Movie Night (AU)
Rapunzel and Eugene were getting their house ready for an evening with friends. They'd picked out a movie called "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles", a nice family comedy. She knew family togetherness was important to all of her friends, and she wanted something low-key that wouldn't upset Varian, who was still adjusting to 'life on the outside'.
Varian and Quirin had been in a horrific car accident the previous year, and Quirin had been in a coma for months. She knew Varian's past year had been difficult, feeling alone and abandoned, he'd resorted to breaking and entering her father's home, angry at the Mayor of Corona for his poor road conditions. Fred had pressed charges despite Varian's young age, and the poor boy had been sent to juvie. It had taken ages for Rapunzel to convince them to release Varian under supervision and some people, like his parole officer Cassandra, still didn't quite trust him.
Cassandra was a very strict, by-the-book law officer, but as one of her closest friends, Rapunzel had seen the kindness hidden in Cassandra on a few occasions. She hoped Cass would enjoy their evening. She'd just gotten a text from Cass saying she was on her way and that Varian better be on his best behavior.
There was a knock at the door, and Eugene raced to get it while Rapunzel straightened some pillows on the sofa.
"Lance, buddy! Good to see you." Eugene and Lance did an elaborate handshake that made Lance's daughters groan.
"Hey, this handshake was considered very cool when we were kids." Lance insisted.
"Yeah, but that was like 50 years ago." Kiera joked. Catalina giggled.
"It was not that long ago!" Lance protested.
"Hi girls. We're not going to start the movie until everyone's here, but I left paper and art supplies on the table." Rapunzel offered. The girls took off like a rocket towards the crafts table. Lance smiled. By the end of the night he'd have more drawings to pin to the fridge.
"Are we the first guests to arrive?" asked Lance.
Rapunzel nodded. "Yes, but Cass is on her way, and so are Varian and his father, Quirin. We're going to have a lot of fun. Eugene chose a really good movie." Rapunzel smiled.
"Remember when we were kids and we used to sneak into movie theaters?" Lance recalled. Catalina and Kiera poked their heads up, wanting to hear more about their Dad's 'criminal' past. But Eugene elbowed him and he quickly backtracked. "But we were wrong, of course! It's much better to pay for movies." Lance corrected. He was saved from further embarrassment by the next arrivals: Varian and Quirin, carrying a large plate of food.
"Hey guys. Um, Dad and me made nachos for the party." Varian grinned nervously. He was still getting used to the idea that they were all friends and had forgiven him. If he didn't have Quirin with him, he probably wouldn't have even showed up, but everyone was glad to have him there.
"Thank you, that's sweet. The girls are already making art and you can join them if you want. I hear you draw a fantastic Iron Man." Rapunzel prompted.
Varian blushed. "I just like drawing armor and robots." he mumbled as he took a seat next to Kiera and Catalina.
"He does very well in art, math, and science. You know Varian took an aptitude test and qualified for college classes. I think it's a better fit for him than high school, the students are a little more mature and don't pick on him so much." Quirin told Rapunzel.
"Is college really better than high school?" Catalina wondered.
"It's a lot bigger, and you have more choices of what you can do. I like the chemistry lab and math department." Varian answered.
"You would like all that nerdy stuff." Kiera teased, but she was secretly glad Varian was enjoying school again.
The kids busied themselves for half an hour with art, while the grown-ups talked. They collaborated on a big drawing- a TIE fighter vs a mermaid and some monkeys- when Cassandra finally showed up.
"Hi guys. Sorry I'm late, I got held up in traffic." Cassandra apologized. Cass was still wearing her police uniform, even though she was off-duty. Varian stopped drawing and stared at her, eyes wide. "Hey, kid. You keeping out of trouble?" Cassandra wanted to know. Varian nodded hesitantly.
"He's been doing great, helping fix the pipes in the Old Corona Housing Projects." Quirin was quick to praise his son.
Cassandra's expression softened, just a little. Only Rapunzel noticed. "That's good. Just make sure you keep track of how many hours he works, and whatever else he does between classes." Cassandra told Quirin.
"I'll do that." Quirin agreed.
Rapunzel saw how Varian tensed up, and wanted to shift to a more neutral topic. "Now that we're all here, we can watch our movie. We'll let the kids have the sofa, while the adults can sit in chairs." Rapunzel said.
"Yay, movie time!" cheered Kiera and Catalina, who left in such a hurry their drawing fell to the floor. Varian picked it up and handed it to Lance before taking a seat next to the girls.
"What movie are we seeing?" Cassandra asked.
"Planes, Trains, and Automobiles." Eugene replied.
"Oh, I love that. With the big fat guy who breaks stuff and is obnoxious! Can you imagine knowing somebody like that?" Lance said, reaching for the nacho chips and double-dipping them in cheese sauce.
"I think I can imagine it." Cassandra said dryly.
"He's not the only character in the movie, you know. There's also the really uptight entitled guy who rudely judges people." Eugene gave Cassandra a pointed look.
"C'mon guys. Set a good example for the kids. We're about to start the movie, so no arguing." Rapunzel laid down the law. She pressed play on the remote, while Eugene dimmed the lights. Soon everyone was laughing at the antics of Steve Martin and John Candy. There were a few highlights: Steve's f-bomb riddled speech got gasps from the girls who were never allowed to talk like that, and the pillow scene at the motel made everyone chuckle. But what really appealed to everybody was when Steve finally got home and invited the homeless John Candy to join his family for Thanksgiving dinner. The credits rolled, and Rapunzel turned off the TV.
"That was really good." Catalina approved.
"Yeah, I never thought they'd be friends." Kiera added.
"It's got a good message about welcoming people into your life." Lance smiled. He'd grown up lonely in the orphanage, with only Eugene as a friend, and he was so glad to have adopted the girls, giving them the sort of loving family he'd dreamed of as a kid.
"Thanks for coming to movie night. Will we see you guys for Thanksgiving?" Rapunzel asked.
"You couldn't keep us away!" Lance laughed.
"Um... are we invited, too?" Varian asked nervously.
"Of course, Varian. We're all friends here." Rapunzel told him.
Varian thought about it. Like the movie characters, he hadn't always had a perfect friendship with Rapunzel, he'd yelled at her for things that weren't really her fault and done desperate, illegal things to try and save his father, just as Steve had tried everything to get home on time. He could really relate to the movie, which in hindsight was probably why they had chosen it.
"Yeah, we're friends." Varian said softly. Quirin put his hand on Varian's shoulder, and Varian smiled, a bigger smile than he'd had all evening.
The End
I've never done a modern setting for Tangled before, it was fun. I miss going to movie theaters, but a movie night at home is just as good, particularly if you have friends over.