NOTE: Sorry for the abrupt cutoff at the end of this chapter, but I sort of realised it was already getting really long and wasn't going to wind up fast enough. But don't worry, a new chapter tomorrow to wrap the scene up! As you can probably tell, there isn't much left to get done with this fic anyway. Just gonna tie some things up in a neat bow.

~ Chapter Thirty-Six ~

"Ohhhh boy."

As they descended the escalator toward baggage claim, Anna smirked over in Elsa's direction. "What, having second thoughts?"

"In a word… yes." Clearing her throat, she glanced over at Anna. "What about you?"

"I mean, I'm worried. But not that much. I know my parents pretty well by now, and I think we'll be okay. Once they get past their surprise." With a shrug, she stepped off the bottom and turned to catch Elsa's hand once she did the same. "There's gonna be an adjustment. I mean, before now, me being gay has been kind of… hypothetical, right? It might be different now that there's gonna be real evidence right in their faces. Or maybe not."

"Maybe your father will throw silverware at me," Elsa sighed nervously. "It will definitely be a high-profile case, but I'll be recovering in the hospital and won't see any of it."

"Elsa! Come on, they aren't violent criminals!"

"Maybe not, but I'm…" She leaned in as they began walking. "You're their little girl! So doesn't that make me the boy? Shouldn't I be afraid of… of your father shooting me, or whatever standard protocol is?"

Smirking, Anna bumped her with her hip as they walked. "The point of lesbians is that neither of us is 'the boy', I'm pretty sure."

By the time they had collected Anna's bags, Elsa had worked herself up to being a nervous wreck, but Anna was doing her best to pet along her back and soothe the poor pop star as much as she could. Then they were getting in the car with her parents.

"So, where to?" her father asked. "There's a nice steakhouse not too far, maybe five minutes. Or a Japanese one, if you like Japanese food."

"I do," Elsa said in her most practiced diplomatic voice, a serene smile hitched into place. By now, Anna could tell it was fake; before the whole crazy week, she might have believed it. "But honestly, whatever you guys want is fine by me."

"Oh, don't be shy," her mother insisted, trying to glance at her in the rearview mirror. "Or we could do something else. Seafood?"

Glancing over at Anna, she said, "Whatever has the best atmosphere. I just want somewhere relaxing and pleasant, without a lot of loud music. Honestly, I couldn't care less about the food as long as it's not made of horse."

That got her father chortling, and eventually Anna and her mom couldn't help but join in. Of course, Anna knew what Elsa was doing all along; trying to get them in a good mood. Make the "news", such that it was, easier to bear once she finally dropped it on their heads. It was wise, even if she thought it bordered on being the slightest bit manipulative.

Then again, blasting them with the news the minute they saw each other would have been cruel and jarring. Maybe this was the best plan, after all.

"So, what do you even do in Ibiza?" her dad asked once they had been seated. The restaurant they had chosen wasn't quite as intimate and subdued as Elsa asked for, but it was close, and inexpensive. Anna already knew they would grab for the check to beat Elsa to the punch.

"Mostly swim, hit the beach. A little shopping - Elsa got me a couple of really cute dresses, which I know will make you happy, Mom."

"Now, now, why can't I be happy about cute dresses, too?" The girls laughed at him, and he folded his arms as if he were truly offended.

"It's true, though," her mom said, still laughing slightly. "Even to prom, the closest I could get Anna was into a skirt and a T-shirt with Spider-Man on it."

While Elsa was gasping, Anna pouted and muttered, "Spider-Woman. Jessica Drew is so underappreciated."

"You wore a t-shirt? To PROM?! Oh, that won't do- no, no, no." She raised her finger, paused before uttering a word, and then snapped her fingers as she reached a conclusion. "I'm taking you with me to the Grammys. And don't worry, you won't have to pick out the dress or do your own hair or anything; I know that's not something you find fun. But you're going to be in formal wear, at least once."

"Is that another Elsa Valentine promise?" Anna asked with a private little smile.

"Yes! I'm definitely…" Then Elsa sighed, rolling her eyes as she relaxed. "There I go again…"

"Good," Anna breathed, patting the back of her hand before turning to pick up the menu again. "See? You're already doing better."

"Better at what?" her dad asked, both bemused and confused.

"Oh, nothing. Don't worry about it. So, what's worth eating in this joint?"

However, Elsa seemed to have been mentally pushed very slightly by that exchange. Her teeth were still digging into her bottom lip when their server came to the table.

A good few minutes were spent on what to order. Dad had a sirloin steak and potatoes au gratin, Mom had chicken alfredo, Anna had chicken fingers and fries (and got one of those "motherly" smiles from her mother for ordering something so ostensibly childish, which Anna ignored), and Elsa, who was not allowed to get away with just a salad by ANY of the family, also ordered poutine, a side of mushroom caps, and a shrimp cocktail for the entire table. This pleased Anna's father, and his daughter could tell Elsa's stock had gone up another few points from that alone.

That was good. She needed all she could get.

After their entrées had arrived and they had begun to eat, Elsa took advantage of a moment during which Anna's parents were arguing about who was supposed to pick up his dry cleaning to lean over and whisper, "Why did I let you talk me into ordering all this?"

"Because we agreed, you're gonna eat from now on. Like a real person, not a tiny one who lives in my pocket."

"There are worse places to live. But… it's too much. Will you at least have some of my mushroom caps?"

Anna laughed and said, "You don't have to eat everything, you know! We can take some of it ho…"

Elsa's expression was the tiniest bit surprised when Anna fell silent. Then she frowned and reached down to squeeze her forearm. "You could take it home."

"Yeah. I will, if you can't eat it." But her tone was desolate.

"Anna, we'll see each other again soon. Very soon, I promise! It's… only for a little while, okay? I'll figure out something; it won't be like Ibiza, but…"

Nodding, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "No, you're right. I'm being dumb."

"Not dumb."

"Well… I'm being pretty gay about it, though. Not even being able to handle you leaving. This has been coming since before the whole trip started, and now, suddenly…"

Elsa snorted. "That is pretty 'gay'. If it helps, I'm… going to probably have to let myself cry on the airplane. But I can hold onto the feeling of having spent a week with you until then, I think."

"Hope so," Anna whispered with a bittersweet smile. Elsa mirrored it, squeezed her arm again, and they turned back to their food.

Only to notice a few seconds later that they were being watched. Apparently, the small argument had ended without either of them noticing, and Anna's parents had taken to trying to figure out what precisely they were watching take place.

"Um…" Working for a second to swallow her french fry, Anna demanded, "You okay?"

"Nothing," her mother said, in the tone that definitely said it was more than "nothing" to her. Especially since Anna hadn't asked a question to which "nothing" was a fitting answer. Both eyes continued to flick between the two girls as her fork made lazy circles on her plate, stirring the pasta instead of bringing any of it to her mouth.

"No, seriously, what's up?" They exchanged another glance. "What?!"

"I think they know 'what', Anna," Elsa sighed — and Anna could tell all her nerves from before they got to baggage claim were back in full force, even if hidden a little better now. Turning to face forward, she cleared her throat and said, "Well, Mr. and Mrs. Mayberry. I, um… I wonder what you are thinking right now. Or if you'd want to… to speak up about it."

Only glancing at his wife for a moment, Mr. Mayberry said, "Well, for one thing, I think you asked us out to dinner for a reason. But I'm not going to make an ass of myself by deciding what that is before you get the chance to tell me."

"Very astute. Then… I'll try to keep this short, so I don't, um… don't make the whole dinner about me." It was incredible for Anna to watch Elsa, THE Elsa, have so much trouble with her words. The same as when confessing her feelings, or trying not to; it was endlessly fascinating.

"As I told you on the phone, I really have had the best week of my life. And I hate for it to be over, but… to everything, there is a season," she said with something like a laugh. It fell flat, and she tried to push on. "S-so… some things have… this wasn't what I…"

"Elsa, you're okay," Anna whispered out of the side of her mouth, glancing between her and her parents. Her mom merely looked as if she were growing impatient, but her dad was being as careful to keep his face neutral as she had ever seen him. Simply waiting.

And even though she still looked as though she wanted to run from the table, what she did was sit up straighter, square her shoulders, and clear her throat. "My friendship with your daughter began to change before I realised what was happening. Deeper feelings developed, and at first, I just assumed we were becoming closer friends. But after a while… it didn't feel like that was all there was to it anymore. So-"

"I knew it," Mary sighed, turning to look at him. "Told you. Didn't I tell you, Ron?"

"You did," he said carefully, a tight smile on his lips as he forced another piece of steak into it. Probably for the express purpose of making him unable to speak for a while.

"Told… him what?" Elsa asked, momentarily derailed from her express train to Truthville.

Her mother smiled tightly as she twirled noodles around the tines of her silverware. "That you wouldn't just invite some girl from the Great White North across the ocean because you think she's 'cool'. There had to be more to it."

"Mom," Anna hissed warningly.

"What? You… think I had an ulterior motive?"

"Well, didn't you? Look what happened. Now it looks like you're here, asking our permission to date Anna." When Elsa didn't respond, she merely shrugged as if to say "Exactly," shoving the bite into her mouth.

Shaking her head, she leaned in slightly. "No, please, don't think that of me! I know how it must seem, but honestly, I just… I really thought we got along, so all I could think about was…"

"That you didn't want it to end. You said that to us already."

"And…" Elsa was shrinking again. Her momentary bravery had deserted her now that Anna's mother didn't seem to be viewing the development in a positive light. Anna could practically feel her tensing next to her, the waves of rising unease. "It w-was the truth. Wasn't it?"

"Oh, you're asking me?" Mary's laugh was callous. "If you're not sure, then how am I supposed to be? Sounds like something you need to think about."

"MOM!" Anna burst out, aghast. But her mother didn't respond to the outburst. When the table was silent for a few more seconds, Elsa tried again.

"I… we were having… I d-didn't mean-"

"Okay!" Clapping her hands and making the other three jump, Anna turned to Elsa with a big, fake smile. "Elsa, um, you have something in your teeth. It's like… you should go to the bathroom and fix it."

"What?" Elsa breathed, confused. "B-but I don't feel any-"

"GO. To. The bathroom." When Elsa only blinked, she hissed, "Now. Right now."

Then her blue eyes seemed to take in the tension in Anna's features, and she nodded at her, barely glancing at the other two as she murmured, "If you'll excuse me," and rushed from the table.

"Unbelievable," Mary whispered to her husband, who was still pretending not to react. "She couldn't even stick up for herself. How am I supposed to be okay with what probably went on over there with my little girl if she's so… so wishy-washy?"

"I can't believe you." They turned to see Anna's arms down at her sides, sitting as if she were at a formal interview. "God, Mom, I thought you were better than this."

"Anna, we will discuss that at home. I won't have you talking to me in the middle of a restaurant as if I'm a badly behaved puppy. I am your mother, and you will respect me."

Jutting out her chin, she hissed, "I haven't done anything to disrespect you. But the way you treated Elsa just now? That was low."

"This was her conversation. I expected her to tell me something, and I don't know why she kept beating around the bush. And I only asked a few reasonable questions, didn't I? Why was it so hard for her to answer?"

"Because she's SCARED!" It came out louder than she meant for it to, and a few people turned around to see what the commotion was. Leaning in, she went on. "Are you really gonna tell me that you couldn't tell how scared she is?!"

"If she's going to be turning my daughter into some… flouncing, boozed-up groupie, then she had better learn to own up to it!" she spat. "Not that I appreciate her changing your entire lifestyle in the space of one week!"

"She hasn't turned me into anything! Except maybe 'happy'!"

The woman's eyes rolled. "Oh, I'll bet."

Anna drew back from the table, mouth hanging open. She looked at her dad, who was still pretending not to hear anything that was going on. Then she glanced back in the general direction of the bathroom as she pieced it together, as she tried to process what she was hearing. The real topic of conversation.

"You think Elsa flew me all the way to Ibiza just so we could have sex, don't you?"

"Anna Josephine, you're being crude and I will not-"

"No, no, you do. Well, guess what? Elsa wasn't the one to worry about. I let some other girl get a lot closer than anyone ever has, and it made me feel terrible. So I stopped her." The tears were coming, but she ordered them back into the ducts for the time being. "All Elsa has done is try to protect me, give me whatever I wanted, talk to me, be nice to me. And when she started crushing on me…" They were disobeying orders. "She wanted to leave the beach house and go to a hotel! Because she didn't want to mix everything up between us!"

"But she didn't, did she?" her mother followed up tiredly, as if it were an age-old story. "You slept together. I can tell by how you two are with each other; you're so intimate. I… have problems with that. It isn't that you're two girls, I've tried to make peace with that as much as an old straight lady can. But do you really think I was born yesterday?"

Shaking her head hard, Anna whispered, "I shouldn't have to tell you this. It's none of your business what I've done, who I've…" Looking up, she went on in a strangled voice, "Elsa is one of the purest, most decent people I've ever met in my whole life! I promise you that you are wrong about her, that she's so caring and good and generous, and… and she's scared because she really cares about me, and about what you guys think of her, but she didn't want to leave me to deal with telling you by myself!"

"But you are."

That struck Anna hard. Not for the reason her mother meant for it to, but it did. "Yes. I am. Because you literally almost gave Elsa a panic attack, jumping down her throat the way you just did. I sent her to the bathroom because she was going to stay here and let it happen, let you make her feel guilty for being a good friend and- and having romantic feelings, because… because she thought she deserved it. Well, she doesn't. Not to me."

"Anna, you are not ready for a relationship with a woman like that!" Her mother was using her "be reasonable" tone of voice, which told her that some of what she said sunk in very slightly. "Being dragged into her world? You think it's all going to be as easy as this past week was?"

"I don't care."

"You should. Just because you float her boat doesn't mean it's worth throwing yourself into Hollywood parties, and being her arm candy. And what happens when she gets tired of you and moves on to the next fad?"

Anna couldn't help it. The next question that came out of her was, "You really don't think I'm good enough for a star like her to actually care about, do you?"

"I don't think she knows how to care about you that way, Anna. Don't put words in my mouth."

"You're right. She doesn't. We're going to figure it out together."

Sighing, she looked over to her husband, who was listening but still refusing to respond. Then she shrugged and said, "I'm sorry for worrying about you, alright? I think this is a very dangerous choice you're making. I'll admit that she's not as… glitzy and frivolous and superior as I expected. She seems to be a very nice, very well-spoken celebrity. But that doesn't mean she's not a celebrity, and it doesn't mean that's not the reason you're falling for her."

Another shot through Anna's heart. Glancing between them, she whispered, "Wow. I'm just… not gonna get much credit today."

"Tried to tell you that going with her was a mistake. But now you had a taste of what she can offer, and you want more."

"No, I don't," she growled. "I don't want anything from her. If she came out of that bathroom telling me that she lost all her money, I wouldn't care about her any less than I do now."

"Ron, say something!" she demanded of her husband. "Tell her she's not in her right mind! That she needs to step back from her emotions before she… decides to go down this road!"

"I can't," he responded immediately.

"Why not?!"

As simply as he could, he said, "'Cause she sounds like me when I was her age. Talking about you."

That took both of them completely by surprise. He went on eating potatoes while Mary sputtered, glancing between the two of them.

"Y-you can't be serious! After the way she's always talked about Elsa for years now? The CDs and posters, and singing the lyrics everywhere?"

"This is different. She's not just gushing over a pop star, she's angry and fighting for her. I don't know, it's a whole other thing to me."

Anna had to make this good while she had the chance. "Mom, I'm begging you, just… I need you to apologise to her for the way you interrogated her. Once we get home, you can complain about her for an hour if you want, but just… don't take it out on her right now."

"I'm not 'taking out' anything on her!" Mary protested. "I'm voicing very real concerns!"

"She's terrified of doing anything to hurt or upset you. Very terrified. She can barely tell me her feelings, and here she is, doing… one of the bravest things I've ever seen, and telling you she and I are together-ish!"

"Ish?" her dad asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's complicated. But we're working on it, I swear to you."

"I was harsh because I don't want just anybody dating my daughter," her mom went on. "She's from a completely different world, and I hate the idea of her leading you on for nothing."

"She won't if she can help it, I promise. Elsa… she's not that kind of person. And hopefully, one day you'll see that for yourself. For now…"

But Elsa arrived at the table at that moment, makeup very slightly different than it had been before she left. Clear evidence that she cried, then retouched. Their private conversation would have to wait.

~ To Be Continued ~