Hans was in the family tent on his phone, and gave Anna a rude shooing motion when she tried to approach. She put her tongue out and blew a big raspberry at him before stomping out. Whatever, I got a show to prepare for.

The costume was sized just right. Granted, it did take a minute to slide into it because Anna was a little sweaty after a whole shift of building and painting. Anna was really about to grab baby powder (or honestly a stick of butter) before she slipped right in. It was snug enough to keep her from fidgeting and loose enough to let Anna know that Elsa had a BADONK. Something stirred in her and the thought about it being Elsa's made her chest flutter. She did a little bit of quick makeup in the bathroom mirror and finally gave herself a good once-over. Half-decent, if I do say so myself.

The dirt road parking lot was filling and the line to the big tent was beginning to form. Olaf had his little bowtie on and was collecting tickets. She could faintly hear "ticket or stick it" as she entered the big top from the side entrance. Backstage was an absolute travesty, costumes and sets and rigs and bodies and voices everywhere as usual. Rapunzel was nearby, her hair in the braid behind her and not as a beard.

"Rapunzel!" She called out. The girl turned around and, woah, was Anna not used to her face being so... bald.

"Hey! Wow, your outfit look great!" Rapunzel said and briefly embraced the other girl. "Congratulations, Anna! You get to perform with Elsa!"

"And you get to dance with Flynn!"

Rapunzel nodded. "Yeah, this weekend! How did you hear? I wanted to tell you about it tonight."

"Olaf. He told me you wouldn't be a part of Freaks and I about shit myself." Anna mimed wiping sweat from her forehead. Rapunzel laughed. "Tell me everything."

"Alright, so," Rapunzel led them to the bench, Anna straddled it, "I was going over our conversation and finally thought heck, I won't know if I don't try. So I went for it after a show last week. I went right up to that sweaty dancer and asked 'what do you think of working together?' And he, god what a dope, he said—", Rapunzel made her voice deep to mock the acrobat—"'aren't we already working together', and I said that I meant dancing together. And then he looked me up and down with his stupid confused cute face and said 'I think your beard would get in the way' and I told him that it was funny because you said the same thing. And then he goes in to say 'well it's true' and that's when I realized that he wasn't joking, he literally thought my beard was real! Can you believe that?"

Anna could believe that, he had said something about it once. Also, he was Flynn. "Geez, what a guy."

"Right? So I flipped my hair back and I think his jaw touched the floor. I don't think he's ever met Hot Beardless Rapunzel, which is weird because I'm fairly certain that I've walked through the grounds without the beard countless times. But he's not the most observant guy, and he can have a pass for that. He told me that if I got permission from Hans then we could start the next day. I went right to the family tent and asked him and he thought about it for a while (a long while actually, it was kind of weird to see him so quiet for that long), and finally said that I could do it! Only that I can't do the Bearded Lady act and the dance in the same show because then people will know that the beard's not real. But honestly, I stopped listening after he said yes."

Anna wondered when Rapunzel was going to take a breath. It didn't seem like it was a when situation, more of an if.

"I've been trying to wear my braid back whenever I can so that he'll get used to my actual face and maybe, MAYBE I can give him The Smolder." Rapunzel hit her with said capital s Smolder and Anna laughed.

"How has it been with him otherwise?"

"We only had one day so far and it was rough. I have more bruises than I've ever had in my entire life... You might have to fix some of the rigs. Otherwise, it went real well. I got to see him do the thing he loves, and I got to experience that freedom for myself. I can't wait for more training with him."

"Do you feel like much training will actually get done with you two?" Anna covered her mouth with steepled fingers. She meant that in an innocent given your dance background you won't have to train too hard kind of way but it came out suggestive enough to make the other girl blush hard.

"Anna!" She seethed. Anna just laughed, muffled behind her hands. And that made Rapunzel laugh too.

"Anna!" The redhead whipped her head toward the familiar voice that had called her and saw Tiana swerving between half-finished rigs.

"Ti!" And Tiana's wind was knocked right out of her as Anna absolutely bodied her.

"How are you so surprised, you really expected me to not show up for your first show? Or did you miss all of the texts I sent on the way here?" Tiana put her hands on her hips.

"Mm, I'm gonna blame the second one. This getup doesn't have pockets ergo no phone."

"Yeah, that certainly is a getup." It was muted blue and complemented Elsa's Ice Queen outfit well, and changed in the colored lights that passed overhead. It was so much more sparkly with stage lights reflecting off of it.

"You wish you could be as fashionable as me."

Elsa strode by, presumably to get last minute things prepped, and briefly exchanged waves with Anna and Tiana as she passed.

"Hey, how's it going with her by the way?" Tiana whispered conspiratorially, as if it wasn't literally so obvious to anyone within a hundred-mile radius that Anna had a huge lesbian crush on the performer.

"Oh my god I feel like I could explode at any moment." Anna held her warm cheeks. "She's just literally so cute and also adorable and ALSO so pretty all the time. And she makes it so easy to talk to. I think we're becoming really good friends and I, ah..." she sighed, remembering the circus-cest comment, "... I should get ready. Where are you sitting?"

"Directly in the center so you'll have to look at me," Tiana said with a fat grin.

Anna didn't have the heart to tell her that she wouldn't be seeing anything onstage because of the lights and said "wish me luck."

Tiana pulled her into a final tight hug.

"Luck."

Anna had last minute nervous poops a-brewin' and could no longer do anything about it. The introduction would begin any minute. They had rehearsed this act to death and Anna for one wasn't going to let it go wrong, not of her account anyway. Especially not because she shit herself. She decided in that moment that if things went well, she'd treat herself to ice cream. If things went less than well, she'd throw herself into a woodchipper.

"Hey," Elsa jabbed Anna in the side. "Where did you go just now?"

"What do you mean?"

"You looked zoned out. Don't tell me you're having last minute thoughts" Elsa crossed her arms and lifted a skeptical eyebrow.

"No, I just, I don't know…"

"Oh shoot," Elsa's arms fell, "you ARE having second thoughts, aren't you?"

"What, no! I really want this! It's just, well," Anna looked to the side, wringing her hands, "I'm a little frightened is all. Don't make it a big thing."

"I understand. The first time is nerve-wracking. It might be the scariest thing someone could ever do in their life."

"Wow, yeah thanks for that, that helps—" Anna started before she felt Elsa's hands grip her shoulders.

"Do it back to me" Elsa commanded lightly. Anna did what she was told and shakily grabbed onto her upper arms. Their faces were so incredibly close, Anna could count the number of mascara'd lashes. Could feel Elsa's breath on her face. Could see the perspiration already dotting along Elsa's hairline. And it only got easier to count, to feel, to see, because she was coming in close—

—Jesus fucking Christ? Is she about to kiss me?—

Only to have Elsa pull her down along with her so that they were bent over, arms resting along each other's backs in the worlds smallest huddle. Their eyes met in the stillness until the performer bounced side to side, prompting Anna to follow.

"Who's gonna rock it tonight?"

"Uh, us?"

"Who's gonna roll it tonight?"

"Roll—"

"Go along with it," Elsa smiled gently.

"Oh! Then us!"

"Who's gonna razzle, Dazzle, and shine?"

"That's us, baby!"

"Leeeeeeet's gooooooo!" Elsa flung her hands to the sky and Anna did the same. The newbie was now more pumped than she thought she could be. The cold sweat was hardly noticeable, and nervous farts subsided. Anna laughed exasperatedly.

"That was the chant we used to do back when we first started this show, this family," Elsa said wistfully, "it really helped out when I wasn't sure if I could handle a solo act."

"Guess I've fully been initiated now, huh?"

"Not just yet you aren't," Elsa said and motioned to the stage. There were hardly any unfilled seats. Anna stared back at the stage and found herself more excited than scared.

The starry night sky was far brighter without many city lights polluting it. The air outside was crisp, less hot and damp than inside the tent, and was so much more quiet than a crowded area deserved. Anna watched the stars dreamily and, even if she was still sweaty and perhaps a little chafed from the outfit, you couldn't pry the smile from her face with a crowbar.

Aside from the one or two (okay three) times where Anna tripped, everything went perfectly— even considering those times, the performance was a dream. Elsa had seen each trip and wasn't very good at stifling her small giggles into the mic. There were a couple moments where it felt like they were dancing onstage. They followed their paths and kept just out of reach. Working together, separately. And that was enough for Anna's ankles to give out a few (four) times.

"Daaaamn, that fit, boyyyyy!" Kristoff, who hadn't seen her until after the performance, whistled when he walked past. The parking lot was decently empty and most of the other performers had cleared out, presumably to their tents.

Elsa approached. With both heels dangling from curled fingers, she finally wasn't Sexy Awooga Amazon lady sized. She stood next to Anna and hummed.

"Anna, that was…" Elsa began.

"… Terrifying? Horrific?" Anna laughed, and a bead of sweat rolled down her cheek so she reached up to wipe it with her arm. Elsa shouldered her and let out a puff of air.

"You brat. It was brilliant." Elsa's grin was so sincere. Her eyes were bright as the stars and Anna almost had to grab at her chest to stop her heart from leaping out and confessing right then and there.

"It went by so much quicker and easier than I thought."

"Did it now? Of course tripping four times is easy for you." Oops. Heh.

Anna returned her gaze to the sky. She couldn't get the ball of excitement out of her stomach. It bounced around from her feet to her pea-brain. Her arms swung and she noticed how close Elsa's arms were too. They could practically touch, if Anna was smooth enough. She could reach out and touch Elsa's fingertips with her own. Her hands were getting sweaty thinking about it.

If Rapunzel can be brave then dammit, so can I.

"Do you think..." Anna started. She didn't know what she was going to say, her mouth opened before her brain was switched on. Elsa looked her in the eye and then Anna absolutely couldn't remember anything and her heart went gooey. "ahhhh... that we could, maybe start rehearsing another bit? In addition to the one we have, I mean. We probably should since Rapunzel and Flynn will be sharing an act time."

"Wait, seriously?"

"I can start coming up with ideas for acts if you want. I am a magician now, after all." Anna said smugly.

"That's true. You certainly proved that you can make the impossible, possible." Elsa said. Then, with a brief breath, added, "you do that really, really well, Anna."

And then she casually bid her goodnight and walked away, completely missing the fact that she gave Anna an immediate gay heart attack that left her clutching her chest, paralyzed with a doofy smile.