Future: Growing Up Fast
Prompt by the-great-escapist: "Years later and Katherine is about to go on her first date and while Rapunzel is ecstatic, Flynn isn't too impressed. (I did always imagine him as the protective-father type)"
Scene Notes: This was surprisingly challenging, but I'm mostly happy with it. I may as well 'fess up that I don't have too many personal memories of "domestic tranquility" (my parents' marriage was very troubled), so this may seem more like sitcom than reality. The conflict and Flynn's attitude may also be off-putting, though I tried not to make it ugly or overbearing. I hope I've struck the right tone and the piece is enjoyable. :) This chapter is NOT AU-of-AU. K+
"Mom?" a hesitant, uncertain voice called down the stairs.
At once, Rapunzel sprang up from her desk and headed for the staircase. She peered up the dim, unlit corridor at the fifteen-year-old girl who loitered bashfully at the top. She could hardly see her daughter in this light.
"Katherine, why are you hiding?" she asked concernedly as she began to walk up the stairs.
There was a hesitation. Then Katherine answered, "Are they around?"
Oh. Rapunzel knew at once whom she meant. "Your brothers are outside with your dad," she said, trying to keep out the tinge of irritation at the male side of the family, but not quite succeeding. Nine-year-old Eugene and seven-year-old William had been giving their older sister no end of grief about tonight, constantly teasing her, and—to Rapunzel's extreme annoyance—their father had not been very firm in rebuking them. "Don't tease your sister" was all that he would say.
She had finally told them all to go outside and play sports or something—to take advantage of the nice big yard. Gone were the days of the single-bedroom top-floor condominium in the city of Fairfax. They now owned a house outside the suburbs, since the family needed the space. The kids' great-grandparents—now in their mid to upper eighties—had moved back east to live near their family, the only family they had. They frequently visited and spent the night, but even then the house was sufficient for everyone's needs.
Rapunzel reached the top of the stairs at last and turned on the light. Katherine gazed up at her. Kate's eyes, nearly an exact duplicate of her mother's in color and shape, met their counterpart. There were some superficial differences, however—most notably, the fact that Katherine had applied eye makeup, whereas Rapunzel did not. Even twenty years after leaving her birth home, Rapunzel still did not like wearing makeup because of the bad memories it brought back. She used the bare minimum, and then only to protect her face. However, she could still pick out a well-done makeup job.
"You look very nice," Rapunzel said, smiling at her daughter.
As if on cue, Katherine turned around to let her mother see the way she had parted her hair. Thick, wavy, chest-length, and dark, nearly the exact shade of her father's hair, it was hair to covet—and, from what Rapunzel understood, some of Kate's classmates at school did exactly that. Rapunzel hadn't wanted to say too much, because her own mother had constantly remarked on how "pretty" Rapunzel was as long as she was dressed and made up her way, but she had been aware for several years now that her daughter was turning into quite a beauty.
Still, if Katherine was indeed as bashful and uncertain as she seemed to be, Rapunzel decided that she needed to try to bury her own discomfort about complimenting her daughter's appearance. She made herself up and did her own hair, Rapunzel scolded herself mentally. This isn't about you. Complimenting her for her efforts is different from what Mother did, bragging on her own work while backhandedly slighting you.
"Really?" Katherine asked, seemingly confirming Rapunzel's belief that she was uncertain.
Rapunzel smiled. "Really. Your makeup and your hair look wonderful." She reached out with open arms and enveloped her daughter in them, giving her a tight hug.
Katherine hesitated for a brief fraction of a second before returning her mother's embrace. She was a small person, even smaller than her mother (though only by a couple of inches now), and that was what Rapunzel suspected was a major factor in Flynn's ambivalence towards the idea of her going on a date. He always had been protective of Rapunzel herself, and still was. It seemed to be a part of his nature to want to protect those smaller and, in his mind, more vulnerable than he was.
They broke apart, and Rapunzel gave Katherine a gentle smile as they began to head downstairs. Her date, a boy from her class who was sixteen and had his driver's license, would be here in a few minutes.
Unfortunately, just as they reached the bottom of the stairs, the front door opened. The "guys" barreled inside in a flurry of noise and activity, bringing the scents of human sweat and the outdoors into the house. Eugene and William started to bound loudly upstairs when they noticed their sister. That stopped them cold. Exchanging sly grins uncannily similar to their father's familiar smirk, they turned around and sauntered back down to the front living room.
"Is your boyfriend here yet, Kate?" William taunted.
Katherine's eyes narrowed. "He's not my boyfriend!" she snapped. Turning to her mother, she implored, "Mom, don't let them sit down here. They're filthy! Just look at them!"
Rapunzel had already noticed the fact that her sons were covered in dust. Even as Katherine spoke, she caught sight of a leaf fragment in Eugene's hair. "Boys, your sister is right. Go upstairs, get into the bath, and put on something clean."
"We all have to dress up just because Kate's boyfriend is coming by?" Eugene said around a smirk.
"That's enough. I've told both of you to stop that," Rapunzel said. "I'm sure your sister won't forget this when you two want to go on dates in a few years." She smirked back at them.
"I will never want to go on a date!" Eugene declared.
Rapunzel laughed. "Oh yes you will."
"And Mom is right," Katherine said wickedly. "I will remember when your turn comes."
"It won't!" Eugene exclaimed again.
"Mine either!" echoed William.
Finally Flynn, who had stood silently in the foyer as this took place, spoke. "Didn't the two of you hear your mother?" he said. "You are dirty. Now go upstairs, wash yourselves off, and put on clean clothes. We're going to have dinner anyway once Kate heads out. You know you're supposed to get cleaned up before meals."
The boys grinned again and bounded up the stairs as they had started to do before their attention was distracted. When they were gone, Katherine heaved a sigh of relief. Rapunzel placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. She gazed up at Flynn and immediately noticed that he was trying to slink out of the room unnoticed.
"Where are you going?" she said, an eyebrow raised.
He stopped and turned around. "Putting on something clean myself." He went to the master bedroom, and in a few minutes, came out dressed in—of all things—a suit and tie. He was running a comb through his hair when he reappeared in the living room and sat down. He stared toward the front door, not acknowledging his wife or daughter.
Rapunzel glared pointedly at him. He blinked, glanced at his daughter, and managed a smile. "Well, you look very nice," he said to her. He fell silent again.
Rapunzel sighed to herself. She would definitely have a word with her husband once Katherine was out.
Just then, the doorbell rang. All three of them sprang up to answer it, but Flynn got to the door first. He opened it like a shot.
Before them was a clean-shaven, well-groomed, dark-haired, moderately handsome young teen. About three inches shorter than Flynn, he was dressed conservatively and gave the overall appearance of shyness and deference, but what Flynn immediately noticed was that his hair was cut in a Mohawk. A faint scowl appeared on his face.
Rapunzel could not help but notice how nervous the young man was as she and Katherine approached. She suddenly realized exactly why Flynn had put on a suit. It was to intimidate the boy. She could not believe him. Even though this was a wealthy county and their millionaire status therefore wasn't particularly distinctive, he was still well-known as a bestselling author, and that would be intimidating enough.
"You're Jake, right?" she said, welcoming the young man into the house with a gentle smile on her face.
He seemed relieved. "Yes. It's an honor to meet you—both of you," he added, glancing nervously at Flynn.
"Same here," she said. She pushed her nervous daughter forward. "Now, don't let us keep you waiting. You've got dinner to eat and a movie to see." Turning to Kate, Rapunzel smiled encouragingly at her. "Remember, ten o'clock. And if anything goes wrong, you—"
"I have my phone," Katherine said, seemingly regaining some confidence at the reminder.
"That's good, then."
Flynn finally spoke, though it sounded as if he was making an extreme effort to do so. "Enjoy your evening," he choked out.
As the young couple left the house and headed toward Jake's car (technically his parents' car), Rapunzel turned to her husband with a glare. "What is your problem?" she exclaimed.
He glared back at her. "He's a little punk," he snarled.
Rapunzel heaved a sigh. "He is not a punk! He was very polite. And I think you scared him half to death, opening the door like a popgun and towering over him like that in a suit."
"All I have to say is, he'd better keep his hands off her," Flynn muttered in response.
"Oh, like you kept yours off me?" Rapunzel said sarcastically.
That was a mistake. "You want her to do the sort of things we did?" he exclaimed in disbelief. "Do I really need to remind you—"
"No—of course I don't! But we were in our twenties, Flynn, and we were both out of college. She knows how to behave appropriately. And Jake is a good kid. He's on the honor roll and the student council."
"He'd better be a good kid," Flynn muttered.
"He is. And the way you intimidated him, I think he'd be afraid to cross you even if he weren't."
Flynn smirked. "That was the general idea."
Rapunzel shook her head in exasperation, but a smile was forming on her face as she sat down next to her husband. She leaned against him and let her hand trail down his thigh, toward his knee. "I guess it's just a 'dad' thing," she said. "Not that I ever saw it personally... but in movies and books..."
He nodded. "Yeah... it is a 'dad' thing, but I think it's an extension of a 'protective of the people I love' thing."
Rapunzel smiled. "Well, you were always very protective of me too."
"'Were'?" he said with a raised eyebrow.
She chuckled. "Okay, okay. Point taken."
He smirked and leaned in, giving her a kiss.
End Notes: That concludes the prewritten bonus scenes. I currently have the following prompts yet to write:
From Wolfram-and-Hart-Sauron: Rapunzel encounters Facilier and remembers him, but he doesn't recognize her. This one will occur in a tropical vacation setting.
From nikkibecket1997: A sequel to "Highly Reactive."
From a guest reviewer: "Flynn shows up and sees Rapunzel doing her stretches, but decides not to make himself known and just watch her be all hot and flexible. But Rapunzel knows he's there starts working out in an overly sexy way to rile him up for some bedroom fun."
The first prompt is currently a work-in-progress and should be the next item posted to this fic. The second prompt will be a separate short (4-5 chapter) fic—specifically, extra chapters for my Marvel movieverse crossover "Highly Reactive." The third, I'm doing research for, because I'm not sure about how those stretches would go, but all will be written.
In addition, I'm going to have a chapter 3 for "Safe Place," and it is going to be kinky. (My best friend "Bain Sidhe" and I use the code name "50 Shades of K" for this yet-to-be-written chapter!) But in the meantime, new prompts are still welcome!