Chapter 8 - A Family Affair

Rapunzel strolled into the back room of the strip club, taking off her wig and stowing it in her backpack. "See you tomorrow night, Belle!" she called to the club's owner.

"Have a good night, Punz!" Belle replied. "Stay warm out there! It's gonna be really chilly out tonight!"

"I'm a hardy girl," Rapunzel told her. "A little cold weather won't bother me."

As Rapunzel began pulling the dollar bills from the waistband of her panties and stowing it in her wallet, her cell phone rang, the screen filled with a picture of Anna's smiling face and the words "Anna bb".

Rapunzel unlocked her phone and held it to her ear. "Hey, Feisty-pants!"

"Hey cous, are you ready yet?" Anna asked her over the receiver.

Rapunzel, raised her eyebrow, confused. "Ready for what?"

"We're meeting Elsa and her parents for dinner tonight, remember?" Anna replied, reminding her cousin. "I'm coming to pick you up now."

Rapunzel's eyes widened. "Shit shit shit shit SHIT!" she exclaimed. "I fucking forgot!"

"Wait-what?!" Anna exclaimed. "Oh boy... Where are you?"

"Outside the club," Rapunzel explained. "In my stripper clothes."

"You've gotta be shitting me!" Anna exclaimed. "We're supposed to be at Elsa's house in fifteen minutes!"

"I'm sorry, okay? I got so busy with school that it slipped my mind!"

Anna groaned. "Should I run to your house, grab you some clothes and you get changed on the way? It's gonna be pretty embarrassing with you in your…costume."

"There's no time," Rapunzel said "You said we had to be there in fifteen minutes."

Anna sighed frustratedly, Rapunzel hearing the girl's annoyment through her voice. "Please tell me you at least have a shirt to wear."

"I do, but it's just a tank top. It's not exactly a fancy dress."

"It'll do. I'm almost there; you can put it on in the car."

Rapunzel groaned. "God, I hope I don't embarrass us here."

"We'll deal with it when we get there. I'm coming around the corner now." With that, Anna hung up.

Rapunzel put her phone in her pocket. She felt so stupid to have forgotten this. She wanted to impress Elsa's parents with Anna, to show that they were worthy of Elsa's love, but sadly, Rapunzel feared the evening would go down in flames.

When Anna pulled up, Rapunzel got into the passenger seat as quickly as she could, taking her shirt from her backpack before tossing it into the backseat.

Anna placed her head on the steering wheel, groaning. She was wearing a slender, short green dress and Rapunzel was going to turn up at Elsa's house looking less than presentable.

Rapunzel sighed, looking down. "I'm really sorry, Anna."

"It's alright, Punzie," Anna responded. "It's not the first crisis I've had to deal with."

Rapunzel took off her jacket and put on a gray tank top over her bra, then pulled up her shorts to a more respectable height. "If Mr. and Mrs. Lynn ask," she said, "I'm just gonna tell them the truth: I forgot we were having dinner with them, and I didn't have time to get dressed up before you came and picked me up."

"They might wonder what you were doing," Anna pointed out. "It would be better to just lie."

She sighed. "We'll figure it out when we get there."

The two of them arrived at a large mansion on the outskirts of town, where Elsa called home.

"Wow, never knew Elsie lived in such a fancy place," Rapunzel remarked. "You'd think she'd be a spoiled little princess here."

"Honestly, she's not like any other rich kid," Anna admitted.

"I know that for a fact," Rapunzel joked.

The two of them pulled up on the drive, Rapunzel getting out of the car and pulling down her top to try and make it look more like a skirt. "Damn, this top is too short for me."

"It doesn't matter now, Punz," Anna said. "Let's just get this over with."

Rapunzel nodded. "Alright, lead the way." She gulped, anxiety building up within her.

Anna walked up and rang the doorbell, taking a few deep breaths to calm her nerves.

Rapunzel twiddled her thumbs, anxiety building up in her like a dam about to burst its walls.

The door soon opened and an older woman with slightly greyish brown hair and a warm smiled looked at the two of them. "Oh Anna! It's so good to see you!" She then embraced Anna.

Anna hugged her back. "It's good to see you too, Mrs. Lynn."

The woman looked over at Rapunzel, grinning at her. "Oh and you must be Rapunzel!" She walked over and shook her hand. "Elsa's told me so much about you."

"H-Hi," Rapunzel stuttered, slightly embarrassed.

Mrs Lynn looked over the two girls. "Well, come on inside, you two. It's quite cold out tonight."

As the older woman led Anna and Rapunzel into the house, Rapunzel whispered into Anna's ear. "So far, so good."

"Just be glad she hasn't commented on your clothes yet," Anna remarked.

Rapunzel looked around the house, letting out a low whistle. "It's even fancier on the inside." The walls were cream and very ornate, a distinct pattern of gold highlights throughout. Clearly, Elsa's parents did not exaggerate their wealth.

The two of them arrived in the large living room, sitting on a large couch. "Is there anything you girls want to drink?" Elsa's mother offered.

"No thanks," Rapunzel told her. The brunette had already had enough to drink that evening at the club.

"Ah, okay!" Elsa's mother chirped. "I'll just go and make sure dinner's ready."

"Where's Elsa. by the way?" Anna asked.

"Oh. she and her father are upstairs. Working on business stuff."

"Wait, Elsa helps her dad with his job?" Rapunzel inquired.

"Oh yes, Elsa's very good with numbers," the older woman informed her. "Her father says she should try and apply to Harvard one day."

"Huh," Rapunzel said. "Note to self: ask her for help on my math homework."

As Elsa's mother headed to the kitchen, Anna smiled. "So... you looking forward to seeing Elsa again?" She asked. Elsa hadn't been in school recently, so both of them hadn't seen her much, but now they were in her abode, and Elsa was waiting for them.

"Yeah," Rapunzel confirmed. "Wonder why she's been out, though."

"Well, Elsa has to help her folks a lot," Anna explained.

"I guess so," Rapunzel admitted. "I'm glad she still makes time for us."

"I just hope she's staying on top of her school stuff," Anna remarked. "I'd hate for her to miss graduation."

"I think she took a lot of her final tests early," Rapunzel pointed out. "She mentioned it to me when we did music together."

"Oh yeah, Elsa told me about that," Anna replied.

As they mentioned her name, Elsa then walked into the room, wearing a sparkly blue dress and a lot of makeup. "Hey ladies," she greeted them happily.

Both girls' jaws dropped immediately. They had never seen Elsa looking so beautiful before. She was an absolute goddess in sparkly blue.

Elsa blushed and giggled. "You two look like you've seen a ghost."

"No," Anna said in awe. "An angel."

Elsa walked over to Anna and gave her a kiss on the lips. "I missed you, Anna." She then looked at Rapunzel. "Punzie? What are you doing in those clothes?"

"Long story short, I forgot about this and didn't have time to change," Rapunzel excused.

Elsa rolled her eyes. "Well, it's okay. Mom probably won't care and Dad will just turn a blind eye to it, like he does with a lot of things."

"I hope so," Rapunzel said. "I did the best I could to make myself a little less...stripper-y."

Elsa kissed her cheek. "You did fine, Rapunzel. Oh, and if you feel sick at my mom's cooking, don't worry. Dad and I have been dealing with it for years."

Rapunzel giggled. "I've survived a double team of Taco Bell and cheap grocery store sushi. I can take it."

Anna giggled. "You took that alright, but you were in bed for a week after."

"Hey! I hadn't eaten in days! Besides, the food at the club always gave me indigestion."

Rapunzel looked at Elsa and added, "She's exaggerating, by the way. I wasn't in bed for a week. It was only for the rest of the day."

"Girls! Dinner's ready!" Elsa's mother called to them from the dining room.

Rapunzel kissed Anna's cheek for luck. "Here we go."

Anna smiled at her. "May the Force be with us," she quoted in a slight british accent.

The three of them walked into the dining room and sat down at the long, white table.

Rapunzel felt extremely out of place, but she did her best to look comfortable. The food didn't look very appetizing; in fact, just looking at it made Rapunzel feel a bit queasy.

At that moment, an older man, with short blonde hair walked into the room. "Hello everyone!" He greeted them, The man then noticed Anna. "Anna? My God, you've grown! I haven't seen you since you were little."

"Hi, Mr. Lynn," Anna replied politely.

The man sat down at the other side of the table. "I must admit, Elsa's mother and I were surprised to hear you and Elsa were together and that Elsa was also dating your cousin."

Rapunzel blushed nervously. "Um...I-is that a b-bad thing?"

"Not at all," Elsa's father replied. "I was actually in a similar relationship when I was your age."

"Dad! You're embarrassing me," Elsa complained.

"I'm only showing your girlfriends how much I care," Her father justified.

Anna rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, Mr. Lynn, we get it."

Elsa's mother walked into the room, beaming. "Steve! I thought you'd still be busy."

"I would be, if not for our amazing daughter and her math skills," he responded. "Seriously, I'm going to offer her a job once she graduates."

"Dad, I'm not ready for work yet," Elsa told him. "Besides, I'd feel better if Anna or Punzie would be the working one in our relationship."

"Does it really matter?" Anna put in. "I mean, we'll probably all have day jobs."

Rapunzel felt nervous again, wondering if anyone would bring up her own job.

"Speaking of jobs," Steve inquired, "do you have one, Rapunzel?"

Rapunzel's eyes widened in terror. "Y-yeah...I do..."

"What do you do?" He asked.

"Steve, you really need to ask?" Elsa's mother wondered.

"What? I'm just curious. If she doesn't wanna answer, I'll understand. I'm not pressuring the girl."

Rapunzel folded her hands in her lap, feeling more awkward than ever. She knew that no one here was going to judge her, but she was utterly terrified. "I...I'm a...dancer, sir," she said quietly, blurting out loud.

"Ooooh a dancer!" Elsa's mother responded cheerfully. "What kind? A ballerina? One of those flamenco dancers?" The woman seemed oblivious to the kind of dancer Rapunzel actually was.

"Megan, I think flamenco dancers are Spanish," Mr Lynn pointed out to her.

"I know, but not every style of dance is done by just one culture," his wife reminded him.

Rapunzel took a deep breath and let it out. Just tell them the truth, she thought. "Mr. and Mrs. Lynn...the truth is...I'm a stripper. I work at the Paradise Club downtown. I smoke weed. In short, I'm the girl those after-school PSAs warned you about. I know you probably don't want your daughter hanging around with a girl like me, so..." She stood up. "I'll leave if you want me to."

"No... stay," Megan replied. "I know exactly what kind of person you are. You're like me."

Elsa's eyes widened. "Wait, what?"

"Elsa," Elsa's mother started. "There's something your father and I never told you. It's how we met."

"Your mother was a stripper too, Elsa," Steven explained. "I was one of her clients many years ago, but seeing the way her club treated her, I wanted to bring her out of that life and gave her a home."

All three girls were utterly dumbfounded. The most they could manage was a collective "Wait, what?"

"It's true," Steve informed them. "Your mother helped open my eyes to the world. Until I met her, I was just some dumb, stupid rich kid who saw the world through rose tinted glasses. But after helping Megan, I realised I could do so much more. That's why I started donating more to charities, actively helping out the community, breaking the mold of what people like me were."

"So yes, Elsa," Megan said. "Your girlfriend here is perfectly fine around you."

Rapunzel walked over and gave Megan a hug. "Thanks for understanding."

Megan hugged back. "Now, shall we all tuck in?"

"I vote yes," Elsa said.

"I second that!" Anna added.

"Make that three," Steve put in, smiling.

Rapunzel merely sighed in happiness, knowing that there was kindred spirit like herself and that no matter what, she would be accepted with Anna and Elsa.

xXx

Author's note: *currently on the other side of the table, eating food* Mmmm, this really is good cooking.