#elsanna fanfiction | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

forkanna · 1 year ago

Text

NOTES: Yep, this is really the end! We have one or two side projects in mind for this little universe of ours, but this is THE definitive end of this storyline. Frui and I would like to thank you for your patience in waiting for this fanfic to finally come to light; a lot of editing, real life annoyances, and various economic situations have made it more difficult than we wish it was. We hope you can enjoy it with a "better late than never" attitude. And who's to say? Maybe we'll see the characters from this universe again sooner than you think.

This chapter is dedicated to the memory of the late great Christine McVie. Those who know will spot the tribute to her.

See you around! Where we're going, we don't need roads!

Jessex and Frui

[AO3 LINK]

EPILOGUE

"And that's a wrap!"

Anna McFly wiped the sweat from her brow before she returned her Gibson ES-345 to the stand by the drumkit. Every day for the past year, she had regretted the decision to get the Pink Heels back together for a reunion tour — especially when most of them hadn't seen each other for five years before that. But that was only because she was getting older, and putting in the work of getting back in shape, both musically and physically, was no easy task.

"Gobshite," Merida groaned as she rolled her shoulder, setting her bass down. "The whole thing was gobshite."

"Oh, relax," Jane snorted, cracking her knuckles. They missed her drum skills, but she was always better suited to keyboards in the first place – and getting older meant she didn't hit those drum skins as hard as she used to. "It's all going to come together, loves. Already sounds brilliant, you ask me."

The two redheads grunted, "Who asked you?" But they were smiling, and the smiles remained even when Jane tossed an empty water bottle at Merida's head.

"We need to tighten up those solos," Anna said. "They're going to run over if we keep doing that, and you know old ladies like us can't handle that kind of extended show anymore."

"Old ladies?! Feck, you an' Jane might count yerselves, but I'm a sprightly forty-seven if ever I were a day, I am! Full of vigour and vitality!"

As they laughed, their new touring drummer stood, hand stuffed into her dark tresses and scratching nervously. "So… are you guys sure I still have this gig? I mean, I keep feeling like I'm bringing the tempo down, but it's because I'm listening; like, I'm such a huge fan of the Heels, I can't even-"

"We know, Moana, we know," Merida sighed.

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.

~ THE END ~

#fractal the future #fruipit #forkanna writes #elsanna fanfiction #elsanna #completed fanfiction #jess the writer

3 notes · View notes