CHAPTER WARNING: Sensuality, over-the-clothes stuff.

NOTE: Hello, everyone! We would like to take a moment to point out that until Elsa decides to label herself, please refrain from presuming her sexuality. There have been one or two (not many) comments hinting that she has to be fully hetero- or homosexual. Eventually, that will become more clear, but please do not label her because (mostly) it will give you erroneous expectations for the story itself. Thanks and enjoy!

CHAPTER 10

By the time she got back to Doc's, the sun was just beginning to set. She let herself in and poked around the living room and kitchen, not really expecting to bump into Doc at all. Where else would he be but in his garage-slash-workshop?

However, finding him in the living room revealed something that made her heart sink.

"Oh my God." A tinny voice floated out of the TV as she edged her way in there. It was a frighteningly familiar phrase – one she'd already lived through. "They found me. I don't know how they possibly could have, but they found me."

"…Doc?" she asked softly, coming into view.

He started as though he'd been electrocuted. "Anna! My dear girl! I was simply… analysing the videographic components of your recording device. The clarity of the image leaves little to be desired…"

He was lying. But she didn't feel like calling him out on it. Maybe it was even for the best. If Doc knew what was going to happen, then maybe he could take steps to prevent it. So she kept her mouth shut, instead heading over to the couch and flopping down. She really needed a shower.

"How did it go?" Doc asked, abandoning the phone to stand in front of her. "Are they going together?"

Sighing, Anna rubbed a hand over her face. "I don't know. Kris was halfway through asking when we were… interrupted. Hopefully while I distracted Hans, he coughed up the courage."

"Anna, he has to-"

"You think I don't know, Doc?" she interrupted, suddenly angry with him. "What, you think I've been prancing about, hoping it'll all magically work? I finally got Elsa to actually look at him. When your own mother would rather hang out with chicks, and you happen to be one she's attracted to, things become a little more difficult!"

Doc didn't say anything. Anna felt a little bad at going off on him, so she swung her legs from the lounge and stood up. "I'm going to have a shower…"

"Listen," he sighed before she could quite leave the room. "Future Girl… I appreciate the difficulty of your circumstances. And I must admit, having you around these past few days has been… well, unusual, but in a way it's as if…"

"As if?" she prompted when he didn't finish. But he only waved the unspoken sentiment away. What was he going to say?

"Nevermind. You work on fixing them up, and I'll work on the time machine."

"Yeah," she sighed, all of her anger having evaporated. Now she just felt tired.

"Oh, and by the way, I believe I've fixed the starter, at least. Still working out the kinks with the plan to harness the power of the storm, but… all is progressing on schedule."

Nodding a few times, she gave him the best smile she could. It was still pretty pathetic, but it was all she could muster. "Thanks, Doc. Always doing your best with what you got, huh? I guess I kinda learned that from you."

Then she left, before the moment got more awkward. She had a feeling Doc was going to say she was like the daughter he never had, given that he had said those exact words to her before – in the future. Unfortunately, in that moment, she didn't much feel like a good daughter to anyone.

~ o ~

The scent of shampoo and conditioner was still strong in Anna's hair when there came a knock at the door. "DOC! DOOR!" she called, pulling on the button-up shirt that passed for something to wear. She didn't even have more than one bra, since there wouldn't be much point in buying more than one if she was only living there for a week, so she left that off. It was beginning to get pretty grimy.

Doc didn't answer. And the knock came again. Rolling her eyes, she struggled back into her jeans and padded through the hallway, then clomped down the stairs. Was it coming from the garage? "Alright, alright, here I come!"

Wrenching the door open, she couldn't help the squeak when it wasn't an angry Mr Tannen, a sad Kristoff, or a concerned neighbor.

"HI!" she squawked. And Elsa Baines gave a shy smile.

"Hi, yourself. You look comfortable."

Oh god. She was a post-shower mess! At least she was clean, but that wasn't the same as presentable. Meanwhile, Elsa's hair was a little less outrageous than at school today, but that didn't mean the rest of her style had followed. There was much too much stomach on display – Elsa had forgone the high-waisted jeans this time. Instead, a short denim skirt sat on her hips below a crop-top shirt.

"Can I come in?" she asked, peering around Anna. "Oh, this must be your uncle!"

Anna turned around, eyes widening as Doc finally sauntered in from where he had been. Upon realising that there was someone at the door, he rushed over, grabbing a heavy tarp to cover the DeLorean.

"Um, sure. Sorry," Anna said, stepping aside to let Elsa through.

Elsa gave Doc a polite smile. "Yo," she said. "I'm Elsa." She held out her hand.

"Um… pleased to make your acquaintance," Doc managed to mutter, accepting the hand and only briefly shaking it before releasing her, then nodding to Anna. "Um… I take it you're here to visit, I'll just…"

"Let's talk in here," Anna took over, indicating the living room – and more importantly, away from the DeLorean. The relieved look on Doc's face was only shown once Elsa's back was turned, but she had to suppress a small chuckle to see it.

Once sequestered away from the potentially-dangerous nonsense of Doc's workshop, Anna looked around briefly, then turned back. "Um… I'd say 'make yourself at home' but I barely feel at home here, so… I guess, do you wanna sit?"

"Sure." Anna motioned to the chair, then sat on the couch. Of course, Elsa sat next to her instead. Why would she do anything else?

"Oh! Um… h-hello."

"Hi," her mother purred with a big smile. Then she bit her lip for a moment, as if trying to summon her courage. It looked all too familiar; that was exactly what Kristoff had been doing every time he tried to talk to Elsa. "I, uh…"

"Yeah? Come on, time is money." She was joking, but Elsa flinched. "N-not really! I mean, I don't have a job, obviously." That was really awkward. Anna frowned at herself. Stupid.

"Right. So, um… yeah, so you looked really awesome on that skateboard today. I, uh… I didn't know you board. How long have you been doing it?"

"Oh, yknow… a while…" Anna didn't really want to talk to Elsa about it; not when she – well, her older counterpart – was mostly the reason Anna had taken up exercising in the first place. Anywhere with fresh air and an excuse to not be home. It had started just by walking, but then she realised that despite her general lack of coordination, skateboarding was actually something she was pretty good at.

Her ability to brush off a fall or a graze notwithstanding.

Elsa obviously didn't know how to continue that train of thought; not when she had so successfully been shut down. Anna cleared her throat, self-conscious. She had to know. "So, I noticed Kristoff talking to you before Hans interrupted. Anything important?"

But Elsa didn't have an answer. "He was being a little… odd," she said. "And then yeah, there was Hans and we were a little distracted. After you left, he said he had to go babysit or something."

"Ah." Damn. He almost had it, too. Stupid Hans and his stupid face. But then Elsa was speaking again and Anna's attention was taken up just by watching her.

"Yeah… Oh! I, uh, I made you something."

"You what?" But Elsa was already pushing a small plastic box into her hands. "Uhh… okay, now I'm even more confused."

"It's a mix tape. You know, all the kids are making them; I, uh… we don't have enough compact discs for me to make it all sound professional, so most of it's off the radio. But I hope you like it, an- anyway."

While Elsa was nervously biting her lip, Anna glanced down at the cassette. She recognised most of the names listed on the little paper insert in her teenage mother's loopy handwriting: Cyndi Lauper, Bowie, Madonna, Tears For Fears, Pretenders, Flock Of Seagulls, Joan Jett… and of course,'Til Tuesday. There were a few names she didn't know – who the hell was Level 42?! – but honestly, not that many. Eighties music was her jam, after all.

"Wow… yeah, thank you." But realising that sounded insincere, she looked up into Elsa's hopeful eyes. "Seriously, this is bomb. I-I mean, it's rad. Really, um, bitchin'."

"Bitchin'," she breathed back with a definite blush. Great; they were already in trouble again. "Oh, Al finally asked Jazz to the dance!"

The corners of Anna's mouth lifted into a smile, but she couldn't inject much feeling into it. Not while she was still trying to figure out what the tape meant, and how to manoeuvre her parents together. "That's great, Els," she said, hoping the words would cover for her lacklustre expression. Elsa didn't even notice because she was suddenly staring at her lap.

"I- no one's asked me. Or Ariel, so we're going to go as a group. Y'know, stag? I… I would really love it if you came with us…"

"Oh, I don't want to be a third- fourth… fifth wheel? Or stag?" They both laughed a little. But she could tell Elsa wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. "Um… we can make that our plan, unless somebody does end up asking you. Never know."

"I mean… I know who I wish would ask me." The admission was pretty raw, even without identifying the person, so Elsa sat up a little straighter, clearing her throat. "B-but um, yes. Also, we want to get this party together for the night before."

"What? A party?"

"Yeah!" She nodded emphatically, her previous embarrassment forgotten. "See, Ariel has to do this family thing the morning after the dance and she can't get out of it, plus people have church, blah blah." Anna smiled; she knew that one of those church people was Elsa, if she remembered her maternal grandparents with any clarity – and Elsa herself in her future. "So we wanna party like it's 1999 the night before. Problem is, we can't find anywhere good besides Jazz's mom's place, and it's tiny, so… s-so we're probably just going to end up back at Lou's."

At that, Anna began to scheme, bumping the corner of her mixtape against her lips. If she could get her parents talking at this party, in a very casual, very "fun" environment, it could more naturally lead to him asking her to the dance.

"Well… what if I know a place that's completely empty? Though I don't know if you could get enough stuff together to get a party going…"

At that, Elsa's eyes flew open. "What, really? Oh my God, gag me with a spoon! Tori saves the day like Gizmo!" And then she laughed and pulled Anna in for a hug, and Anna chuckled because she honestly had no idea what Elsa had said but it seemed like a good thing.

However, then she had a new problem. Elsa was squeezing her just a little too tight, face buried in the crook of her shoulder and neck. She was almost nuzzling, hands passing up and down her back a little too freely. Not that it was much of a surprise after their last extended hug, but Anna still found herself a little surprised.

"I-it's no big deal," she finally managed to say in a soft voice, embracing her back.

It had the opposite effect than Anna was hoping for, though. As much as she loved hugging Elsa – and it was getting easier to admit that to herself – she had hoped that it would encourage Elsa to still her hands.

No such luck. In fact, it actually made it worse because it brought Elsa closer to her. Elsa let out a little sigh, relaxing further against Anna's front. It made three things very, very obvious, that in hindsight Anna should have expected.

First, that she still wasn't wearing a bra.

Secondly, apparently Elsa wasn't wearing a bra, either.

And third… nipple piercings made every tender motion shoot through the sensitive buds so much more strongly. Maybe it wouldn't have been all that bad, except Elsa's were definitely perkier than could be explained away by the relatively mild Autumn. So they were both in a similar predicament.

"Ooh," Anna couldn't help breathing. Guilt slammed into her immediately afterward; that was not okay. This was her mother! Her mother as an awkward, barely-gay teenager!

But Elsa didn't back away. In fact, she shifted again, and Anna felt herself freeze when heat filled her stomach at the same moment the shame did. She knew that it shouldn't feel this amazing, but it did. It was pure eros.

Obviously Elsa thought the same. Anna was distinctly aware of Elsa's hands as they moved again. This time, though, they weren't moving up and down her back. Elsa's head remained bowed even as her hands came close to Anna's front. They hovered just below her armpits, trembling with a need Anna wasn't even sure Elsa knew how to deal with.

It was all wrong! This was the moment she had been hoping to have with Punz. With anyone, as starved for affection as she had felt for so long. Even Merida's joking commentary about "throwing her one" had begun to sound actually appealing, despite it being a joke.

And it was happening with Elsa Baines, the woman who would grow up to give birth to her one day. But she wasn't yet. She wasn't Elsa McFly. They were almost completely different creatures; this Elsa was shy, and young, and edging into the queer side of life. Sweet and inviting. Her mother was old, bitter; hollowed out by a life she didn't want. And most importantly, her mother would scarcely even touch her at all.

This Elsa… wanted to do more than just touch her. Those two hands shifted so that her thumbs began to inch their way between two different sets of breasts, the soft pads facing in Anna's direction when they came into contact with stiffening peaks through the soft fabric of her shirt.

"You- is that… a piercing?" Elsa asked, voice soft. Reverential. "W-wow. That's totally gnarly. And… hot."

Try as she might to suppress it, she couldn't quite hold back the moan, both at the words and the touch. That one sound seemed to encourage Elsa like nothing else. Anna had barely a moment to prepare before Elsa was pressing in again, thumbs carefully circling the pebbling flesh and the shifting barbells.

"Elsa…" she practically panted, closing her eyes for a moment. "Maybe… maybe we should stop…?"

She did want to, truly. This wasn't right. Her mind told her that Punz was waiting for her. Her heart was telling her that! But it was also telling her that Elsa was here. Elsa wanted her, and she wanted Elsa in return, morality be damned. Eyes squeezed shut, a murky issue of emotions swirling about her face as she lifted her hands.

"Maybe we should," Elsa breathed softly against her neck, her ear, causing her next moan to come out in a quavering tone, for her hands to fall uselessly back down. "But I don't think either of us want to…"

Heat pulsed in the center of Anna's lap. So little effort was required. Just push her buttons and Anna fell apart like a paper boat, the mixtape bouncing off her lap and onto Doc's carpets. She didn't want to simply let Elsa turn her on, but how could she put up any defenses when she seemed to be so effortlessly good at it?

Think about Mom, she demanded of herself as hot breath caressed her neck, lips grazing over gooseflesh. Your mom, back in your time. Her crabbiness killing your mood every day… this is her. This is the same woman you're letting fondle you!

But it wasn't working. It only seemed to have the power to stop her from doing anything back for now, not to get her to push Elsa away. How could she when she craved any kind of attention from her? Plus, she knew that she couldn't stop herself for much longer. Not when she wanted any kind of physical contact with Elsa as bad as she did.

Not when she wanted to do things to that perky chest that were nowhere near familial.

Still… maybe she could get Elsa to stop. Already hating herself, she let out the only sound that could diffuse the situation.

"Mom…"

Elsa froze. "T-Tori?" Her eyes were wide, face flushed. Her arousal was still incredibly obvious, which only made Anna feel worse. But it had the desired effect. Elsa jerked her hands away, looking down.

"S-sorry," Anna said softly. It had worked. Her plan had been to stop this before they got too far ahead. She didn't want to think about why she felt so disappointed.

"What did you say before?" Elsa asked, beside herself. Full of heat with nowhere for it to go. Now, all Anna had to do was glance down and she could see the outlines of her peaks, and desire filled her… but she made herself look up and away.

"N-nothing. I'm…" She had to be careful. That was something Anna was really bad at, but she had to try. "So that, um, that happened."

Swallowing hard, Elsa turned to face away from her, eyes wide and staring. Sure, she was still turned on beyond belief, but she also seemed to realise there was something off about their interaction now.

"I'm so sorry. When I get that close to you… I can't seem to stop myself."

"It's okay," Anna lied, petting along Elsa's back. When wide eyes turned toward her, she jerked the hand away, but then returned it. "Really. I… well, clearly I'm having a little trouble over here, too."

Elsa snorted. "Geez, I'll say." Then she sobered up. "I never- this is so new for me. And I haven't forgotten that you have like… a girl waiting for you. I don't wanna lose your friendship but I don't know if I can pretend that I don't like-like you. That I don't want to… to share this kind of thing with you… and way more."

That bald confession made Anna want to cry. "Elsa..." It was so heartfelt – nevermind it did things to the rest of her central nervous system. She felt herself tearing up, and Elsa rushed to comfort her.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry! You don't want a pathetic… me… learning about girls on you. It's not fair. You're just so… amazing, Tori…"

"I'm sorry for being so weird about this. Whatever it is we have. Because I kinda really like it, and I definitely don't hate you, or think you're pathetic! Seriously! Just… I dunno, we need to chill."

It was only partially true. By now, Anna knew that she genuinely did want more from Elsa than simple friendship, or parenting. But those were base desires talking. Her higher brain functions knew that she needed to get Kristoff into the picture and set those two crazy kids on their way to happily ever after. Hopefully, a little happier than she remembered them, but at the absolute least to a procreation state of mind. So she and her siblings wouldn't disappear.

However, Elsa didn't know that. She'd made it quite clear that she thought Anna was simply humouring her; as painful as that idea was, it would be far worse it Elsa found out the truth. Clearing her throat slightly, Anna stood up to walk her to the door.

But Elsa had perked up at Anna's small admission. "You… like it?" she asked softly. Throat suddenly dry, Anna nodded. Damn, she hadn't meant to say that out loud.

"I'm really excited for the party," she said instead, taking the lead and directing Elsa out the front. Still, her voice was higher and more nervous than she would have liked. "Is it okay if I get the address to you tomorrow? Kinda, um, exhausted right now. Running away from Hans and everything."

"Oh, of course!" Elsa responded. At least she didn't seem upset about what had transpired – in fact, she seemed almost happy. Anna didn't want to think on why that might have been, so she tried her best to push it from her mind.

Elsa turned back to her at the front door. That burning desire was still so there, boldly written in her eyes – the way they glanced all over Anna, drinking her in. Anna felt naked under such an intense gaze. But still, her words obviously had an effect on Elsa, though. Instead of a hug, Elsa simply put her hand on Anna's shoulder, squeezing gently. The fact that Elsa was actively reining in her emotions – her desire – was a small comfort. It showed that Elsa respected her wishes.

"Great! Then I'll… see you tomorrow! To plan, a-and whatever!"

"Yes, there'll be music, fun, dancing through the night…" Biting her lip for a moment longer, Elsa seemed to make a conscious effort to allow herself to do something moderately scandalous. She leaned forward and pecked Anna on the lips. It was nothing, the kind of thing she remembered her doing when she was a little girl, but more bold than Elsa was used to being. Even if clearly less bold than her thumbs had been moments before.

"O-oh, well… yeah!" Anna whispered with a huge grin, knowing her freckled cheeks were glowing. "We're gonna get turnt- I mean, party like it's 1999!"

Grinning back at the reference – one they could both get for once – Elsa gave her shoulder one last squeeze. "Looking forward to it!" Then she was skipping down Doc's steps and heading for her parents' Gremlin.

It took a few minutes for Anna to collect herself. To let the blush and the smile fade, for a more sober outlook to set in as she wandered back toward the garage. She basically had a date. A date with her own mother. And she would have to go through with it, because…

Because if she broke her mother's heart, she would be too upset to go out with her father. Which was the only thing she absolutely could not do. Her life depended on it.

~ o ~

"Perhaps you should call this off," Doc said once she had explained the situation, and the crease of concern between his bushy eyebrows was very real. "The head can be easily persuaded, but the heart… if it's set on you, then she won't have room for anyone else. Your proximity is more of a detriment than a benefit."

"But I can't turn back now," she sighed, sinking down into an empty stool and staring down at the concrete. "If I blow her off, she might turn to Kristoff for comfort… like, sure, it's possible. But what if she just closes herself off completely? Shuts down because… because I hurt her? Then I won't even be able to keep telling her to give him a chance. So… so I'm stuck."

Doc sighed, walking over to her to rest a hand on her shoulder. "I trust you to do the right thing, Anna," he began, "but… I don't know if you trust yourself anymore. That is partially what I'm worried about. And this unprecedented magnetism between you two girls. Honestly, this would make a fascinating case study if not for the grave ramifications should we not succeed in our mission."

Anna didn't have a good response for all that, so she just said, "Thanks for your help, Doc. Don't worry, I'll… I think I'm just gonna turn in early. But maybe tomorrow I can figure all this shit out."

He didn't try to stop her.

To Be Continued…