Tell Me How To Fix You
Chapter 34
By: The Duchess of Arendelle
AN: First of all, I want to thank you all for reading this story so far and actually sticking around for more! Also thanks for all the reviews, favs, and follows! You guys are awesome and I love you. I hope that's not too creepy…
Anyway!
Here you are. Another installment. Don't hate me for what's about to go down. And don't worry about it, I have plans so just trust me. :) Sorry for any and all mistakes, I didn't really read over this chapter a bit. So… yea. Enjoy!
"So what is it you wanted to talk to me about Punz?" Anna asked the fidgeting brunette across from her as they waited for the waiter to bring them a menu. Rapunzel looked up nervously at the confused and inquisitive face of her cousin. Truth be told, she had no idea what to say. The entire short taxi ride to Oaken's consisted of the younger girl trying to think of an appropriate way to broach the subject of Anna and Elsa's relationship and her concerns about it.
So far she had nothing.
Clearing her throat, eyes darting around nervously, she opened her mouth only to immediately close it as a young brunette waiter came to their table, dropping off two menus and two glasses of water. Rapunzel smiled gratefully at the waiter. Quickly snatching up her glass, Rapunzel proceeded to gulp down the cool liquid. Anna and the waiter stared at her like she was crazy.
"I take it you're thirsty?" The brunette waiter asked as his bright blue eyes stared at the now empty glass Rapunzel had just slammed down on the table. The younger girl smiled sheepishly at the boy. "Yeah I guess so…" she trailed off awkwardly. A heavy silence fell over the three of them as Anna continued to stare at her cousin in confusion, while said cousin burned holes into her menu. The young waiter whose nametag read Ben began to fidget nervously as he looked between the two cousins. Anxiously he cleared his throat and spoke.
"Um… yeah… so… are you two ready to order or…" he trailed off, shifting from one foot to the other. Anna's head snapped towards the boy and she smiled apologetically at him. "Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. I'll have the Chicken Fricassee with a small Cesar Salad and dressing on the side." Ben wrote down the order. "And the drink?" he asked, not bothering to look up from his pad. "Oh, umm, a Hawaiian Sea Breeze, heavy on the vodka, I feel like I may need it." She tried to joke. Ben smiled a little awkwardly and then turned to Rapunzel.
"And how about you Miss?" Rapunzel startled a bit. She shook her head as if trying to clear her thoughts, before bringing her attention back to the two people looking at her expectantly. "Umm, I guess I'll have the… grilled Tilapia and a spring salad, dressing also on the side." She stuttered out her order. "Okay… and the drink?" he asked, eyeing the demolished glass of watering sitting in front of her. "Oh, uh, just an ice tea with a lemon slice." She told the boy, sitting back in her chair.
"Alrighty then, I'll get this order to the chief ASAP and I'll be right back with your drinks." He told the two women as he took their menus and Rapunzel's empty glass. "I'll bring you some more of this too… since you're so thirsty and all." He joked and winked at the flushing brunette. Silence fell over the table once more as Anna looked at the brunette across from her in anticipation. After watching Rapunzel continue to fidget in her seat, Anna's impatience rose to an all-time high. With a huff she addressed the brunette.
"Look Punz, you dragged me out here, away from my girlfriend might I add, because you said to had to talk to me about something important pertaining to said girlfriend. Now out with it before I force it out of you." She said, arms crossed, somewhat annoyed.
"Okay! Gosh. Don't have an aneurism." Rapunzel said, hands held up in defense. Anna rolled her eyes and glared at the brunette. Rapunzel knew there was no more stalling so she took in a deep breath and let it out in the form of her confession.
"It's-just-that-I-think-you-and-Elsa-should-take-some-time-off-from-dating-each-other." The brunette said it so fast Anna was pretty sure she was speaking another language. The redhead stared at her then shook her head and scrunched up her face in confusion.
"Could you repeat that? And in English please, I don't speak crazy." Anna asked. Rapunzel closed her eyes and sighed again. She knew that what she had to say, Anna wasn't going to take it well. But it needs to be said. So squaring her shoulders, she looked her cousin in the eye, grabbing her hands from across the table and holding them gently.
"I… I said, I think that it would be good for you both, especially Elsa, if you two took some time apart from dating." Rapunzel repeated much slower this time. Anna looked at her as if she had grown three heads. "Wait, what? You think Elsa and I should break up?" the redhead asked in shock and disbelief. Rapunzel frantically shook her head no, quick to explain herself.
"No! No! Not break up, just… not dating…" she tried to clarify.
Anna quickly pulled her hands out of her cousin's soft grip, instead folding them over her chest as she stared at Rapunzel incredulously. "And why the hell should I do something like that? I love Elsa, I care deeply about her and I want to be with her." Anna said, somewhat angrily.
"I know you do Anna, that's why you should take a break! Listen, I've seen you two, you're both head over heels in love with each other. You're mad about Elsa, and I can tell she feels the exact same way about you. But have you forgotten your original goal? Before the blushing and the kisses and the relationship? Elsa is sick Anna. She's not a well girl, and you promised her that you would help her get better, help her get her life back!"
"And you're saying that I'm not doing that? I'm always there for Elsa. I care about her so much. Her getting better is my number one priority." Anna snapped back.
"And I don't doubt it is. But your romantic relationship with Elsa has blinded you Anna. It's made you go soft on her. If something's going on with her and you're concerned all it takes is a simple 'I'm fine Anna, really.' And a smile and boom, you're putty in her hands and you drop the subject. Even if it's painfully obvious that she's not fine." Rapunzel countered.
Anna bristled at Rapunzel's words, mainly because she knew that everything she was saying was true. She had been much more passive with Elsa since the start of their relationship. "What do you know Rapunzel? You've been here what, two, three weeks? How is it you're such an expert on my relationship with Elsa?" Anna asked spitefully. Rapunzel frowned.
"What do I know? Hmm let me think. What do I know. Oh I got it. I know that since I've been observing the three and a half weeks I've been here, I've seen Elsa get up in the middle of the night a total of 5 times with tears in her eyes and begin to frantically clean when she thought that we were asleep. I know that she's been scrubbing her hands like crazy when you're on the phone with work related stuff because she's scared that you're going to be called away and have to leave her. Oh. And I know that right now her arms are bandaged up because she's scrubbed them raw. And. I know you knew none of that." Rapunzel snapped. Anna gapped at the brunette's words, horrified.
Just then the waiter nervously came over, silently dropping their food in front of them without making eye contact, and making a hasty exit from the awkward scene. Why him? Why did he always get those kind of tables?
"What?" Anna whispered out shakily, not evening noticing the boy's presence or exit. "What are you talking about? I.. Elsa… she… she told me it was a rash on her arms." Anna finished lamely, not knowing what to say. The anger drained out of Rapunzel at the look on her cousin's face and the redhead's tone of voice.
"And you just believed her. Even though you knew it didn't sound right, you believed her. Because you've been blinded by love Anna." At Rapunzel's words, tears started to escape from the redhead's eyes. She broke down.
"Yo- you're right Punz. I have been blinded. It's just… I… I don't want to lose her. I don't want to keep pestering her. I feel like if I do, she'll get annoyed with me, tired of me. I'm afraid she'll break up with me if I continue to be as persistent with her as I was when we were just friends. I feel like I have so much more to lose now that we're actually dating." Anna sobbed quietly. Rapunzel reached over and grabbed her cousin's hands again.
"But I… I'm selfish Punz. I'm selfish because I can't even fathom putting my and Elsa's relationship on hold. Even if it is to help her. I love her too much." Anna told the brunette comforting her. Rapunzel smiled sadly.
"Anna look out the window." Rapunzel told the redhead randomly. Anna looked at her cousin bewildered. "What?" she asked with a sniffle. "I said, look out the window." Rapunzel repeated. "But… why?" Anna asked, still confused. Rapunzel rolled her eyes but smiled at bit. "Just humor me, please?" she asked. Anna obliged and slowly turned her head to stare out the large window of Oaken's Café. She stared as couple of all kind walked down the sidewalk, clinging to each other in the cold autumn weather. Fall was ending and winter was just around the corner. She looked at the smiling faces of the people holding hands, talking animatedaly to their significant other, or just content to walk together in peaceful silence. She stared at them as a twinge of jealously pierced her chest. Rapunzel's voice startled her out of her trance.
"Don't you want to be able to do that with Elsa one day? Wouldn't you love to walk down the street, Elsa's hands in your own, while you guys strolled in a park or along the boulevard? Don't you want to take out on romantic dates to restaurants like this?" Rapunzel asked but she already knew the answer.
"You know I do." Anna whispered out sadly. Rapunzel smiled slightly. "Then you know what you have to do Anna. You have to take charge again. You have to help Elsa live. You're the only one she has now, and until you she had no one but her brother to care about her enough to actually help her take the steps to recovery. And you won't have to do it alone. I'll be there by both your sides, pushing you guys along and kicking you in the head with a huge dose of reality every now and then." She joked. Anna smiled a bit but she was far from happy. Anna had a decision to make, and she wasn't sure how well either she or Elsa would take it.
After their talk, the two cousins began to slowly eat their meals in comfortable silence. Finishing up, Anna asked for the check. The same young waiter cautiously came to their table. "I- I hope everything was satisfactory." He asked. The two smiled up at him and Anna was the first to speak. "Yep, everything was delicious. Thanks so much." She complimented. "Yeah I'll definitely be coming back." Rapunzel answered. Ben smiled back in relief, the awkwardness and tension from earlier seemed to have dissipated. Clearing their plates, Ben bid the girls a goodbye. Anna and Rapunzel looked at each other and both reached into their wallets.
"We have to leave Ben a hell of a tip for all the dram we put that boy through." Anna stated with a laugh. Rapunzel agreed.
Walking out of the restaurant, Anna noticed Rapunzel pouting a bit. "What's wrong Punz?" she asked the girl. Rapunzel looked over at her and stuck out her bottom lip. "I didn't get to meet Oaken today, I didn't even see him!" Rapunzel complained. Anna laughed at her cousin and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "I could have told you that he wasn't going to be in today, he usually works in the shop a few blocks from the apartment on Wednesdays." Anna explained. Rapunzel perked up. "Can we stop there on the way back to Elsa's?" she asked excitedly. Anna nodded her head but stayed quiet at the mention of her girlfriend's name.
Flagging down a cab, Anna remained silent as Rapunzel began to talk her ear off about a painting she was working on back home or something. Anna was in deep thought and as they neared Wondering Oaken's Grocery Shop, she put a hand on Rapunzel's arm to stop the girl's chatter. Looking over at the redhead, Rapunzel noticed the serious look on the girl's face. Straightening up in her seat, she prepared to listen to what her cousin had to say. Anna opened her mouth but then quickly closed it. Looking out the window at the apartment complex in the distance, she imagined that she could see Elsa sitting in that same window seat as she was the first day they met. She steeled herself and turned back to the brunette.
"I've made a decision, and I'm going to need your help."
AN: So don't hate me or Rapunzel okay? She's only got both of their best interest at heart and she makes extremely valid points. Anyone who's ever dated someone who use to be a friend, esp a close friend, knows that Rapunzel is telling the truth. You don't really bug them or get on them as much as you did when you were just friends. BUT. Don't fret children. Everything will work out in the end. Okay? Be patient and don't jump to conclusions and I promise you will be happy. :D But yeah lots more to come. I need to start making progress with this story, and so does Elsa! So in future chapters I may start doing time jumps, like moving forward a couple of days, or weeks with flash backs to inform you on the parts that weren't shown. It's time for Elsa to really start her recovery.