – a really big 'if' – something were to happen, then… it wouldn't be your fault. Whenever I wanted to try something, you let me. John wanted to play football and even though some of his games were really far away, and you were worried about his safety, you made it work. Same with Wendy's dance – and that was expensive, too! Events halfway across the country and everything."

Elsa let out a small noise. "How do you even know that?" she asked softly. Anna closed her eyes, placing a kiss on the centre of Elsa's neck.

"Because… I've been looking through the family photo albums, and talking to Wendy sometimes. Dad sometimes. You know, in my timeline they asked if they could, back when I was little. And you had to say no because we just didn't have the money. And I think that's when things started going downhill. You couldn't make your babies happy, so why should you be, too?" Sighing, she pulled away. "You made them happy here because you could. You had the time and the money to make it work for them. They should respect you enough to realise that it shouldn't be any different for you, now that they're grown up and it's your turn."

She probably wasn't helping. Elsa said nothing, and Anna didn't know how to convince her that she should be happy. There was a sinking sensation in her gut, and it took her a little while to figure it out. Seemed her body understood a lot more than she realised. And the last thing she wanted was to make this about herself, but the question had to be asked. And whatever Elsa's reaction, Anna would just have to accept it.

She refused to be one of the people who argued about someone else's decisions.

"Do you… maybe not want to do this anymore?" The words were innocent enough, but despite Anna's intentions, the meaning was still clear: Am I worth this pain and upset?

"That's… a very big question. But… I'm doing it. Too late to turn back now." She rolled over to kiss Anna's face. Her cheeks were drenched with tears already, and she moved in for a hug quickly so Anna wouldn't have the chance to see how anguished she was. "They already told me that this procedure can't be reversed, except through the natural course of time. In a little over a decade and a half, I'll look vaguely like I did before I ever set foot in the DeLorean."

A little "oh" croaked out of Anna's throat as she thought about that. So it really was too late. "But… the masks…"

"Yes, I could do that, but… oh, what would be the point? Living a lie even worse than the lie I've been living the past thirty years. It would just…"

"Yeah," she agreed with a frown. "I'm sorry, Elsa. This whole thing sucks."

"It's not your fault. And listen." Her hands came up to trap her daughter's cheeks between them. "It really isn't. I know it's tempting to feel as if it is now, but… if it's anyone's fault, it's mine for… for seducing you-"

"I didn't stop you," Anna countered with a quiver to her lip.

"So?" she burst out. "We were both teenagers! Just because I'm not one anymore… back then, we were the exact same age with the exact same responsibilities, and that's that. I'm tired of playing the blame game, either with you or myself as the guilty party. It happened. We felt what we felt, and maybe it was wrong, but either way… it was powerful, and real, and… and I think it's worth doing this to pursue a love like that."

Nodding, Anna looked away for a moment. She was so… relieved. Every time this subject came up, she felt a very strong and unassailable fear that Elsa would crumble in on herself, would realise what the hell she was doing and call the whole thing off. How wonderful that she wasn't! Even with John and Wendy upset, she still wanted her, still felt dedicated to their being together. It made her feel loved in a way that neither Elsa nor Punz ever had quite been able to reach before, despite their very sweet and earnest efforts.

As she had heard before somewhere, love isn't just a feeling. It's an action. And Elsa's actions touched her very deeply.

Anna couldn't help herself. She kissed Elsa, long and deep, hands cupping her cheeks and wiping away the sticky tears. Elsa didn't fight back; on the contrary, she pushed forward, bringing their bodies even closer as she rolled, just barely, atop Anna.

It didn't last long. As much as Anna would love to kiss Elsa until the cows came home, this really wasn't the best time – and it wasn't just because the mask made it feel weird. Kristoff and Punz were just outside, and though it was highly unlikely that they would enter – at least, not without knocking first – it still seemed like a poor choice.

"I love you," she said softly, slowly extricating herself. Elsa didn't put up much of a fight. Even less so when she tried to follow and Anna gently pushed her back onto the bed. "Stay here, okay? Punz is already cleaning up everything; we can take care of you for once."

Nodding, Elsa let herself be tucked in. She looked tired – the side-effects of a highly emotional afternoon, it seemed. By the time Anna was shutting the door behind her, Elsa's eyes had already fluttered closed.

"Love you," Anna whispered against the wood. Even if the closed door was the only one who could hear it.

The voice of her mother laughed softly. "Radical, amiga." It only sounded a little sarcastic.

"Good. Um… so what's up? Did you want… me to come over there?"

"Duh. Like, what else would I want from my girlfriend?"

Her mind went white for a few seconds. At first, she thought she might have been having a stroke or passing out, but it only took a brief shake of her head to reorient herself. Girlfriend! This was crazy, but she also felt her heart racing ahead of her, delighted that this was happening. Whatever it was.

"Y-yeah, sure! I mean… of course." Her hands felt along the bed as she tried to make sure she wouldn't hurt Elsa when she climbed onto it. Then she felt skin, but… it was partly covered by fabric. In thin, slick strips. "What's this?"

"Your Christmas present," Elsa purred. Anna felt lightheaded. And giddy. Every nerve seemed to light up with only the sound of Elsa's voice and the merest suggestion of anything… fun.

And then the smell hit her. That, more than anything, had her warping back to 1985 and unable to return because, "Is that… Love's Baby Soft?" she asked softly. Incredulously.

"Yeah! Someone bought it for me, even though I asked for Calvin Klein." She snorted, but there was a smile in her voice, and it seemed like it only grew when she continued, "Now, are you going to kiss me, or do I need to turn the light on?"

The playful threat seemed to be a not-so-subtle way of checking if this was okay without breaking character, and it was a touch Anna appreciated only because it fit so well with everything Elsa was about. Always watching and caring – regardless of the role she was in, or the capacity of control she had. This was something she wanted to do, and Anna was more than happy to oblige. It would be a complete and utter lie to say that she wasn't interested.

So, leaning forward, she kissed Elsa. Or, she tried to. Blindfolded, she actually undershot the mark, falling somewhere between Elsa's chest and her shoulder. It still had her sorta-girlfriend letting out a thick gasp.

"Well, I did kiss you," she hedged in a whisper. "Just… not on your mouth?"

"You did. Can you find your way up here now?" The way of speaking was a little different. It took until her lips had reached Elsa's jawline for her to realise she sounded more like the Elsa of the past. The differences were pretty slight, but enough that she noticed.

"Here I am," she whispered as she reached her chin. "Is… can I kiss you?"

"Please."

Far be it from her to turn down a request like that. It was everything from 1985 that Anna had been trying so hard to forget: passion, and desire, and tenderness, and sweetness. Heat mixed with comfort. She couldn't believe it was happening again, and not just with a younger version of her.

This time, she really was kissing her own mother. Elsa McFly, the woman who gave birth to her - even if not the exact same version who raised her for the past couple of decades. It should have been disgusting, or made her want to cry, but she didn't; she wanted to sing. This Elsa, the one she met in the past and had grown up to be such a vibrant, exciting woman, was more or less her ideal. And they fit together flawlessly. Seamlessly.

After the first few minutes, she finally drew back. "Well okay, Elsa. Merry Christmas to ME."

"Totally," she giggled. Her mother, giggling! Like Elsa had in the past. "To me, too. God, Tori… you're a total babe."

"Yeah, sure… if you say so." Her hands slid up and down Elsa's sides, feeling the ribbons that covered her. A literal present. She wondered what colour they would be if she could see them. "Mmm… so you're my Christmas gift? All of you?"

"All of me…" Elsa whispered. "If you want it."

Perhaps she was expecting Anna to untie the knots – and Anna definitely planned on doing that at some stage. But first she wanted to have a little fun. Elsa probably did too, all things considered. So Anna just kissed her again, slow and sweet while she ran a hand over her body. It followed the lines of the ribbon, across Elsa's arms and down her chest and–

"Oh my god are you naked?" Anna hissed. What if- what if… "What if my mom walked in on us like this?"

She felt Elsa grin beneath her lips, though she wasn't sure if it was the surprise or the question that was funnier. "That's why I locked the door. Now, for the love of God, Tori, please hurry up. I love you but I'm about two seconds away from just dealing with my needs on my own, y'know?"

"Nuh-uh-uh," she sang, grinning right back. "You're mine. So that means I get to decide when to… open you up."

The way Elsa shivered beneath her was breathtaking, and despite her words Anna knew she wouldn't last long either. Therefore, she began kissing her way down Elsa's body, savouring the taste. The feel. She honestly felt like she could have been in 1985 – in Elsa's bedroom with her hope chest and her family going about their business downstairs, or in Doc's living room.

Reaching the first bow, Anna didn't try and open it at first. At least, not with her hand. As her teeth closed around the end of said bow, pulling gently, she could feel Elsa's stomach flexing from her breath. Everything about this was turning her on. Not only that, but it was making her happy in a way she hadn't truly understood she needed. The scent of skin mingling with Baby Soft filled her nose… and something else. Something she had barely caught hints of before.

"You're so wet, Elsa…"

The response was immediate and tender. "Yeah, Tori. This isn't the first time you made me wet, though."

"Hah!" she burst out, losing her grip on the ribbon. She had to try again. This time, she was able to get the bow untied with relative ease once she made herself focus. Then she pressed her lips into the skin it revealed…

And both of them sighed in pleasure. At the same time, with the same desire in their voices. Anna wanted to peek, just to hopefully catch some slight look at her mother in the near-darkness, but she made herself resist; that was part of the deal. No peeking.

Even if Elsa hadn't explicitly said it. Anna understood this was a one-off special occasion. They were in 2015, pretending to be in 1985 because right now it was too dangerous to not. But they could play pretend for a single night, and Anna wasn't about to fuck up this opportunity by breaking the rules. Too much was on the line.

So she got to work, untying the other ribbons and imagining how they may look, falling from Elsa's skin as she tried to get closer. Her mind flipped between picturing Elsa as a teenager and her mother as she was now - and in all honesty, both images spurred her to work faster, to kiss the skin she revealed more and more. It seemed that no matter how little distance was between them, it was too much.

Around the time she was finishing up Elsa's shin, she heard her ask, "Is it… what you wanted? You can always exchange it."

"Don't be silly." Even as she unwrapped, a thought occurred to her. "What… would I exchange it for, anyway? Like, actually being serious, because I'm not sure what you mean."

As she giggled, Anna finished off the bow around Elsa's ankles. This was tricky, doing it in darkness, but they weren't very complex bows. "For anything. Hanging out with your mom, or whatever." The way she phrased it made it clear that Elsa was trying to further establish she was not the same person as "mom" right now. As The Offspring once said, 'gotta keep it separated'.

"Well… I think I can have both. This now, and hanging out with Mom tomorrow." There; now they both understood how this was going to work. "But tonight… yeah. I'm all about this with you."

Proving she meant her own words, she managed to keep Elsa from replying right away by kissing her toes. There was a shaky breath, and then she whispered, "You don't have to… start there if you don't want to. My dirty feet."

"But they're not dirty. If I know my Elsa…" The possessiveness of that made the named woman let out a sigh of pure arousal. Anna grinned in the dark, somewhat glad her mother couldn't see how happy she was to be able to affect her that way. "She has been setting this up for weeks. Took a nice shower, put on that perfume… arranged the room to be darker than usual… ordered the mask and the sexy ribbons a while ago. Got everything in place, then came in here to wait. Am I wrong?"

"Very clever, An- Tori." Anna let out a giggle, even though she could feel Elsa flinching; she had slipped. Obviously she was also proud of how smart her daughter was, even while they were roleplaying as their 1985 selves, and her instinct was to praise her as any good parent would. When the laughing lips pressed into the arch of her foot, she breathed, "Oooh… h-how did you get to be such a romantic?"

Anna didn't bother to answer with words, but she did smile against the skin once more. Redoubling her efforts, she had a sudden urge to just… make Elsa stop talking. Like in the car back on prom night, she wanted at least one them to be incoherent, the pleasure overwhelming. Perhaps it was silly to have such an urge while she had Elsa's foot at her mouth, but it was there all the same.

On the other hand… Elsa had developed a thing for feet ever since that car encounter. Didn't she? Maybe this was the perfect time to find out for an absolute certainty. Grinning more to herself this time, Anna moved up, just enough to kiss Elsa's big toe. Then, moaning, she took it inside her mouth.

The reaction was instantaneous. Elsa jerked, a squeal erupting from her mouth. Luckily Anna had a hold of her ankle, otherwise she may have been kicked across the room. Once Elsa had calmed down – as much as was possible – she did it again.

"Tori, that's so… grody…" Anna nearly lost it at the use of the dated word. However, she managed to get the toe out of her mouth before she turned aside to grin at nothing. "If I'd known this was all you wanted, I would have just stuck my feet in a couple of the presents under the tree and worn them as shoes."

Unable to stop herself now, Anna giggled, "Oh, I want way more than this, but… I don't mind starting here. Besides, it sounds like you're into it."

"Oh, I am not. Just because you got me off with those he-e-EELS-!" Elsa wasn't able to finish her sentence with a tongue slithering between two of her toes. "God, that feels so wrong!"

Anna didn't reply, and Elsa didn't speak again. Not for the next minute and change while Anna kept it up, teasing the little toes with her mouth, trying to figure out if Elsa really did have a thing or if she was just reacting strongly to the stimulus. At the end of it… she still wasn't sure. Her mother's silence could have been a product of not knowing what to say about a moment such as this, and if it was, Anna couldn't blame her at all. Neither did she.

Once she began to kiss up the arch and along her ankle, she finally heard Elsa whisper, "Thank God…"

"Oh? Was that a little too much for you?"

"Well… no, not 'too much', but I didn't… I've never had more than a massage. And just a massage, not an extra-sexy one," she said preemptively, and Anna grinned against her skin. "But that was… interesting, for sure."

"Cool. Maybe I'll play with the other one later." She felt the shiver as she kissed her knee. "For now, I think I wanna try something else. It's been a while since you got to do it for me, and I think my turn is like, way past due."

A long hum of desire fell from somewhere above her, and Anna felt thighs shifting as she mounted them. Soft, creamy thighs… she wanted to spend a little time there first. Her fingertips gouged into the flesh, through the padding under the skin and into the muscles beneath; they were fairly strong. And the action was well worth it, given the hiss she heard from above. Not a displeased hiss, either.

Briefly, Anna cursed herself for having straddled both of them. It meant that there was no pressure between her own, and that was precisely where she needed it to be. At the same time… this wasn't really about her. Not at this moment.

Sat where she was, she had ample room to lean forward and, pressing their chests together, kiss Elsa solidly on her mouth. The action had the effect of highlighting something that, until that moment, Anna had known but not been acutely aware of. Elsa was naked, but she was not – in fact, the only clothing she had removed were her shoes, before she even fully realised where this was going. That needed to be rectified – eventually. For now…

Beginning at Elsa's throat, Anna began leaving wet, deep kisses. Before she could get too invested, Elsa was pushing her head away – just to get her to stop, not to discourage her completely.

"N-no marks," Elsa puffed out. "Can't… can't let Mom catch me tomorrow…"

Anna had to bite back a groan. Elsa had known what she was doing. "Okay," she breathed quietly. That was a shame. Something in the back of her head told her that Elsa being caught with hickeys on her neck – hickeys given to her by her daughter – was both an unwise idea, and really hot. But they were already doing something they had sworn not to do, under the thinnest of excuses; she wouldn't push.

So instead, she kissed further down. Onto her collarbone. Part of her had worried about what it would feel like, getting this close to her mother at this age. Completely different, though she had never been able to try before; even through clothes, she could tell that much. But it wasn't nearly as weird as she thought, being with an older woman. It was still soft skin, still sweet to kiss. In the back of her mind, she wanted to ask if she ever had a boob lift, but that seemed rude.

Then she reached the boob in question. The slope made Elsa's breath catch, and brushing the edge of the areola made her whimper. So Anna stopped and asked, "Is this alright? Can I try…?"

"Yeah," she whispered softly. A moment later, when the lips met the nipple itself, she hissed, "Ah! Ohhhh, Tori… mmm…"

"Louder," Anna found herself whispering. She bit her lip immediately afterwards – that was a weird request and not something Elsa needed to know Anna wanted. But the older woman had heard enough to reach a hand down to cup Anna's face.

"What was that?" she asked, and Anna imagined that she had such care in her expression. Even blind, it was impossible not to respond.

"I um… I want you to be louder," she said, going against her own wishes by progressively getting quieter and quieter. Even Elsa was silent for a moment, just stroking Anna's cheeks. When she did speak, it was a complete surprise.

"Make me."

Oh, it was on. Grinning, Anna didn't bother to waste any more time. Except now, it seemed that Elsa was purposely trying to hold back her cries. Even as Anna kissed at one nipple, fingers rolling the peak of the other, the only thing Elsa did was squirm and let out a few breathless pants. Not good enough.

So teeth came into play. They closed very gently around the peak and pressed in, just enough, before withdrawing so her tongue could swirl around it. That time she could hear a moan thrumming deep within Elsa's throat. Still, Anna wanted more, but that would do for the time being; she was wearing her down.

An odd thought came to her as she switched sides, feeling how slick the first peak was now that she had already devoured it. This definitely wasn't the first time she had done this… just the first time in nearly eighteen years. It was almost enough to make her stop, thinking something so unwelcome and awkward, but she pushed through and kept up her gentle kneading of tongue and lips.

Only once her other hand gripped a little harder did Elsa lose her control of her voice and let out a little "Ah!" that was so sweet Anna almost stopped to smile up at her. But she couldn't see her face, anyway, and Elsa couldn't see hers. She did pull away after a few more seconds, leaving a gentler kiss.

"You sound so good. I just want more of that, Elsa." Both of her hands gripped hard, and Elsa groaned, unable to resist anymore. "There… that's it."

"Tori!" she panted, writhing beneath her. The ample breasts felt wonderful in her hands, and she wanted to keep playing with them forever. "Shit! I'm so hot right now!"

Instant ladyboner. "Bet you are. And I bet…" Her lips grazed down along her stomach, kissing over and over. "When I get down there…" Each motion made Elsa shiver, made the muscles beneath clench and release. "I'll smell something besides Baby Soft."

There was something akin to a strangled groan, and Anna found her own thighs clenching. God, she'd never needed anyone quite the way she needed Elsa right now. It was strange. She was desperate for this; desperate to taste Elsa. To feel her, the way Elsa felt her. But at the same time, that meant it would come to an end at some point, and that was honestly the last thing that Anna wanted.

But then Elsa groaned, long and loud and clear, and Anna was helpless to stop herself as she pressed a deep kiss into a clean belly button. Yet more helpless to stop herself from kissing even further down, reaching a thatch of soft hair and an unmistakable aroma.

"Mmm definitely not Baby Soft," Anna hummed. Oh God this was happening. It was happening and she wasn't sure if she was ready.

"Tori, are you sure you want to?" Elsa breathed, an odd urgency in her voice mingling with the arousal. "Because… if any part of you isn't sure…"

Anna swallowed to give herself time to think. Not that it mattered, since Elsa probably couldn't see or hear her doing it. But she had already done all of her thinking. Even seconds ago, she had been contemplating it, and she didn't feel it was all that necessary anymore.

"I want you," she said very simply. "Have been since you got me alone in the car - before that, if I'm really honest with myself. And…" A little kiss to her inner thigh, a kiss so very close to the source of all the heat she could feel on her cheek. "If you're not going to stop me… then that's all there is to it, Elsa."

And she waited. Perfectly still.

"Y-yes. Please, Tori… please? I want you so bad…"

The begging surprised her, and caused her lower regions to clench again. A wet gush. Part of her wanted to ask her to do it again, but the rest of her was already kissing closer. "Love you," she breathed onto soft petals. Another kiss…

And this kiss was wetter, tangier, sweeter. Familiar, because now that she and Punz had been together, she knew exactly what that taste was like. Her mother was different than her classmate, of course, but no less sharp and curious to her lips. Only the one kiss, and she already could tell she wanted more.

And Elsa seemed to agree. Because she was already gasping out her name – her other name – arching her back, writhing under her touch.

The whole thing should have been disgusting. It should have made Anna burn with shame – to run away and become sick, much the same way Punz had done when she first found out. But it didn't. Anna just delved deeper, collecting Elsa's wetness on her tongue, committing the taste and scent and the feeling of those velvety petals to memory. Her own hips rolled very slightly, against nothing at all. Without even looking, Anna knew her underwear would be ruined – if not at least rather heavily soaked.

There was only one thing that could make this moment better – and it wasn't to have the lights on, though that wasn't to say Anna didn't want that. No, the only thing that could make this moment better would be… for Elsa to use her real name. But she knew she couldn't ask for that. Not tonight, when they were playing.

"Tori!" she gasped again, and meant it. Anna felt a pang. It wasn't to be. Not because Elsa was inconsiderate, or because she was selfless… no. That was how Elsa had been thinking of her one true love for some twenty-seven years. Who was she to demand she throw all that away?

"Yes, Elsa?" she said as she pulled away briefly, still leaving light kisses. Each one made her mother shiver. A heel grazed up and down her back through her shirt. This was beyond overdue.

"Mmm… oh, you're so good… I'm way ready."

"Is there anything you want next?" she offered. Maybe her mother wanted fingers more than lips. This was the first time she had a chance to find out.

"No. Tori, this is your present. From me to you. I'd love anything you wanted to do right now."

Oddly, against her own expectations, Anna felt her eyes prick with tears. Nobody should be allowed to be so sweet and thoughtful as her mother had become. Even if she had helped make her that way, it was still mostly Elsa being Elsa. Maybe that was the one way she could truly have shown gratitude to her for birthing her in the first place. Because in a way, due to one plutonium-related accident…

They had both created each other.

With no further hesitation, Anna fell to devouring her mother's sweetness with renewed vigour, lips and tongue finding an energy she didn't think they could possess. Elsa responded immediately and loudly, rolling her hips up to meet the touch, moans mixing with shrieks, words mixing with exclamations. Anna felt more wetness rushing to replace what she had lapped up and felt her heart skip over a beat, knowing that she must be doing something right.

Undeniable proof came about thirty seconds later, at the same moment Elsa did. Thick thighs clenched around Anna's head as Elsa's hips rolled jerkily. Each spasm was accompanied by a cry, growing slowly more and more high-pitched and desperate as she rode through her orgasm.

Anna honestly couldn't think of a time she had ever felt prouder of herself. At least… not this kind of pride. Her tongue began to slow as Elsa came down, nursing aftershocks and still quivering.

The first thing Elsa did after she had regained control of herself was to curl her hand in Anna's hair and whisper, in a quiet way that seemed almost broken, "Tori… please…"

This was a different kind of 'please', though. Anna sensed what she meant, so with only the slightest amount of hesitation at having to move, she began to kiss her way up Elsa's body. Her destination was to take Elsa's lips once more, but who said she couldn't also enjoy the journey?

Once she reached Elsa's neck, her hands on the soft chest and fondling as she continued to worship the sweet body below her, she heard her whisper, "What… would you like now?"

"Just this," Anna assured her. She had a feeling her mother wanted to know if she needed the favour returned, but she wasn't all that worried about that yet; she was still having fun just romping on the playground that had been so long denied her.

"Really? You don't want… more?" Her hands tugged at the hem of Anna's shirt, but in a way that showed she wasn't trying very hard to remove it. Yet.

After barely a moment's thought, she smiled and kissed her mother's chin. "Nah. I mean… maybe a little, but I can wait until we… move in together." She hoped that would say what needed saying, but keep up their pretence that they were just two random girls in the 80s.

"Oh." Clearing her throat, the hands began to move down to Anna's behind, only caressing lightly. "Well… I could do what you did for me on our last date."

"Rub me raw with your shoe?"

Laughing, Elsa leaned up to kiss her cheek. "Yeah, if you really wanted that. Easy enough to do. But what I meant was…"

Another hand looped around to push into Anna's sex very slightly from the outside of her jeans. Her breath caught, and she held very still; it felt so good. Now she definitely understood what her mother meant.

Part of Anna almost wanted to refuse her – a very small part. She wanted to just be with Elsa in this moment – and very briefly, she wanted to rebuff her the way she had been rebuffed, but that thought didn't hang around long because then Elsa pressed her hand in again and Anna realised how stupid she would be to refuse. So instead she let out a little moan, just loud and long enough to let Elsa know she was doing something very, very right. Suddenly, her clothes were suffocating, her jeans too tight and yet not quite tight enough.

Should they? She had tugged at her shirt, but Anna still had a bra on. Did Elsa want to feel more? Now that she knew who Anna was – now that Tori was her little girl, the one she had birthed and raised – it changed the game from how things had been in 1985. Plus, Elsa had never, even in all their slip-ups, given the impression that she wanted to see Anna. Perhaps the blindfold was an out – a way of giving Anna the chance not to have to see her in return.

"Only… only if you want to…" Anna said softly. Maybe just fingers, that would be okay. Or maybe Elsa had taken her suggestion seriously and she would have to get off on a shoe. There were worse ways to go.

There came no response. Elsa continued to rub at her through the denim, and Anna couldn't pretend that it wasn't just as inflaming as when she had gone down on her before, or when Punz- no. No, she wouldn't think of her girlfriend right now, just as she tried not to think of Elsa when she was with her. It was only right to give them both separate attention.

It only took a few minutes for her to feel her orgasm chomping at the bit to explode from inside her body. It felt like no time at all. Sometime during all that fuss, she had been rolled onto her side and Elsa began to kiss at her exposed throat, helping to coax her along. That was as bold as she had ever been. Even so, no attempt to breach her waistband. Anna had debated asking for it flat out, but… this was alright for now. It was more than alright.

"Elsa!" she gasped throatily, writhing and feeling her spine kink. "I'm… almost there!"

"Let it all go for me," she urged her. "Come for me, I need to hear it again."

Something about her voice was really doing it for her. Both soothing like a mother's and sultry like a lover's; comfort mixed with passion. Maybe that was the whole appeal of this arrangement, but Anna didn't want to psychoanalyse. She just wanted release.

"Keep… talking dirty!" she urged her.

"Oh? You like hearing me, Tori?" The fingers pressed in yet harder, moved yet faster. "You're so wet for me. I can practically feel it through your jeans. How long have you been aching for me to touch you? Begging for this?"

Holy shit, her mother was such a Dommy. Anna tried to respond, but all that came out was a throaty moan and something that was like a word transforming into a whimper. So close!

Elsa didn't seem fazed. She just kept murmuring in Anna's ear as she nibbled at the earlobe; Anna couldn't even understand what she was saying half the time, but it didn't matter. With the blindfold, it could have been anyone building up her orgasm. Even the smell of the perfume was less potent now, drowned out by the scent of their activities, by Anna's Elsa-stained lips.

But her voice made it undeniable who was bringing Anna to such heights. The physical sensations weren't better or worse than Punz – it was just the fact that this was something she'd been craving for… well, for thirty years, really. At least to Elsa – and it certainly felt like it to Anna.

By the time it hit, she wasn't even aware of her impending orgasm. Her mind was almost completely blank, eyes squeezed shut beneath the blindfold. Her hips rolled, shifting very slightly against the hardness of Elsa's hand, and if she had room to think it would have been a wish that she were naked too. She wanted to feel Elsa all over. For now, the sound would suffice. It would have to.

When she finally tipped over the edge, it was a whole-body affair, sudden and strong. Her panties were most definitely soaked, if not her jeans too as she came, clawing at the back of Elsa's back, holding her as close as possible.

Somewhere in all of Elsa's sweet mutterings, she heard the words "I love you" but she almost more felt than heard them. Everything was so powerful. Her Elsa was so powerful, and everything she needed.

As she dwindled down from her heights, completely spent but so happy that she could die then and there and have no regrets, she felt a gentle kiss against her temple. Then the voice she loved so much asked, "How was it?"

"Good, Elsa… it was… so good…" Licking her lips, she turned and kissed her cheek. "I… wow, I'm really glad we did that."

"I hope so. Merry Boxing Day."

Snorting, Anna wrapped her arms tightly around Elsa's back and snuggled in close. Then she whispered back, "Merry Boxing Day, I guess. Thank you. Um… man, I just don't… this was so much more than I imagined."

"You really don't have any regrets? I hope not, but if you did, it would be understandable. But I wanted to give you this; one last heat wave before we settle in for the long winter."

So she did mean it to be exactly what Anna had surmised. Last fling. From now on, Elsa didn't intend for them to do anything more until she graduated. And that was alright. She would be upset tomorrow, but in the present, she was just glad she got one more encounter than she had been expecting to enjoy.

Swallowing, she took a gamble. "Regrets? Only one…" Elsa stilled but didn't say anything, waiting patiently for Anna to speak. "I regret not being able to watch you."

It seemed that Elsa wasn't expecting that. She inhaled softly before moving very slowly to kiss Anna. It wasn't an answer, but then, Anna hadn't asked a question. The kiss was soft and languorous, gently teasing at Anna's mouth. There was no urgency; nothing to suggest that Elsa wanted to go again, as it were. It felt the same as it had back in 1985, except now Elsa had thirty years of experience behind her. This kiss felt raw, laced with a similar kind of need and a similar kind of want. It seemed that time hadn't changed that aspect.

She didn't want this night to end. It was inevitable, but perhaps she could hold it off for a while.

"Can… can you stay here tonight?" she asked Elsa softly when the other woman finally left her mouth and began leaving small kisses at Anna's throat. Once more, Elsa grew still. Perhaps she was waiting on something more, because she didn't answer immediately. When it became obvious that Anna was waiting for her to say something, she drew back very slightly.

"Sorry, I gotta split. But maybe someone else can come back to stay with you?"

At first, Anna was confused. Was she supposed to be calling Punz or something? But then she finally got it: Elsa meant she would leave and come back as Mom. Letting out a breath of relief that she wasn't going to be leaving permanently, she smiled to herself for a moment.

"Yeah. Yeah, that'd be great. Um… as long as she doesn't take too long getting here."

"She probably has to change clothes," Elsa giggled, kissing her cheek again before she stopped entirely. "But… I've had a rad time with you tonight, Tori."

Tears stung her eyes, and she hated herself for that. She wanted to be happy! And she was, even if it was a bittersweet happiness. "Me, too."

So Elsa gave her one more last kiss, heated but fleeting, before slipping out of the room. The temptation was severely high to peel her mask off to catch even the vaguest glimpse of her plump rear as it slipped out, but she dug her teeth into her lip and resisted until she heard the door shut.

Then she got up and took off the mask. The room was actually very dark, but not totally so; if she had ever taken it off prematurely, she would have been able to see the vaguest outline of her mother there. She was able to pick her way through to her light switch and throw it on…

And saw her mother had taped flattened cardboard boxes over the windows. A grin broke out across her face as she shook her head. Even though they both got a lot out of the encounter, she still was very touched that she had gone to such lengths to make sure they could both come away from it with minimal regrets.

The tears finally came then, but they were joyful ones. "Big stinker," she muttered with a sniffle and a smile as she started trying to figure out how to un-shutter her room.

She already had one of the boxes down by the time a knock came at the door. When she said, "Yeah?" Elsa came in, wearing her usual nightgown and a robe over the top of it. Her face was still a little flushed, but she was smiling and calm.

There was a moment that Anna didn't know what to do. She wanted to take a step forward and hug her mother. Or rather, she wanted to be held herself. It wasn't super late, but she felt exhausted anyway, and there wasn't anything in the world that sounded better than falling asleep wrapped in Elsa's arms.

Then she moved, just a little, and became very aware of the fact that she was still in her clothes from the day, and they were really… not fit to sleep in anymore.

"E- Mom…" Hands clasped together, Anna felt very small under Elsa's watchful eyes and approving smile. It wasn't a bad kind of small; it was the kind of small that had her feeling very open and naked – wanting to please Elsa so bad that she couldn't bear to make her upset. She wanted Elsa to approach her and hold her tight. Actually, it was swiftly becoming less of a want and more of a need as her legs began feeling weak and her arms began trembling.

Elsa must have noticed because within seconds she was at Anna's side, pulling her into a tight embrace. There was nothing but love – and most of it simply familial – emanating from Elsa, and Anna wanted to say something. To thank her, to tell her she loved her. Instead, the only thing she could force out was, "I'm going to miss you so much…"

The hands on her back clenched very briefly. "Oh, Anna…" There was a deep sigh before she nuzzled into the side of her head. "I'm right here, alright? Right here next to you. Everything's fine."

Anna took more than a moment or two to collect herself before she whispered, "Love you."

"Love you, too. Now then, why don't you get changed into your jammies and we'll curl up with some cocoa and television?" As if reading Anna's mind, she then added in a quieter mutter, "JUST cocoa and television."

"Okay, okay," she snorted. "And come on, I wasn't going to say we do anything else, Mom. Geez."

Anna changed while Elsa made their cocoa, then joined her on the couch to enjoy the rest of Boxing Day. As far as she was concerned, it was the best one she ever had, or ever would have. Mostly thanks to the best present ever.

Chuckling slightly, Anna tried to think of the best way to answer that. In the end, she just said, "Yeah, sleeping. But I won't be long, and then we can all discuss Christmas."

"Yeah, after I pee. Or I guess I could just use Mom and Dad's bathroom. Have fun in there!"

As she listened to the footfalls receding, Anna mouthed "have fun?" to herself. That was pretty funny. Honestly, it was still bizarre that her sister wasn't trying to take her head off at every available opportunity. Then she shook her head and concentrated on the task at hand.

Jennifer was awake by the time she returned to the bedroom, feeling much better. "Hey hey," she greeted her. The blinds were still drawn and her girl was merely sitting up in the bed, hair a fuzzy mess. She still looked a little sleepy, but there was a happy smile on her face.

"Hey," she replied. "I heard voices. Is your sister here?"

Anna nodded. She probably should go out and see her family, but at the same time, she kind of just wanted to stay here with Punz. And Wendy had told her to have fun…

"You want to go out and hang with the family, or… stay in for a little bit?" But she barely had time to paw her way across the bed to her girlfriend's side before she was giggling and shoving her away.

"Noooo, no! Cut that out, it's gonna seem weird if we're in here too long…" But she did let Anna kiss her cheeks a few times, grinning back at her. "Stop being so sweet."

"Never."

"Okay, stop holding me hostage in your bedroom, then. We're on winter break! Let's go hang with your fam for a little while, then like… break out the Wii or something."

Nodding, she hugged her close, a lot more familial than frisky this time. "Deal."

So they got dressed and joined the family. Elsa and Wendy were sitting at the kitchen table, talking about something as they entered. There was a tin of Danish butter cookies on the table, and Anna wasn't shy about helping herself. At least she remembered to grab one for Jennifer.

"Ahh, finally awake?" Elsa asked, sipping her tea. "I thought you two would sleep the day away completely!"

Anna shrugged, and Punz smiled shyly. "How's Peter?" she asked Wendy.

That was enough to send Anna's sister into a long whinge about the work hours and no time to be together but "maybe he's going to ask me to marry him? At some point?" She had honestly thought she was over being surprised, but then Anna hadn't seen Wendy and Jennifer talk to each other one-on-one in this universe. In her old home, there had been barely-concealed contempt from Wendy and unwillingness to engage from Punz.

But here, they actually seemed like they… knew each other. Maybe liked each other. This version of Punz probably knew more about Wendy than Anna did – in any universe.

Over the next hour and change, they discussed Christmas plans in detail. Wendy and John would be joining them for Christmas Day lunch-through-dinner, but John wanted to get back to work the next day, Kristoff had to fly out so he could be in New York for something, and Wendy was going to spend Boxing Day with Peter. She did promise they could go after-Christmas shopping on the 27th or 28th, though. Elsa affirmed all of these plans, and asked if they wanted to do anything on Christmas Eve, which Wendy said she wouldn't mind but John was busy. Kristoff, who was already meeting with his agent as they spoke, replied via a brief text that he was in for the eve.

After that, they all broke apart to get ready for their days. Wendy practically ran out the door, but not before giving everyone hugs – even Jennifer. It was sweet, and Anna felt her heart bursting with happiness that this was her life now. That things had taken such a positive turn despite – or because of – her horrible fuckups with time travel.

"I'm glad you're here," she finally told Jennifer once Elsa had gone off to shower and change, as she was going to meet a couple of friends for lunch.

"Here to help with Christmas plans? Or like, in general?"

Rolling her eyes, she came up behind her where she stood at the sink, rinsing off her dishes. "In general. And you don't have to do that, you're a guest."

"No, I'm family. Kinda. So I can at least do this." Anna let her after that, only staying nearby and kissing her neck now and then. "Mmm… or I can if you quit distracting me, geez."

"Hmm maybe I'm not distracting you from the dishes," Anna said, wrapping her arms around Punz's middle and nibbling lightly on her shoulder. "Maybe the dishes are distracting you from me."

Punz relaxed against her, hands going still in the water as Anna kept kissing her shoulder, and along up the side of her throat. It was gentle and smooth and didn't have to lead to anywhere – though both girls knew it probably would. Anna had been very forward over the last day, and it wasn't the kind of thing she could – or even wanted to – just turn off.

It was still probably for the best that, only a few minutes later, they heard the clack-clack of a semi-formal pair of heels. Anna moved away fast enough that Elsa couldn't possibly have seen them, and yet just like the previous day, she still seemed to know exactly what had been going on. This time, though, she didn't mention it – at least not explicitly.

"Now girls," she began. She looked very unimpressed, but there was still some laughter in her eyes that belied how she really felt. "I'll be gone a couple of hours at least. Your father is meeting me because we have a little bit of shopping to do, so we probably won't be home until late this afternoon." Levelling a very pointed look at Anna, she continued. "I can't say, 'don't do anything I wouldn't do', but…"

Anna grinned. "It'll be fine. No house-burning or time-travel, I swear."

"I'll make sure she behaves, Mrs McFly," Punz piped up.

At that, Elsa smiled. "I believe you, Miss Punzel. Now, I'll see you both later." And with that, she made her way towards the front door. She was almost there, too, when she turned back. Poking her head just inside the kitchen, she added, "And remember what I said yesterday. If you have to… engage in extracurriculars, please do it on something that's easily washed."

Neither Anna nor Punz had anything to say to that, so they just stayed silent until the front door had closed and the sound of the car starting filtered in through the walls.

"Oh my GOD," Anna finally burst out with a fit of giggles. They both shared those for a minute or two until they were able to breathe again.

"Your mom… is awesome," Punz said simply as she wiped her eyes. "Ow- ow, I still had soap on- shit!"

They took time away from their amusement at the whole situation to quickly rinse the soap out of her eyes with some water, Anna smiling in mingling humour and pity the whole while. Then they shared a kiss before getting a couple of sodas and returning to the couch.

They only made it through one episode of some sitcom that happened to be on TV before they were making out again. This time, it was Punz who first slipped a hand up her shirt, and Anna found herself on the receiving end of some groping and teasing that she was very happy about.

"We gotta stop letting this happen on the couch," she panted as she gripped into Punz's hair, drawing her in closer.

"Then stop being so cute on the couch, okay? Gosh…" Her lips descended to nuzzle up against Anna's stomach as the tee was pushed up just enough to reveal it. "Mmm… can I have more?"

"Fuck yes."

The shirt was pushed up and off, revealing Anna's chest to the air. Instantly, she felt her already-stiff peaks stiffening more, but didn't have much of a chance to look before lips were wrapping around one of them and a tongue flicking back and forth, pulling a loud moan from her throat.

God she was so ready for this. And Punz seemed so intent on her task – like it deserved every single ounce of her attention. Unbidden, Anna's hips began to jerk, grinding against whatever part of her girlfriend she could feel.

There was something sexy about being shirtless on a couch with your girlfriend nibbling your nipples, she ended up thinking to herself. But then… Elsa had made a point of telling them to keep it clean in the living areas. On the other hand, what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them. What to do?

"Maybe we should move…" she ended up suggesting. "Be good girls or whatever."

Punz took the time between kissing across to the other breast to say, "Hmm, we could…"

She was not helping. "Wow," Anna giggled as she pushed at Jennifer's shoulders. When she didn't stop at all, she rolled her eyes. "Just… sit back for a second, you animal!" When she did, Anna leaned forward-

And picked her up. Punz let out a startled "HEY!" as she was swept up into the air, then a string of delighted giggles as she was carried all the way into the bedroom.

                                          ~ o ~

The following hour was a sweaty one, but they both decided it was well worth the perspiration. After that, they showered off – separately, even if showering together was a fairly exciting proposition – and started their leisurely day by eating a light lunch, and then calling the rest of the band for practice. They had promised they would at least try to get in a little time for the music before one of them left the country.

Merida only lived a few streets over, so instead of driving they decided to walk. It was a nice day out, and only early. Of course they were out-of-breath and sweating by the time they arrived, but Mrs Dun Broch was an absolutely wonderful lady who was more than willing to get them a glass of water while they caught their breath. Merida thought it was hilarious.

"Why did ye no' jes drive?" she asked. Punz shrugged, because it seemed to be about the only thing she could do. Anna tried to answer verbally and failed miserably. "It's flat! There are nay hills in Dell Valley!"

Anna made a pathetic motion with her hand. "Just because… you're really… sporty…" she gasped out.

"Hey, this is… great exercise," Punz panted as they chugged down water. "And… moving kept us warm!"

"Not as if this really counts as a winter," she chortled, shaking her head as she left them to it. "Ring us if ye need more, ken?"

Once gone, Jane smiled over at the two of them. "You know, I'm half-tempted to say you walked over here purely to give an excuse for why you're so sweaty."

"Shut up," Anna laughed as she wiped her mouth clear of the water, finally feeling a little more like herself. "But… I mean, you're wrong, but you're not wrong."

Jane merely lifted an eyebrow at the two of them. At least they had the good grace to blush.

After that, though – being that they had mostly recovered – it was time to start practicing. Anna felt about as rusty as a fifty-year-old nail, and she was a little unfamiliar with a couple of songs. Apparently this version of her had a greater appreciation for classic rock, though the favourite by far seemed to be Guns N Roses. She could have laughed, if the thought wasn't also so incredibly sad.

"You're pretty rusty," Jane commented. "I thought you liked 'Magic Man' more than this."

"Okay, okay! God, stop busting my balls. I swear I'll get it."

And she did. All throughout practice, she saw Punz giving her knowing looks when she would mess up, or forget something, or make a wrong assumption. Funny how so much of her life could be the same, and so much was different. But she was starting to get the hang of playing off the gaps in her memory by now.

Later, when Jane and Merida were going over a tricky part on their own, Punz whispered, "We can fix this later."

"What?"

"You know… the songs you don't remember how to play. Because of stuff. We'll go over it on our own and I'll get you caught up."

"Oh… yeah, that'd be great, Punz. Sorry." Now she felt a little ashamed of letting her down, but the small hug helped allay that shame, so she tried not to beat herself up too much about it. After all, it wasn't really her fault.

At the same time, though, she knew she was letting the rest of the band down. She had been hoping to make it a good last practise for Merida, but after a couple of hours she just felt like shit. It didn't feel like she was getting any better, and it was getting harder and harder to pretend to know what she was supposed to. Inside jokes were the worst because she wasn't on the inside. Not with this particular version of her friends.

"Maybe we should take a break," Jane eventually suggested. She was looking at Anna as she said it, and the implication was clear. Angry at them, and at herself, Anna ripped the guitar strap over her head and practically threw the instrument down. Suddenly, she just really wanted to be alone.

"Need to pee," she muttered, heading for the bathroom. It felt like she hadn't had a chance to just… be lately. There was always someone around, and while they were all people she loved, the same feeling of not quite fitting in never really went away.

Except for when she was alone with Punz.

Quickly, she finished up her business, washing her hands before exiting. She felt a little better – enough to mumble a small, "Sorry, guys… guess my head's just not in the game today." Her friends were quick to encourage her, telling her they didn't mind, that it was all fine and maybe next time it would go a little smoother. Not that she felt great. Just less bad. For the time being, she would take it and run with it.

After another couple hours of practice, in which Anna decided to try teaching them some songs she did know and they didn't, she was able to take a little of her self-respect and confidence back. Then they decided to knock off for the day so everybody could have dinner with their families. Punz elected to do the same, telling Anna that she would see her later.

Dinner with Kristoff and Elsa was nice, and uncomplicated. Anna brought up some of her concerts about memory gaps, and they honestly tried to form a real plan to help her.

"Anytime you notice a difference like that, maybe you could write it down," her father recommended. "Ask one of us, or Jennifer. But that way, you have a running list of things somewhere instead of just trying to keep it all straight in your head."

That was a good idea, and Anna really was willing to try. Now more than ever, because if Elsa was going to be leaving soon after graduation, then she really had limited time to get her life in order.

Despite the concerns, though, Anna found herself relaxing as the evening grew longer. It was nothing she couldn't put off for a week or two. She would have to tell Punz of the plan, but that wasn't overly concerning. For now, the best she could do was enjoy every moment spent with Elsa, and appreciate that they even had a plan to make it permanent.

One that would hopefully work.

                                          ~ o ~

So life went on for the following week and change. Without classes hanging over their heads, Anna, Punz, and Jane could spend a lot more time relaxing. Even though Jane didn't tag along very often, it was still nice to have another friend around; helped give her a more rounded sense of normalcy.

Things between Anna and her mother were starting to even out, despite their many near-misses. Every few days, they would end up standing a little too close, or hugging a little too long, but at least they were getting to the point where they could laugh it off or otherwise keep from coming down too hard on themselves – or on each other. Elsa looked sadder about it than Anna did, but she wasn't torturing herself anymore. Just gently encouraging them to do something else.

Christmas Day went great. Jennifer came over in the afternoon and joined in on the family fun, singing a few songs, trying eggnog and hating it, and generally fitting in a lot better than a girlfriend of a girl could typically expect. While Peter did make an uncomfortable comment to the effect of "Did not expect that," he was pretty quick to adapt once Wendy elbowed him in the ribs. All else was gravy.

That night, Anna went to bed with a grin on her face. Though she did somewhat wish she could have asked Jennifer to stay the night, she went home for a late dinner with her own family and that was just fine. All in all, a great holiday.

The next morning, she and her girlfriend went for a quick trip to the shops, hoping for some after-Christmas deals. They did find a few small things but nothing that remarkable.

"God, this is hilarious," Punz was giggling as she held up a Spongebob innertube. "Can you imagine?"

Anna made a face, though there was a grin beneath it. "Eww! Put it away before you catch something!" It only made Punz laugh harder.

They had already spent most of their money on presents, so they couldn't have afforded much even if they wanted to blow more. It was mostly just a day to spend with the other, feeling… normal, for lack of a better word. Despite the self-imposed frugality, Anna would certainly characterise it as a success.

However, they couldn't spend all day together, much to their dismay, because the shops closed early and Punz had another holiday thing on for the other side of her family. She had offered to let Anna come, but Anna really couldn't think of a worse way to spend the holiday than with her girlfriend's family; a sad thought, but nevertheless true. At least Punz understood – after all, it wasn't really Anna who disliked her family, but her family who disliked Anna.

This meant that by four that afternoon, they had finished their window shopping and were heading off home. They did manage to find some already-reduced Christmas candy to share – and Punz had pointedly looked the other way when Anna found a nice-ish box of chocolates to give to Elsa, as well.

"So tomorrow, we hit the beach, right?" she was saying as they got to Jennifer's house. "Might be a little too chilly to swim, but we can still have fun on the boardwalk and stuff."

"Yep! All about that." Grabbing her half of the candy, she leaned over to give Anna a cheek-kiss. "See you then."

But as she pulled away, Anna grabbed the back of her neck to hold her still just long enough to take her lips. They kneaded together for a few seconds before breaking apart, a little more breathless than they had been before.

"Y-yeah," Anna whispered. "See you."

All the way home, a warm glow filled her stomach. Not only had she enjoyed a fantastic day with Punz, but now she was looking forward to an equally wonderful evening with her mother. Maybe they couldn't quite go as far as either of them wanted, and the sexual tension was ratcheting up through the roof, but she still loved every moment they got to spend together. Well worth the pain.

When she got home, the house was empty. Her mom's car was in the garage, though. While she was calling out "MOM?" in the living room, she spotted a very conspicuous box on the floor in the hall entranceway-

With a card that said "Merry Christmas Tori" perched on top. Impossible to miss.

"Tori" was getting a present, was she? Interesting. That was definitely Elsa's handwriting. Maybe it was slightly different than it had been in her previous reality, but she had seen her mother sign checks and things since then. Setting her bags down on the dining room table, she picked them up and read the inside of the card - and it definitely didn't just say "Love, Mom" under some mediocre greeting card company poetry.

'Unlock the door

Put this on and keep it on

Lock the door behind you

Past names only'

What crazy game was her mother playing? She was still puzzled when she opened the box… but she was beginning to understand when all she saw inside was a short, thin dowel rod and a red silk blindfold. The first was something Anna used to stick into the doorknob of any of the inside doors of their house; she had done that often when she was small, unlocking her parents' bedroom, usually to look for her own birthday presents or just because she could. A makeshift skeleton key that had gotten her in trouble dozens of times. At least that hadn't changed when she messed with the timeline.

The second gift… had a very specific connotation. Still, she trusted her mother and she didn't want to get ahead of herself, so with only a very small amount of hesitation, she swallowed thickly and headed for the hallway.

Unlock the door. Which one? Wait, that was a stupid question – it wouldn't be the master bedroom. Elsa had already made her feelings on that clear. There was only one other room to choose.

Sure enough, her bedroom door was closed, unlike the way she had left it that morning. Reaching for the doorknob, she inserted the dowel for the first time in years – by the time she had grown up, she realised a locked door usually hid things she didn't really want to face – but finally she got it open.

Sliding inside, she remembered the second and third instructions: put this on, and lock the door. Not that she could see much anyway with the lights off. Still, she did as she was bid, knotting the fabric behind her head before fumbling around completely blind for the lock and listening for the familiar click.

Only then did she call into the darkened room, "Elsa…?"

"Tori." It was a soft, warm greeting – an acknowledgement with promises. "You're finally home."

CHAPTER SEVEN

From then until Thanksgiving, the McFlys avoided any serious slip-ups. There were several near misses, like a hug that went on for just a little long, or walking in on each other dressing and the blush giving away exactly what they were thinking. But they managed to keep things kosher.

They had enjoyed a traditional dinner of turkey and stuffing, all the trimmings, and were just sitting down to pumpkin pie when Anna felt the call of nature. She went to answer it and returned shortly thereafter to the entire table laughing.

"What did I miss?" she half-laughed, not quite in on the fun enough to really be feeling it yet.

"Oh, your mother was just telling us this story about when you were little," Jennifer told her, wiping her eyes. "It's no big deal."

Wendy, however, seemed to have a different opinion. "It's a big deal! She had the diaper on her head and the hat on her…"

And the entire family lost it again, Jennifer included. Perhaps the memory was funnier for them, because all Anna could really remember was being scolded to the point of tears. It must have been just after her mother had truly begun drinking; she still smelled of wine at that stage, and not the harsher scent of a stronger liquor that became so commonplace eventually.

But everyone else was laughing, so it must have been funny. Trying to grin and knowing it didn't reach her eyes, Anna gave a half-hearted chuckle. "Heh, yeah…" She slid back into her seat and began poking at her pie. Between already being stuffed with turkey and her sudden dip in mood, she wasn't really hungry anymore.

There was a moment where she saw Elsa had realised that something was off. A halting of her laughter, a slight sharpening of her eyes. But she was the only one who noticed. An instant later, Kristoff bowled on ahead.

"So we had her sing the song again! And the whole time, Elsa's snapping Polaroids, and I'm trying to…" There he had to slap the table and laugh for a moment, and nobody else picked up the rest of the story. That was certainly different; Anna couldn't remember it being funny to her mother in her own past.

"That was the best," John was laughing, slapping the table as well. His father's son. "Too bad she was too little to remember."

Holding up a finger, Wendy had to swallow hard before she could speak again. "I remember her calling you 'Little Upside-Down Anna' for a while after that!"

"Oh, it wasn't done out of malice," Elsa chuckled. She clearly looked a little less comfortable laughing at Anna's expense now that she had seen her reaction to it. "Besides, that hat looked cute on her li'l tushie."

Of course, that only redoubled the gales. Anna was beginning to see that this was clearly a story about a different version of Anna, and that this version of Elsa had been a lot more forgiving. She tried to smile wider, roll her eyes.

"Well, you always did like my tushie," she fired back without thinking. Of course, to most of the table it sounded innocent enough, but she caught the way Elsa's face went pale. Immediately, she felt terrible, but she tried to disguise it by laughing along with the rest of the family.

"Don't be crude," Elsa finally reprimanded her when the laughter died down enough that she could be heard. But she was smiling and shaking her head by then. "We are at the dinner table, you know."

So she gave a good-natured "Alright, alright," as they all calmed down a little. That was a pretty narrow escape; she hadn't meant to say something flirty. It just came out.

The dinner couldn't end soon enough after that. When Elsa began packing up the plates, she nudged Anna on the shoulder as she came around. "Come on, you can help clean up."

"Oh, Mom, I'll help-" Wendy piped up, though Elsa quickly shot her down.

"It's fine, dear," she said with a smile. "I'm sure your sister and I can handle it." Naturally, she didn't have to argue too hard to convince Wendy to drop it.

The kitchen was by no means private, but it wasn't long before the table was almost rocking with laughter once more. So when Anna whispered, "I'm so sorry, Mom," she was confident no one overheard her.

"You got defensive," Elsa sighed as they began to get the dishes squared away. "I get it. Not really why, but I could tell you were really… upset."

"Let's just say the diaper incident didn't end well in my timeline. Um… and yeah, I dunno, I was just trying to laugh it off, and I wasn't thinking. I feel dumb."

"I see… timeline troubles again." Stopping to pet her arm, Elsa favoured her with a small smile. "It's alright. We just have to be more careful. But… it's been going very well up until tonight, so I don't think this is anything to worry too much about."

Nodding, Anna resumed cleaning and listened to the chatter from the next room for a minute. As she dried off one of the pans that was too big and cumbersome for the dishwasher, she said, "Some days… I just feel like I'm gonna explode. This is taking forever, and it's barely been a month!"

"Oh, sweetheart." She walked over, drying off her hands on a dishtowel before she gripped her daughter's shoulders. "It's hard on me, too. But this is the right thing. The only fair thing."

"Is it hard on you? I mean… I know it's weird, asking now, just…" Now she felt even more ashamed, knowing that she was getting upset over nothing. "Sorry, nevermind that."

"We shouldn't discuss it now. But the short answer is, yes." Elsa kissed her on the forehead before she turned back toward the sink. Anna wanted to do more, to take her in her arms and ravage her neck, and a dozen things that were even worse than that. But she forced herself to remain calm and start putting away the gelatinous cranberry sauce that no one would likely finish.

About an hour later, while everyone was starting to relax and Kristoff, John, Wendy, and Jennifer were mostly focused on the football game, Elsa excused herself to her room. John asked if she was okay, and she assured him that she only needed to lie down for a moment.

After an appropriate ten or so minutes of buffer, Anna slipped away. However, instead of turning left into the bathroom, she kept going, all the way up to the master bedroom.

Elsa was there, sitting up near the pillows. For some reason, her words about this particular room being hers and Kristoff's rang through Anna's mind. That boundary was for the best. They really needed things to not get out of hand. Elsa probably wasn't lying when she said she needed to lie down. She looked very exhausted, in a way she hadn't earlier. She had actually looked really sort of… young earlier.

Was this what Anna did to her?

"Hey," she said softly. Usually she would knock on the door before entering – especially given their current circumstances – but at the same time, she wasn't sure she really wanted the family to know they were having a little rendezvous.

It didn't seem to matter this time anyway. Elsa looked up and offered a small smile. "Hey. Everything okay?"

Taking a step further in, Anna lifted her shoulders in a half-hearted shrug. "Yeah, I guess. Is- are you okay?"

"Yes, Anna," she said, though it sounded even more tired than before. "Just needed a break from the 'family fun'."

Taking a half-step closer, Anna rushed on, "I'm sorry, Mom. About that comment, a-and being a brat about everything… I'm probably not doing any better at proving that we should go through with the plan."

There was a brief silence as Elsa thought about that. Then she whispered, "Come sit." Anna obeyed, choosing a spot not too far away but also not too close. Her mother reached over and took up her hand. "Do you love me?"

"Of course."

"I love you, too. That's important to remember." Then she sighed. "Something else I try to remember, but forget sometimes, is that you're Tori. Not my Anna, the one I raised. Because you are in so many ways… but on the other hand, I think if you really were exactly the same Anna I raised, I wouldn't be interested in anything beyond just… mothering."

There was a very gentle laugh from Anna as she thought about that. "Same. Like, I'm not even trying to make you feel better; it's my old boozer mom who's just 'Mom' to me. She could never be 'Elsa' the way you are. But you look like her, and sound like her a little sometimes, so… weird moments."

"Exactly. It's just… a mess." When that was all she finished with, they both shared a bemused smile that didn't quite turn into laughter. "Anyway, sorry about what happened with that story. The daughter I had before she went back in time used to just laugh along with us when it came up."

"Is it dumb that I feel bad for replacing her? Like, I'm still me, and I did the best I could with a crappy situation, but… I almost wish… that I could give her back to you, and just show up like twenty years older and marry you, and adopt her, and…"

Unexpectedly, this was the moment that Elsa began to cry. At first, she thought she had said something wrong, but then she whispered, "That sounds wonderful. Ohhhh, I wish it were possible!"

Anna just had to hug her then. It didn't feel like an option, really. They sat there together for a while, until a loud cheer reminded Anna that the rest of her family was just down the hall. Despite being given their blessings, it still almost felt wrong to be doing this – despite how innocent it was – when Punz and her father were so closeby.

"I better go," she said softly. Elsa nodded.

"I think I'm going to stay here a while longer," she responded. "You enjoy the game."

Instead of returning to her seat, Anna ended up hovering behind everyone at the end of the hall. It meant that when they got up during half-time, they had no idea how long Anna had been standing there – which definitely worked in Anna's favour.

"Mom having a snooze?" Wendy asked, stepping towards the kitchen to get another drink. Anna shrugged.

"Sure."

Jennifer looked up at that. Wendy nodded with a sigh, deciding to let it go rather than pursue what would probably turn into an argument. John and Kristoff were too busy discussing the game. Once they all were preoccupied, Punz drew Anna down onto the couch.

"Not feeling like watching the game much anymore," she muttered.

"Whatever it is, everything's gonna be fine," Punz assured her with a slight smile. "Really. And we can talk about it after, if you want?"

Nodding, Anna gave her a little squeeze. Then they resigned themselves to watching the gridiron action and finishing up Thanksgiving. Eventually, Elsa did drift back in for the final quarter, and she looked much the same as usual; probably had just needed a little time to breathe.

But Anna wouldn't be forgetting the weight everything placed on her. Not now, and not ever.

                                                ~ o ~

A few days passed. Christmas was around the corner. Though perhaps a little early to be that worried about it, she and Jennifer went shopping, trying to find fun things for each other's families. It was hard, but Anna managed to pick up a cute shirt for her girlfriend while her back was turned. Much more importantly…

"What do you get for the mother who is also your side chick?" she sighed as they browsed through the department store.

"No idea," Jennifer snorted. They were both getting a little freer with talking about it by now; after all, it had been a part of their lives for a month now. "One of those 'World's Best Mom' mugs with a thong hidden inside?"

Immediately, she hissed, "PUNZ!" and got a little giggle for her trouble. As she had been doing a lot of lately, she started thinking about chord progressions and tricky rehearsals to block the image of her mother in a thong that had started forming immediately.

Jennifer grinned broadly. "You could buy me the thong, instead?"

"Not helping!" Anna argued, but there was no real malice in her tone. Even so, Punz lifted her arms to wrap around Anna's waist, pecking her on the lips.

"Real talk," she said after a moment. She hadn't let go of Anna, and it was really quite… possessive. Anna trusted that it wasn't because of the subject matter, but still… "For Christmas, do you and your mom… want some time? Together?" she added pointlessly.

"I–" Anna began, before stopping. It really wasn't just about her. "Nah. We're really… really trying to be good. And hey, only a few more months, right?" She tried to smile, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. Punz leaned forward to kiss her again, and Anna became aware of how they were swaying on the spot. She leaned her head on her girlfriend's shoulder momentarily, pressing a kiss below her ear. "C'mon. There's plenty more presents to get. How about we get your mom a cactus? I can even make a card! 'Hey, Mrs Punzel. This is for you to shove–'"

"HEY!" Jennifer cried, but she was smiling. "Be careful, or she'll make you go first." Anna stuck her tongue out petulantly before grinning and looping her arm through her girlfriend's.

"Fine, fine," she said. "Better stop dicking around, though – I did promise I'd be home for dinner. Did you want to… hang?"

"Not tonight; I have a thing. Supposed to scout this potential college." They both exchanged a groan. Every parent was beginning to do this kind of thing now that they were almost graduating. "Even though we're not meeting with the official people for awhile. Just… ugh."

Squeezing her a little tighter, she whispered, "Can't wait to say I'm banging a college girl." Punz's eyes rolled up into her head, and Anna nuzzled her neck again. "Anyway. If you can think of anything to get both a girlfriend and a mom, that looks like just a present for a mom, I'd love to know what it is."

"No idea. Perfume? Moms like that. Or jewellery, as long as it's not an engagement ring. Or a nipple ring."

Glaring and deciding to just ignore that last comment, she thought for a moment. Something she had said triggered a memory. Then she smiled a little wider.

"I know exactly what to get. But we're not gonna find it here." Before poor Jennifer knew what was happening, she was dragging her by the arm for the exit. "To the internet!"

                                                ~ o ~

It didn't take them long to get on one of their phones, look up Anna's idea, and make the purchase. The website guaranteed delivery within two weeks, so she jumped on it; wasn't very much, all in all. They didn't have a lot of money, but enough for this gift, which turned out to be just what the doctor ordered.

Then Anna dropped Punz off after they had a light dinner and promised to see her the next day. Feeling rather accomplished, she made her way home.

Elsa, contrary to every other time Anna seemed to have walked in the door, was not in the kitchen. She was actually in her pyjamas, a glass of red in one hand as she moved through the dining room and towards the back porch. Anna couldn't quite hide her distaste but she tried.

"How was your day, sweetheart?" Elsa asked when she noticed Anna. She put the glass down on the bench, and Anna was fairly happy to note that it seemed like she hadn't been drinking long. There was a mostly-full bottle of wine on the nearby table that Elsa was quick to pack away.

"Oh, y'know," Anna hedged. "Just did some Christmas shopping…"

Elsa nodded. "Find anything good?" Anna shrugged.

"A few things. I've still got time to find something for John and Wendy, but I think I'll need your help with that."

Elsa smiled at that. "Well, I'm more than happy to help. Have you eaten yet?"

That was also a welcome sign; when her other mother had been on one of her benders, she would forget about food entirely so as not to slow down her drinking. "Yeah, don't worry about it. Um…" Again, her eyes flicked toward the wine. "Want me to leave you alone for a while? I said I'd be out longer than this…"

"Don't be silly. I was just about to put on some music and read for a while, but I can do that anytime. We could switch to a movie, or trashy TV if that sounds more your speed; I think Charmed is still on Netflix."

"Well, alright," Anna said with a subdued smile.

"Is the wine bothering you?" she asked, even though she was already up and putting the bottle away. "Sorry. Want anything while I'm up?"

"No thanks! And like I said, I should have texted or something. You're fine." When Elsa came back and found her in the living room, she forced herself to look a little happier and less concerned. "So! Did you have a dumb movie in mind already, or just wanna do Charmed?"

"Charmed is fine. I know you're not a classic film buff by any stretch." They both shared a smile as Elsa sat, then patted the couch next to her. "Grab that blanket from the back of the chair."

So Anna grabbed it. At first, they were merely watching with it over their legs, but once Elsa had finished her glass and the plot of the episode was getting a little more interesting, Anna wound up reclining against her mother's body. Little by little, they pulled the covers up and readjusted until they were both curled up and snuggling, Anna slightly on top though she was laying on her side.

Elsa was so warm beneath her; her skin so soft and smooth. She wasn't rail-thin – three children and half a century of life pretty much guaranteed that she'd be a little hippier than she would otherwise – but it was just another part of her that Anna loved. She was healthy and in shape, and that was what mattered.

She found herself growing less interested in the television and more interested in the woman next to her. Twisting her neck just a tad, Anna shut her eyes and just let her body relax into Elsa's. Her smell – clean, she must have just showered – and her warmth. It filled Anna with a pleasant peace. Her heart could almost have burst from her chest at these moments, she thought.

It seemed to be a similar case for Elsa. The thought only made her happier, because it was obvious that her presence was making her mother happy. The elder woman moved her arm from where it was wrapped around Anna's waist, instead letting it stroke up and down her back. If not for the way a small smile blossomed at the corner of her mouth, it could almost have been mistaken for a reflex action.

There they remained through another episode. The blanket made everything hot, but Anna was loathe to move. There was nowhere she would rather be at this moment, and she knew Elsa felt the same. Wrapping her own arms more solidly around her mother, she only snuggled in further, inhaling deeply.

It was only partway through the third episode that Anna finally laughed a little at herself and sat up. "Pause it? I'm gonna get a bottle of water."

"Okay," Elsa chuckled, picking up the remote. "Oh, do you mind grabbing me a Klondike? That sounds good right about now."

Anna had to resist a slight smirk, but managed to keep it a sincere smile. "Sounds like we're both a little warm under that blanket, but it's too chilly in the house right now not to use it."

"Agreed. We could bump up the thermostat, but I think this has more charm." She was still smiling over at Anna, but after a moment turned back to check her phone.

So Anna grabbed the water and the frozen treat for Elsa, humming the theme tune to herself as she did so. This was just about the perfect early December evening; she got to spend time with both of the women she loved. Not that moments like this with Elsa were completely "rare", but they had stayed away from them at first, and were only beginning to let themselves bask in them again now that they had improved on their ability to control their reactions. For that, she was glad. She had missed her mother being close.

"Looks like it might rain tomorrow," Elsa told her as Anna returned and handed her the cold things. Then she blinked when Anna stepped on her socks to pull them off, and when she reached for her waistband next she asked, "What are you doing?"

"Fixing the problem," she giggled as she slid her jeans down. Elsa seemed relieved; she figured that was because she saw Anna was still wearing lime green boyshorts underneath. "Y'know… less layers might average out the heat?"

Pursing her lips as Anna sat down again, Elsa waited until she had settled in and pulled the blanket back over herself. As she handed the water to her, she muttered, "I'm sure that's the only reason."

"It is! I promise. And…" Might as well come clean. "I just want to be closer to you. But not like, that close."

"Uh-huh." Taking a bite of the ice cream, she hummed with pleasure. "Mmm. Want some?"

Anna's eyes fixated on the bite mark in the ice cream. It was stupid, but she felt the slight flutter when she wrapped her own mouth around the same area. The slight crunch of chocolate only made the soft vanilla ice cream underneath that much more welcome, and she shivered at the sudden chill.

Maybe taking her pants off was a bad idea. Too late to change her mind now. Eyes slipping closed, she enjoyed the coolness on her lips, and how it danced with the warmth of Elsa, pressed against her.

"Mmmmm," she moaned gently. Her hand, wrapped around Elsa's to hold it steady, clenched a little. Once having swallowed, she said, "That's really tasty."

"Well, good to know you still appreciate a Klondike Bar," she said with a smile. "You can go and grab one for yourself?"

But Anna shook her head. Now that she was comfortable, she didn't really want to leave again. Plus, the thought of putting her lips where Elsa's had been… was a really nice thought that sent shivers of heat up through her spine. So, one hand resting on Elsa's tummy, just light enough to balance her, she leaned forward, taking another bite of the frozen confection.

"Nah," she said. "I'm good."

"You're good because you're eating mine," Elsa snickered, so Anna rolled her eyes and turned away to look at the TV again. "Hold this?"

"Sure." While Elsa was turning the game back on, Anna took another bite, but she made this one smaller. It was cruel to rob her mother of the entire ice cream bar, after all.

Once the show had resumed, she handed it back, but now she was watching her mother eat after her. Wishing their lips could meet directly instead of this way. Still, the idea of it sent a slight flutter into her stomach. After a second or two, Elsa noticed and smiled over at her.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"Oh… nothing," Anna sighed, turning away and uncapping her water bottle.

"Can I guess?" When Anna only shrugged, she leaned closer to whisper into her ear. "Wishing the ice cream was some unspecified part of you?"

Choking briefly on her water, Anna managed to swallow it without spewing it all over their blanket or gagging too much. Elsa chuckled.

"Mean old woman!" she admonished, which only made her chuckle more. "Okay… okay, phew. I'm fine now. And yeah, maybe, but I thought we weren't supposed to talk about stuff like that right now!"

Elsa shrugged a little, then nodded. "Yes, of course. You're right. I'm sorry, Anna."

No wait! That wasn't what she wanted! Clearing her throat, Anna tried to appear nonchalant when she replied with, "Oh, there's no problem. It's just not fair for you to tease me if I can't tease back." She punctuated her words with a gentle poke to Elsa's stomach, leaning in a little closer.

"Oh?" Elsa said airily. "And what might that entail?"

Grinning, almost more to herself than to her mother, Anna moved. After all, with words like that, Elsa was giving her permission. That's what that was. And it wasn't a chance she was going to squander. The chance to tease her, maybe make her feel the way Anna herself had been for the last few weeks… it was a sweet revenge.

Leaning forward once more, Anna didn't bite the ice cream; instead, she took a long lick of it, eyes never leaving Elsa's. Then she leaned forward and murmured, "Don't think of my tongue on you, Elsa", before backing away.

The expression on her mother's face was priceless. Shocked and wide-eyed, though not alarmed or disgusted in the slightest. Just surprised at how forward Anna was being with little prompting. Her eyes had clearly been focused on Anna's tongue before it was reeled back in, and flicked up to her eyes now that it was gone.

"Y-yes, a good plan," she said as if Anna had suggested in all seriousness. "Though I guess you can have the rest of the Klondike bar now."

"Awww, really? Too much of me in it now? I thought you would like that."

It seemed Elsa had enough of being teased without teasing back. Despite their self-imposed rules, she slid a hand down Anna's back to grip one of her hindcheeks. "Maybe now I'm in the mood for cheesecake instead."

The action had the – perhaps unintended – side effect of getting Anna to roll her hips forward. It was just a little bit, but it was enough to leave them both gasping momentarily. But Anna wasn't done. This time prepared, she let her hips move forward on purpose. She actually moved her body a little closer, and was about two seconds from straddling Elsa more fully.

"I didn't realise you were a fan," she said, far too breathily. Still, Elsa didn't discourage her. "Maybe you're full? I don't know if you'll be able to handle a… cheesecake this rich…"

"Well, if you don't want me to…" Elsa trailed off, giving Anna's rump another pleasant squeeze. Somehow, she felt even less prepared than last time, and she couldn't stop the moan that slid out. She was incredibly aware of the wetness, slowly beginning to build. She really should have rethought the underwear situation.

At the same time, it was impossible for Elsa not to realise what she was doing; not to realise the effect she was having in Anna. Turned out she was correct: Elsa's hand moved back up to the small of Anna's back.

"Sorry. I'm breaking my own rules; I didn't think a little tease like that would… well, clearly I wasn't thinking."

"I liked it," Anna told her with bald honesty, rolling her hips again and grinding on her. Elsa's face looked too calm; like she was holding it in on purpose. "Mmm, Elsa…"

"That's 'Mom' to you for a few more months."

"Oh, I don't think you want me calling you that while I'm doing this," Anna laughed breathlessly as her hips continued to roll. By now, Elsa no longer looked calm. She was trying to without success because her cheeks were too rosy, her breath coming too fast.

"What do you mean?"

Anna's answer was to moan out, "Mmm, Mommy…"

The reaction was immediate. Elsa turned her face away as her cheeks got hotter. After a few attempts, she managed to say, "You were right. I don't want that. Not at all."

"Okay," Anna sighed, finally managing to hold still, hoping the heat would fade eventually. "Sorry, I just… wasn't expecting the butt-grab. Felt so good."

"Shouldn't have done that," Elsa admitted with a weak smile. "Really can be my own worst enemy sometimes, can't I?"

Anna just smiled. It was times like these that reminded her, not of her mother, but of the teenager she left behind in 1985. But now they had a highly dangerous mess they were trying to get out of — and she wasn't at all sure that was possible.

She shrugged one shoulder as she turned the corner, glancing at the cross-streets for other cars. "Well, it's more like she's not ready for it. With us. Too weird in this time and place, and I kinda get it? Even though I would be up for trying it if she changed her mind."

"Yeah. Like, I can understand; for you, it's like, you can remember that girl you met in the 80s, and you're still exactly who you were then. She's had thirty years, and I guess it's different from her point of view. Kinda sad, if you don't think about the mother-daughter thing."

"Yeah," Anna chuckled darkly. "That 'thing'. It's… man, if she had ever come onto me when she was my old mother, I'd just have thrown up. Funny how this Elsa McFly is so different from her that I can find this one hot."

"Well, she kind of is. Objectively speaking," she added when Anna's eyes widened. "Because no matter how many times you ask, no, I'm not into MILFs like you are."

"Hey! I'm not, either! Just… just one MILF," she added with a quiet pout. As Jennifer laughed, she pulled into the spot to park in front of her house.

"Dork." Then she rolled over to pet her thigh. "You sure you don't want me to get you back real quick?"

"Kind of," she admitted with a slight increase in her heart rate. "But, um… maybe not this close to your house. Raincheck? For the weekend?"

"Good plan." They shared a long kiss, and then Punz pulled away, biting her lip with her eyes full of Anna. "And we can hang out, the three of us. It was a little weird at first, but I really did have enough fun that I want to do it again. Okay?"

"I believe you," she assured her. "Later."

By the time Anna entered her home, the smile on her face had diminished a little bit. It was still definitely there, but not quite as bright. Softer.

Elsa noticed as soon as she walked into the kitchen. "Someone had a good talk, then?" she asked, smiling herself. Anna nodded, biting her lip.

"And uh… some other things," she admitted. Elsa's cheeks got a little red, but she didn't comment on it. She instead jumped straight to the topic that was on her mind.

"So… did Jennifer have anything important to say?" she questioned, faux-indifference lacing her voice.

Anna decided she could play that game, as well. "Hmm, I don't know. What counts as important?"

"Hmmm," Elsa said in an equally-affected tone. Then they shared a bemused grin, and Anna broke first, letting out a weak little laugh. "Alright, alright. I suppose it isn't my place to pry."

"Nah, it's okay. Um… she basically said it sounds crazy but she guesses she's okay with it. Like, that's about what I expected, y'know? So… yeah."

Nodding, Elsa put away the jar of jam she had been dolloping on her toast. Then she used the knife she had been spreading it with to cut the toast in half, offering one to Anna. "That's the best we could have expected."

"Yeah." Taking her half-toast, Anna munched it, pleased at the sweet flavour. "Ooh, what is this?"

"Lingonberry. You've had it plenty of times before…" But when she saw the vacant look in Anna's eyes, she let out a dark little snort. "The other Anna has. Of course."

"Sorry, Mom," she said earnestly. "Really. But if it's any consolation… I like it, too?"

Shaking her head, she walked over and pressed her lips to Anna's forehead. "I don't need consolation. Just to get used to it, that's all."

They both ate their toast in relative silence. Anna could have swallowed it in two bites – it really did taste quite good – but she also wanted something to do while Elsa finished hers. She got the impression that her mother hadn't finished sharing what was on her mind.

"So… where'd Dad go?" she finally asked, if only to break the silence. Maybe she was wrong and Elsa didn't have anything on her mind.

"Oh, he's in his study. You know publishers…" she trailed off airily, and she ought to have known that Anna, as a matter of fact, did not know publishers. "Just more deals and books and tours and such. That sort of thing. Never a dull moment."

A thought struck Anna at that moment, and one she was surprised that Elsa hadn't already brought up. "If…" she began softly, "if we did do this, what would you tell John and Wendy?"

Elsa looked down at her hands. "To be honest, that's part of the reason I wanted us both to take some time to consider. This plan would affect the rest of the family so much. It's something to weigh against our desire to be with each other. Kristoff is closer to them than I am, as are you, but I would miss them dearly."

"Almost feels like I should be the one to disappear," Anna said in a would-be offhand voice. But she meant it too much to really succeed.

"What do you mean?"

"Well… because I'm the weird one. Everybody else fits in, and here's me, the Anna who never existed. Like, maybe I should just travel back in time to when you were a teenager and hook up with you again."

"You can't."

"Why not?" When Elsa didn't answer, only raised both eyebrows and waited patiently, Anna slumped over the table tiredly. "Oh yeah. I wouldn't be born."

"Yes, that minor detail," Elsa chuckled affectionately as she reached over to tousle her hair. "But I can tell you the younger version of me would have been quite appreciative of the gesture." Then suddenly her arms were wrapped around her daughter, cradling her. "And I can tell you that this version of me is grateful it's not even an option." Elsa paused for a second. "Okay, that sounds really bad, but-"

Whatever 'but' Elsa was going to say didn't end up getting said, because Anna was giggling, pressing herself further into her mother.

"Don't sweat it," she said. "I know what you mean."

Elsa pulled away, her 'serious' face on. "Then I don't want you to fret about… about feeling like you've replaced someone," she said. Her voice was soft but her words were strong and authoritative. "Yes, you're a little different from the Anna I raised. But don't you ever think that's a bad thing, please?"

"I just…" Anna began, before trying again. "I have some of her memories. But it feels like that stuff happened to a different person. I feel like I made her go away, and me being me is what started this entire mess in the first place." Taking a breath, she looked straight into Elsa's eyes. "Even as an alcoholic, you still loved us. You just… needed something else to cope with life, I guess. I can't ask you to give that up. Not for me."

"But I'm not, silly," Elsa said. She was smiling, but it was sort of sad. Like what Anna had said was genuinely upsetting. But which part? "I'm not doing this for you. I mean, yes, you're part of the reason, but the rest is… I'm doing – or rather, I want to do this – because I want to be happy. Can't you see that, sweetheart?"

That made a lot of sense to Anna. Sure, Kristoff and her siblings would be sad to lose her, but Elsa wasn't happy with the current state of her life. Generally okay, of course, but there would always be something missing. And that, more than anything, showed Anna that she really did want to be with her. Barriers notwithstanding.

"Elsa?" she chanced, knowing it might be a slight mistake. "I… I don't know if I can wait thirty years to really be with you. But I'll try. And, um, I love you."

The words made Elsa wince. But it only lasted a second. Then she was smiling again and pulling Anna into a tight hug again, stroking over her hair. Anna thought that was it… until she began to whisper.

"I've now been shown twice just how sweet life could be with you. Once in the past, and once in the future. Just glimpses of how much I want this. It hurts that I can't have it right now, in my present, even though I've already been waiting thirty years. But… if you're willing to wait thirty, I can struggle through the several months of time-skipping. More than willing to do so for you. For us."

Well, that sure put things in perspective. It would actually still have been worse for Elsa in the end; she had thirty years of nothing. Living without the love she wanted most. Thinking about it that way, thirty years of monthly visits was way more appealing.

It was then that Anna came to a decision; and really, it was rather easy. She wouldn't regret giving Elsa this chance, but she'd always regret holding her back and sentencing her to a lifetime of romantic isolation.

"Okay," she said suddenly. Simply. "Okay, we do it. You do it. I- I want you to."

She squeezed Elsa tighter, the same moment that her mother seemed to want to pull away. When finally Anna did let her go, Elsa didn't move back very far. Just enough that Anna could see the tears welling in her eyes. "Are- are you sure?" Elsa double-checked. "Is- is Jennifer?"

Damn, she looked so small. So… fragile. And that was a word Anna had never associated with this version of Elsa. The drunken one, yes – and she had definitely seen hints of it when Elsa was a teenager. It stood to reason that as an adult, there would still be some weaknesses. It was amazing, the difference between 'knowing' and 'understanding'. Anna knew Elsa loved her. Knew she had for thirty years. But until she saw the vulnerability in her eyes in this moment, she realised that she never really understood. Now she did, and it was breaking her heart.

"I think… we all need to sit down. You and me and Dad and Punz," Anna said softly. "Because… I don't think we can undo this."

Biting her lip, Elsa shook her head. It seemed to be difficult for her to speak. "N-no," she finally managed. "I- um… when- when I spoke to Doc about this, he said…" She took a breath. "He said it's a one-way trip. I couldn't… couldn't ever return here. Anna, is this what you want?"

"It's what you want!" Anna cried softly. "What you've wanted for three decades."

"Yes, but is this what you want, as well? Don't- don't think about me or Jennifer, or your father. What is your heart telling you?"

"My heart's telling me I want to be with you," she answered right away. "And I mean… I do wanna think about Punz and Dad, too. But I know you want the same thing I want, and like, we're the two who matter most when it comes to the two of us. So… so we owe it to ourselves to talk to them."

"Right. And if they can provide us with a reason we haven't already thought of, one way or the other, we will take it under consideration." Her mother let out a long, shaky sigh. "But I think it can wait until Saturday. Give everyone some real time to talk."

Anna couldn't help nodding her own agreement; it was a little more kind of them than springing it on them randomly on a weekday. She only hoped they wouldn't be too upset.

                                                       ~ o ~

So that was what they did. Saturday afternoon, they invited Jennifer over to discuss the situation — all four of them. Kristoff didn't react very much, since he had already been expecting it, and even Punz only asked a few pointed questions. Seemed she had been thinking a lot since Anna brought it up.

"You really should tell John and Wendy," she pressed very gently. "I mean, they're family. They might not understand, but don't they kinda deserve to know?"

Elsa and Kristoff exchanged a glance. "They… probably wouldn't understand, to be honest. I've raised them to be open-minded individuals, and I think I've succeeded. But this is asking too much."

"We'll think about it, though," Kristoff assured both girls. "There's plenty of time between now and when the plan would go into effect. By then, one of you might have changed your mind, or both of you. No sense in upsetting them so long before it would happen."

"What do you mean?" Punz asked. "Isn't it gonna start like…now?"

Anna looked at Elsa and Kristoff. She was sure they already answered this but couldn't really remember. Elsa and Kristoff looked at each other.

"We…realised it would be best to wait until Anna was in college-"

"That's if I decide to go," Anna interrupted. Elsa nodded once.

"That's something to discuss later," she said. Her words were a promise that, regardless of what happened and what might happen afterward, Anna was still expected to have that conversation. "Perhaps 'after high school' would be better to say at the moment?"

"While Anna's a minor, there's all sorts of issues. Always will be, but after that hurdle is crossed it'll be a little different," Kristoff added. Punz nodded – she seemed happy with that answer.

"Yeah. To be like, brutally honest? There was a high 'yick' factor about all of this and that was a big part of that." Both Anna and Elsa looked a little ashamed of themselves when she brought that up, since Jennifer had been mostly holding her tongue around Elsa on this topic. "It felt like I was supposed to be okay with letting you take advantage of your kid. Which, like… I know that's not what you're trying to do, and not how you both feel, but it's still-"

"Jennifer, you don't need to go on," Kristoff interrupted gently, looking just as uncomfortable as Punz herself did. "Believe me, we all fully understand."

"No, it's alright," Elsa told him, patting his knee. "Maybe she needs to say this, or I need to hear it. God knows she's entitled to a say in things."

Looking a little grateful to the woman for not shutting her down, but still a little hesitant, Punz continued. "Might not count for much, but I am sorry this had to be how things turned out. Like, you being related to each other and having romantic feels. I know you didn't exactly want this."

"Yeah," Anna agreed with her. "We're not saying like, 'Hey, we're mother and daughter and that sounds like a fun thing to try instead of family game night!' It's just… we're already in this situation. Attracted to each other and trying to figure out what to do with that."

"Without either crossing moral hard lines, or sacrificing our own happiness," Elsa put in. "Thank you for being so… uncommonly mature for your age. Anna is, too, but she's also been through a lot that should never happen to anyone of any age. So it's… we're all trying to navigate this minefield as best we can."

"Right." Taking a deep breath, Punz squeezed Anna's hand. "And I'm trying to figure out how she can feel like that for you, and still definitely be my girlfriend… it's hard. But I mean, polyamory is a thing, and we both can kind of give her different things. So like, it's not the Dark Ages, right?"

The other three looked quite stunned by that. Anna blinked and glanced at Elsa, to gauge her reaction, and then back to her girlfriend. It sounded… accurate, but also somewhat felt like an excuse to throw the rulebook out the window. On the other hand, the old rules hadn't served them particularly well the past week or two. Maybe it was time to rethink everything.

"Um…" Anna's eyes turned toward Kristoff. "Dad, if you have any problem with this… you're a part of this family, too. Say something."

Kristoff looked a little surprised at being called out at first. Then he smiled a sad little smile. "I just want my girls to be happy," he said. "I've only ever wanted that. And I don't want to be the cause of any unhappiness…" Then his eyes turned a little brighter, smile a little more sincere. "Maybe I should take up birdwatching again, fall out of a tree, and have my future grandchild save me?"

Anna snorted, lips widening into a grin. It was a little bigger than Kristoff's, but not by much. She could tell he was joking – mostly. The idea of maybe helping him find someone, though…

"I think," he said, voice growing serious once more, "I think that I've had thirty good years with a woman whom I love. I think she's found someone she feels the same for, and I would only cause a lot of pain and sadness if I were to try and stop you. You all know the consequences. And once you're adults, Anna, Jennifer, you'll be making your own decisions anyway, with or without my blessing. So it would be pretty stupid for me to stand in the way of destiny."

The three women looked between themselves, though the confusion written on Anna and Punz's faces wasn't echoed on Elsa's. Instead, she was smiling, eyes shining bright.

"So… yes?" she asked softly. Kristoff's whole demeanour softened.

"Yes."

"That helps. Honestly, hon… it does." They held hands for a moment. The fondness was definitely there, and the love. But it was a very different type of friendship than most married couples enjoyed. And for that reason…

"Okay," Anna sighed defeatedly. "But maybe we really should tell my brother and sister. Like, that's something to think about between now and next summer."

"Yes, it certainly is. Ohhh…" Elsa stretched her arms over her head, looking weary for once. "I'm really not sure why you want to hook up with your old mother in the first place. I'm two steps from the grave."

Snorting, she nudged her with her elbow. "Stop. You look great. Doesn't she look great, Punz?"

"I…" Jennifer shrugged nervously. "I mean, yeah, but this is still kind of an awkward question to answer?"

"You don't have to," Elsa assured her with a chuckle as she patted Kristoff's elbow again. "Anyway, enough serious talk for a while. Let's go out for dinner; my treat."

"Or mine," Kristoff insisted. "Had a pretty hefty advance from my publisher; we can do high-dollar cuisine."

Anna had a very recent memory of eating such cuisine, but she decided not to mention it to the others. It was something for only her and her mother. So instead, she just grinned and piped up, "Sounds great! Let's party!"

                                                      ~ o ~

They didn't bother getting dressed up, unlike last time. Punz didn't have a change of clothes, for one; for another, they weren't exactly celebrating. Perhaps she and Elsa were, Anna supposed, but some part of her was entirely aware of the fact that this outcome was not her father's – or her girlfriend's – first choice.

Once more, they found themselves in the next town over. It was almost a shame that Dell Valley had no real highlights of its own. That being said, it was nice having a 'special occasion' location. There was a main street full of restaurants, and they just wandered along until they came across something that caught their eye – or, in this case, their nose.

Their choice wasn't Italian this time, but Mediterannean. Anna had no experience with that kind of cuisine, and neither did Punz, but Elsa and Kristoff at least seemed to be somewhat familiar. Chicken and seafood seemed to be the staple. They ordered an appetiser – something called a kalitsounia that just reminded Anna of a quiche made of cheese – before taking a look at the main dishes.

The occasion was almost bittersweet, Anna thought as she looked around the table. It would probably be the last time they did something like this. The thought made her sadder than she thought it would. It also gave her an idea because it didn't have to be the last time.

"Hey, guys…?" she asked softly, putting her menu down. "I was wondering… can we do this again?" Kristoff cocked his head, a gesture for her to continue. "I don't mean like, an expensive dinner. But sometimes, when Elsa comes back… can we just do something as a family?"

There was a pressure behind her eyes because, as much as she wanted Elsa – it was getting to a point where she needed her, in all honesty – she still was very much a teenager. A child who wanted nothing more than her family. Oh, she'd survive if they couldn't, or didn't want to. But it would be painful and hard.

"I don't… I know things will change but I don't want to lose everything…" she added softly to fill the brief silence.

"Of course," Elsa said quietly. Jennifer and her father hadn't commented, waiting for her reaction. "Absolutely no reason we shouldn't."

"That'd be great for you guys, I think," Punz said with a small smile. "Keep things normal as much as you can."

Anna turned to her with a smile of her own. "I meant you, too."

"Huh?"

"You're part of this family now. I mean, I think you are. So this is important to me to like, bring you all together… or is that stupid?"

All three of them were quick to reassure her that they didn't find the idea stupid in the slightest. Even though she couldn't quite disentangle the many voices, she felt an immense sense of relief. They were going to try to be a family, despite this craziness that threatened to tear them apart. It really did make more of a difference than she expected; she felt loved. By all of them.

                                                      ~ o ~

The dinner went well, and Punz seemed to fit right in. They stayed in the restaurant for a few hours before heading back home. Jennifer didn't stay over that night, but she promised she would again soon – once they were out of earshot. Anna still felt like an embarrassed teenager when she kissed her goodnight on her doorstep.

Once home, she felt a little pang when Elsa and her father went into their room. She wondered what went on in there… were they going to snuggle? Just lay next to each other? Probably talk, a lot. She did hate that she was doing this to everyone, even if she knew in her heart that it was the right thing for her and Elsa.

They were in love. Sometimes it was hard to admit that to herself, but it was real, and it was mutual. Elsa just had that pesky age-gap hangup that she needed to fix, which made Anna sad… but it was beyond their control. Blaming Elsa for approaching this situation with maturity would have been like blaming Anna for not being able to rebuff her advances in 1985. Futile and unfair.

The next day, Kristoff made himself scarce again, clothes shopping for outfits for interviews and book signings. Anna asked if he needed a woman's opinion, but he laughed and reassured her that he had a much better fashion sense now than he did in high school.

"Mom?" she asked once he left after a late breakfast. "How do we… handle this until the summer?"

"As best we can," she answered right away. Proving that it had been on her mind enough that she didn't even need to think about her answer. "Try to keep things familial, and forgive ourselves if we can't."

"And we have to forgive each other," Anna said softly.

Elsa just nodded. It wasn't going to be easy, but then, nothing good in life ever was. And they knew that from the get-go. Even Punz and Kristoff had accepted that, and it was far more than Anna had ever thought possible. The fact that she might be able to keep her girlfriend – her love – while gaining another one…

Punz had brought up polyamory. Perhaps that was something for them to look up — explore. She certainly had, after all. Did that mean that she was interested in it? Only time would tell.

"I guess I better… go get Punz," Anna offered. It really was getting quite late in the morning. Elsa smiled at her.

"Sure thing, sweetheart. And please don't panic. We have time to get comfortable with this idea…"

Anna nodded and smiled back. "I know. Thanks…" She trailed off, not sure what title to use. Elsa seemed to realise.

"Mom. Call me 'mom', at least until you graduate." When Anna didn't say anything, her face softened. "It's for the best… all of this is."

"Yeah… Okay. See ya, Mom."

"Have a good day, Anna."