Anna pulled up to the eerily empty fairground that looked so unfamiliar in the sunlight, and it didn't help that it was hot as balls. It probably would've been a bearable temperature if Tiana hadn't talked her into dressing up ("It's kind of a job interview so you shouldn't show up looking like trash." "Yes mom."). She crossed the grounds in the direction of where she remembered the family tent was, trying desperately not to pull at her collar too much.
Somehow Anna made it to the tent without seeing a single person. She didn't really know what the protocol was here and since there really wasn't a door to knock on, she shrugged and let herself in.
"Finally, dude. We've really gotta talk about— oh," the acrobat stood in the middle of the room in plainclothes, "sorry, I thought you were Hans."
He then fell backward into the couch with a dramatic sigh, presumably in the same position he was in before she'd barged in.
"Uh, sorry to disappoint." She took her own seat in the uncomfortable stool and waited.
And. Waited.
"So are you here for Hans too?"
"Yeah."
"Ah. Neat."
If there was wind outside, it might've been able to cut the awkward silence. But there wasn't. So the silence remained deafening.
"I'm Anna."
"I remember. Yesterday's meeting."
Silent, other than the weird smatterings of conversation— could they be called that? But then he surprised her and sat up with an exaggerated groan that she'd expect from an 80 year old.
"I'm Flynn. Flynn Rider."
She threw her hand out and he smirked and grabbed it. They shook hands and suddenly the weird tense air dissipated.
"Is he always this late?" She asked him after he brought over a couple bags of popcorn (in those fancy striped bags that felt all authentic and shit).
"He's got a track record, sure."
"How long have you been waiting?"
"Only a few hours," Flynn said casually. Anna gave him a pointed look and threw a piece of popcorn at him. "He's really busy."
"Can you say anything mean about him?"
"Can I? Yeah. Would I?" And he paused. And then grinned. And then threw a handful of popcorn back at her. "Nah."
Anna screeched and flung some more pieces at him and he threw some at her and this went on until they were throwing the hard rejected kernels of unpopped popcorn. They laughed out of breath and Anna wiped the excess butter onto her pants, while Flynn just stuck his buttery fingers in his mouth. He smiled a kind smile and caught his breath as he sat back on the couch.
"He's a good guy, Hans. I've got a lot to thank him for. He sorta brought us all together and, even though it sounds a little cliche, we're all family."
Yeah, it did sound a little (a lottle) cliche, but Anna wanted to know more about the group. So she kept quiet and gave him a warm smile.
"Oaken is the uncle that looks like he could murder someone, but he has trouble getting the frogs out of the tents because he, and I quote, 'doesn't want to pick them up wrong'. Olaf is like the younger brother who— wait, that's not quite right. I wanna say he's the child, but somehow he's everybody's child. He's his own brand, that one. Can't remember stuff to say unless we drill it into him and he usually ends up saying the wrong thing anyway. That's why he doesn't have speaking parts in any routine."
That would explain the weird thing he said yesterday, ticket or stick it.
"Rapunzel's like the weird cousin. She's fun to talk to and great to be around, but at the end of the day, she's got a 6-foot beard. And Kristoff is the brother who would definitely protect your honor in a fight. I don't know how his arm got banged up but I'll bet anything it was in a tussle."
"You think?"
"He's scrappy. I'm sure Sven could pack a punch too."
"Sven as in, Sven the reindeer?" The reindeer puppet.
"The very same. And then there's me, the rugged, dashing, incredibly handsome older brother who has to turn away damsels left and right because I have to focus on my career."
"Uh-huh."
"I can't have any distractions. Well, maybe one or two, but after those four distractions I simply must stay the course. Yes, those ten distracting damsels will just have to wait."
"And Elsa?"
"She wouldn't try to distract me nowadays."
"No, I mean who would Elsa be in the family?" Anna tried real hard not to look too interested. It was a good attempt, 'A' for effort. But she still leaned forward in her seat almost to the point of falling off.
Something in Anna's face (oh, whatever could it be) must've tipped Flynn off as a shit-eating grin rippled across his already smug face.
"Elsa's like an older sister. Reclusive, smart as a whip. She's tough too."
He was quiet for a long while. Whether reminiscing or trying to pause for great effect, it was annoying to Anna and he knew it.
"And? And?" She could feel her cheeks warming up, which sucked 'cause she knew how red she could get. He was eating this up.
"Aaaand you'll have to ask her about the things you want to know." But for some reason, he spared her any extra humiliation and decided to barrel forward in his extended metaphor instead. "Hans is like the stepdad. You don't really want to listen to him but he knows what's best. And honestly, he tries his best. That's really what matters."
Anna felt Flynn getting sappy and dorky so she crumpled up the long-empty popcorn bag and threw it at him. He deflected it with a slap.
"You know, the more you want me to talk bad about him the more I'll stroke his ego— "
"— just his ego?"
"—And whatever else he wants me stroke. He's been there for me when I didn't know I needed the help and got me out of some tough situations— I mean, when he first found me, I'd just been caught robbing a bank."
"Wait, what?!"
At long last, the man himself burst through the tent opening. He was cuffing the sleeves of his stage outfit just so.
"Flynn, sorry to keep you waiting, I was—" Hans stopped short and looked to both of the tents occupants, who were now standing stalk-straight. Anna could even see his brain short-circuit as the three of them held this Mexican Standoff-type stance.
Hans regained his composure. "Shit." he grumbled. "Anya, right?"
"Anna. Ahhh-na."
"I apologize for that. And for making you wait as well. Unfortunately, I've messed up and you'll have to wait a bit longer. We have rehearsal right now, and then there's the show... Think you could come back later? After the show?"
Anna frowned. Like, sure, she could come back later. And yeah, she passed a Mickey D's on the way and it was calling her empty, angry belly right now. But it was kind of a dick move for him to make her wait, and then throw her out just to have her come back.
"Or better yet," Hans interrupted her train of thought before she could answer, "would you like to stay and watch the show?"
She squealed in response, "really?!", and he very briefly and calmly mentioned letting her watch from backstage before he was absolutely encased in a spine-crushing bear hug.
Hans took his leave after Anna released him, calling out to Flynn that they could talk at rehearsal. Which Flynn then went to follow him, but Anna gripped his arm before he left the tent.
"Hey, um, thank you for talking to me." Anna freed his arm when he turned around to face her and he gave her a fat, genuine smile.
"Yeah, kiddo!" He patted her head.
"I'm serious. It means a lot to me. And I'd like to help you with something that, well, I don't know if anyone else had been comfortable enough to tell you about..." His eyes widened with piqued interest and Anna felt almost bad to have to say it.
"Flynn, your acrobat outfit that you wear?"
"Uh huh?"
"You can see everything."
"Everything?"
"Everything."
His eyebrows scrunched together and his voice became a whisper. "... the boys?"
"Especially the boys."
He slapped his whole face with both hands, "oh my gooooodddddd", then slumped forward, nearly crashing into Anna. "What am I supposed to do? This was a custom-made fit! And the material is so breathable, it practically has its own set of lungs! I can't go pick up some two-bit leotard from Walmart, or worse—" he gulped, "—Sears..."
"What are you talking about? You don't have to do any of that."
He peeked out though a couple of fingers.
Anna sighed. "A sock, Flynn. Put your junk in a sock and it'll hide the details. Plus it could make you, you know. Look bigger."
"You'd like that, wouldn't you?"
"You disgust me." But she smiled and shook her head. As he waved goodbye, she could hear him saying a sock, huh.