Chapter Text
It’s been 4 weeks, 3 days, 10 hours and 29 minutes since Kristoff told her she was the most extraordinary person he’d ever met. Not that she’s thought about it. Obviously. And she hasn’t even told anyone. Okay that’s a slight lie, she’s told Elsa who in turn told Honeymaren who passed the information onto Ryder. She’s hoping that it hasn’t gotten back to Kristoff because how embarrassing would that be?
Why, why, why did Kristoff have to go and say something like that? She was quite content with them being mutual enemies (she’d never had an enemy before) and never bothering one another, they didn’t even run in the same circles so she never had to worry about running into him. And yet here she was, wondering how she could run into his circle just so she could get a glimpse of his face, a sneak peek at his dimples.
Anyway it’s her birthday weekend and instead of thinking about Kristoff and how nice it would be to spend the whole weekend with him, she’s packing so she can spend it with her family. She’s halfway done and her musings are interrupted by a knock on the door and for a fleeting second she thinks it’s him, having heard her cries through the art of telepathy.
But of course, telepathy doesn’t exist, despite the claims of many an individual who has tried to sell her their story and so instead of staring into Kristoff’s warm eyes, she’s glaring into Hans’s.
“Oh. It’s you. What are you doing here?” Anna knows she’s being less than polite and considers being a bit nicer when all the memories of Hans and the herds of women lying in his bed come flooding back and she’s almost tempted to punch him in the nose again.
“Well that’s not the warmest welcome I’ve ever received. Were you expecting someone else?” His voice is smarmy and smug and she just knows he doesn’t expect her to have a potential romantic interest so she does what he has been so good at before-she lies.
“As a matter of fact, yes, I was expecting someone else. Someone rather handsome and polite- even though at first he wasn’t and I never expected to like him- but now I do. Very much so. He might even be my true love.”
Hans bursts into laughter and immediately Anna is furious. She brings her hand into a fist and starts to shake with anger. “Can I ask what is so funny Hans?”
“Just the idea that you’ve found someone else. How is that possible? Anna, I’m the only man for you and one day soon, you will realise it. And when you do, it’ll be too late, I’ll have moved on. This open door will have to close sometime soon.” He’s leaning down to her and she catches herself watching his lips, like she always does, and if she leaned a little closer they would be kissing. And she would be right back at the beginning.
“Bugger off Hans. I’m not remotely interested.” She takes a step around him and stands by the front door, inviting him to exit. Hans chuckles to himself as he leaves and she slams the door shut behind him, allowing herself to fall against it.
She isn’t sure how long she sits there, just staring into the blooming darkness but her mind starts to get the better of her because although she can easily lie to Hans, she cannot lie to herself. And as much as she hates to admit it, saying all those things out loud only confirmed it for her: she has feelings for a certain blonde haired, brown eyed, gruff architect. She tries to get a grasp on reality but the last thing she remembered was hearing voices not long after she slammed the door and by the time she starts to question it, Elsa is banging on the door, berating her for not being ready.
*
Anna’s birthday is as lovely as she expected it to be. Her mother has baked all of her favourite dishes, her father has bought all her of her favourite novels and fairytales and Elsa is busy flitting between celebrating and answering an endless stream of phone calls.
Dinnertime passes by uneventfully and it’s not until they’re clearing the dishes that Anna has a moment alone with her sister.
“Your phone has been blowing up all day, is everything okay?”
“Oh yeah, there’s been a bit of an issue with the architectural firm doing our new building. Apparently the head of designs didn’t include enough bathrooms and so it’s now my job to find out why. Why this couldn’t wait till Monday I don’t know.” She pauses for a breath and turns to stare at her sister, who doesn’t notice until Elsa splashes dirty dishwater in her face.
“Elsa! What was that for? This jumper is new!” Anna brushes the foam off and stares sadly at the reindeers adorning her top half.
“Are you back together with Hans Westergaard?” Elsa doesn’t hide the disdain on her face and it takes Anna a few seconds to realise her sister is being deadly serious.
“What? Oh my god, no! Ew, of course not! Why on earth would you even think that?”
“Well I have it on good authority that a certain ginger haired idiot turned up on your doorstep yesterday and confessed his love to you. Which you went onto accept, again.”
Anna sighs and dries her hands on a nearby dishcloth, handing it to Elsa. “Elsa, I don’t know who your source is, but they’re the idiot. I did not get a confession of love from Hans, nor did I accept one. Yes he turned up and yes, I imagine he might have been there to try and win me back but I turned him down before he had a chance to say anything. So there’s no romance going on between Hans and I and there never will be, ever again. We are done.”
Elsa stays quiet for a few moments considering her sisters words before nodding once, seemingly accepting her honesty. “Well you might want to tell Hans that, he seems intent on spreading the word that the two of you have reunited.”
“How do you know this? Who is your source?” Anna follows her sister into the living room, where her mother and father are watching the latest Hallmark movie.
“Kristoff Bjorgman.” Elsa flops down onto the spare armchair, leaving Anna to stand aimlessly in the middle of the room, mouth hanging open like a fish.
“Ooh Kristoff!” Iduna lights up at the mere mention of his name and Anna knows she’s done for now. “How is the young man? I’ve always been a fan of his and I really hoped the two of you would be together by now Anna. His mother and I have a bet going on and I’d really rather not lose.”
“Well Mum, you might have won if Anna stopped messing around with Hans and realised that Kristoff was standing right there.”
“I am not messing around with Hans!” Anna shouts, momentarily losing her cool. She takes a few deep breaths and sits in-between her parents. “What do you mean Kristoff is your source? How does he know that Hans was at mine?”
Anna holds a hand up to Iduna’s face to stop her interjecting again, desperate to hear Elsa’s response.
“He turned up at yours. He hasn’t stopped talking about you since my birthday dinner and so I told him it was your birthday this weekend and maybe he should pop by to wish you so. Anyway, he bumped into Hans who told him to ‘back off and leave his woman alone’ and so he did. He rang me this morning to tell me he was too late.”
The room goes silent and Anna is certain that her heart can be heard shattering into a thousand pieces. She was certain she would have had the chance- and the courage- to be honest to Kristoff about how she felt about him.
“Anyway, I’d say you could call Kristoff and explain everything to him but he’s accepted a new job in Norway for the next month so he’ll be unreachable. Sorry Anna.” She knows Elsa is only sat inches away and yet she sounds miles and miles away, sounding like she’s underwater.
“But he wasn’t too late.” She whispers pointlessly; everyone already knows.
*
The next month passes by painfully slow for Anna, who is certain she has aged about 40 years waiting for Kristoff to return from Norway. She isn’t quite sure how she’s going to approach him or even how to reach him, but she knows she has too. She can’t possibly live the fact that he thinks she’s shacked up with Hans again.
Speaking of Hans, she decided to confront him about his conversation with Kristoff and he laughed in her face, yet again. He felt as though he was doing her a favour by warning him off.
“Honestly Anna, why on earth would you want to associate yourself with that wet fish? He’s a poor excuse of a man.”
“No Hans, the only poor excuse for a man here is you. How dare you control who can have feelings for me or not! I am not your property and nor will I ever be. If you ever contact me again, I will bring hell to your doorstep."
“Okay sweetheart, but you forget: I am your boss. So I will have to contact you on a regular basis.”
“No you won’t. Because I quit, effective immediately. I would rather be unemployed than work for a heartless, cold blooded snake like you.” She storms out of his office and quickly packs her desk, feeling lightweight and free. After all these years, Anna was free of Hans.
Of course the feeling of freedom only lasted a couple of days as it soon dawned on her that she had left her job with nowhere to go to but she figured she could live on her savings for a little while whilst she searched for new employment. Somewhere preferably away from Hans Westergaard.
She’s in town, leaving her last interview in two weeks when she bumps into the man who has consumed her every waking moment. Kristoff looks just as surprised to see her and they spend a few moments just gaping at one another.
“Anna, h-“
“Kristoff, I’ve-“
The both laugh awkwardly and Kristoff signals that Anna should continue and this is it, the moment she has been mentally preparing for. She’s never been afraid of speaking her feelings before and yet this feels the most important of them all. So she takes a deep breath, smiles and lays her heart on the line.
“I’m so sorry that Hans led you to believe that the two of us were a couple again. Trust me that information is wholly incorrect and could not be farther from the truth. The truth, Kristoff, is that I can’t stop thinking about you. Ever since you said those nice words to me at Elsa’s birthday you have been in my brain, nonstop. Which I know sounds bit creepy and insane, particularly as we don’t know each other incredibly well but I would really like to get to know you. Turns out my mum knows who I should date too because I like you, a lot.”
Okay so it isn’t going to win any awards nor will it be copied into the greatest speeches of all time but it’s come from the heart and that’s all that matters. Kristoff knows that she likes him and once again, the ball is in his court. (Although in all honesty, it never really left his, he’s held all the cards in their ongoing romance so far.)
Anna’s realised, during her rambling thought process (she really needs to work on that) that Kristoff hasn’t said anything and hasn’t even met her gaze, and oh God, he’s going to turn her down and she’s going to physically die in the middle of this building and everyone is going to know that the handsomest man on the planet turned her down.
“Anna, I-“
“Oh no, please don’t say anything. This is embarrassing enough without your words of pity. I’d rather you just walked away so I could at least keep a little bit of my dignity in tact.” Anna knows it’s rude to interrupt anyone, let alone a romantic interest but she can’t hear the words ‘its not you, its me."
“Anna, I’m not here to embarrass you or ruin your dignity. And whilst I am overjoyed to hear that you and Hans are no more, I can’t start anything with you right now. I’ve accepted a long term job in Norway and I’m going to be gone for at least 2 years. Long distance is no good for anyone, let alone a couple who are only just getting to know one another. It wouldn’t be fair to you.” Kristoff finally meets her eyes and she can see the pain and honesty behind them and she knows in her heart, that he isn’t lying. That he would never intentionally hurt her. She’s pretty certain, right there and then, that she loves him.
“That’s fair enough. Bloody rubbish timing right? I mean, obviously not for you, it sounds like an incredible job and you’ll be amazing, I just know it.” She pauses, taking a second to memorise the constellation of freckles across his nose. “Anyway, thanks for your honesty. I’m gonna go because I fear if I stay, I’ll just say more nice things and end up breaking my own heart. Goodbye Kristoff.”
“Goodbye Anna.”
She turns to leave and then remembers there was one burning question, which she so desperately needed the answer for. “Actually, there was one thing I needed to ask you. Why do you hate Hans so much? I wasn’t aware you even knew him but you’ve mentioned twice now how happy you are to hear we’re no longer a couple. Why is that?”
Kristoff looks embarrassed and he chuckles nervously, reaching a hand behind his head to rub at his neck. It’s a look she’s seen a few times and Anna can feel her heart racing beneath her chest. “Hans was my friend back in the day. We were, well we were inseparable. He had twelve brothers who weren’t the nicest of people and so he needed someone to rely on. And that person was me, despite me having a huge family as well; it was nice to have someone who wouldn’t go and spill your secrets to your mum or sisters. Anyway I had a girlfriend, who I loved, but I wasn’t sure if we were long term so I wanted to take a break, figure things out.” He takes a breath and Anna already has a horrible feeling as to where this is going to go and she wishes she could punch Hans again.
“We split up for a week and during that week she slept with Hans; four times. And when I confronted the two of them about it, neither one was apologetic. She argued we were no longer a couple and Hans... Hans argued it was fair game. So I cut the two of them off and swore I would expose Hans for the horrible creep he was. I gave up my revenge plan a couple of years ago and then I met you and when I saw the two of you together at that charity ball, all the feelings of hurt and anger rose up and I couldn’t believe he had managed to...” Kristoff smiles sadly and looks at Anna, causing her heart to constrict once more. “Well I couldn’t believe he had managed to get someone as wonderful as you to fall in love with someone as awful as him.”
Kristoff finishes speaking and looks to the floor, kicking the ground with his foot and Anna wishes she never had asked, had never learnt the horrible truth. She feels sick and uneasy and wishes she could do something to take away Kristoff’s pain. But there are no words she can say, no emotion she can convey which would make him feel better. So she takes a step towards him and squeezes his hand, hoping to express everything she wishes she could say. He looks at her and silently thanks her.
She turns to leave, hoping that the tears won’t fall until she makes it to the station. She’s not that lucky.
*
Anna blames her mother for making her believe in true love and therefore blames her mother for making her eat another pot of ice-cream.
She’s painfully aware it’s unhealthy and she’s painfully aware that consuming another calorific meal will bring her more pain in the morning but right now, she can’t find the willpower to care.
She hates this year and everyone in it. She hates her mum for introducing her to Kristoff, she hates Hans for coming back into her life, and she hates Elsa for bringing up the Kristoff/Hans situation and she hates Kristoff for having a good enough career that warrants him being wanted in Norway. But mostly she hates herself for not having the courage to say something sooner.
Times like this she wishes she kept a journal, so she could scream all her thoughts onto the page and unburden them from her brain. But she’s never had the patience for a journal and it’s nearly December so there’s no point starting one for this year.
Anna has only been this melancholy once in her life and it wasn’t when Hans broke her heart for the first time. It was when her childhood pet, Olaf, had suddenly died and his death had devastated Elsa so much that she stopped speaking to Anna for 6 months. It seemed silly now, Elsa ignoring Anna for all that time but she gets it now. She would like nothing more than to ignore the world for the next 2 years.
She’s debating whether to move onto a savoury snack to soak up some of the ice-cream when there’s a knock on her door. “Really universe, you couldn’t sense that I just wanted to be alone?” Begrudgingly she leaves the comfort of her sofa and heads downstairs where she knows she’ll see an overly smiley Elsa and Honeymaren, who will insist on keeping her company. Or it’ll be her mother insisting on setting her up with someone much better and much more handsome than Kristoff. Or the universe will really have it in for her and it’ll have sent her Hans.
But for once, it seems, the universe has played nice. And standing in front of her is Kristoff Bjorgman himself, wearing his lopsided grin.
Anna wishes she had checked a mirror before coming downstairs because she’s certain that she has ice-cream smeared across her chin but that doesn’t stop the small smile spreading across her face.
“Hi.”
“Hi.”
They stand staring at one another, not too dissimilar to the scene they had at the bottom of Elsa’s staircase a few months back, when Kristoff coughs and Anna remembers her manners.
“Oh, um, come on in. Sorry! Please excuse the state of the flat and of me, it’s been an odd week. Here, let me take your coat.”
Kristoff wordlessly hands her his coat and waits patiently for her to lead him upstairs. Whilst he is behind her, Anna wipes her chin and pinches her cheeks, hoping to bring some colour back into her face.
“Would you like a drink of something?” She continues. “I have tea, coffee, hot chocolate, milk, water, juice, wine. I might even have some rum somewhere.” She isn’t entirely sure as to why she is listing every possible liquid she can think of but her brain has turned to mush and she is having to physically restrain from launching herself at Kristoff.
“Hot chocolate would be lovely, thanks.”
She busies herself with fixing him a drink and although she wants nothing more than for him to disappear for two minutes so she can fix her hair or fix the flat at least, she’s too scared to ask him to leave in case he doesn’t come back. Anna hands him his hot chocolate and offers him a seat but he refuses and insists he stands.
“Anna, thank you for the drink but there is something I’ve been meaning to say. I know at Elsa’s birthday I told you that I liked you and that I thought you were extraordinary but the truth of the matter is you’re more than that. You’re funny and brave and smart, you write brilliant short stories. I’ve actually kept every one that you’ve written since we met but anyway! I think you’re wonderful and as amazing as this job in Norway would be, it wouldn’t be as nearly as enjoyable as spending every waking moment with you would be. So I was wondering if there was something I could do? Something I’ve wanted to do since Sofia interrupted us as that dinner.” Kristoff is a bundle of nerves but there is something so intense in his gaze that renders Anna speechless. She merely nods her head and stands, feeling she should be stood for this declaration.
“You may.” She finds her voice and it’s all the confirmation Kristoff needs. He strides towards her, caresses her cheek and leans in, capturing her lips with his own. The greatest love stories of all time have always described kisses as a thing of beauty, detailing each intimate detail and raising the hopes of millions across the planet. Anna always believed they were over-hyped and never particularly enjoyed kissing, kissing Hans always led to sex and that was never an overly enjoyable experience for Anna either.
But kissing Kristoff, or rather being kissed by Kristoff was an altogether different experience. She felt as though she was the princess in the fairytales she used to read as a child, felt as though her soul could wipe out entire galaxies; she felt endless. Her entire body felt like it was on fire and each time it seemed to begin to cool down, Kristoff would be there relighting the flames. She was aware of her hands moving to his hair-his hair! - and gripping him closer. They could have been kissing for hours, months, years and Anna knew she would never tire of him or his lips. This was the love story she was promised. The one she deserved.
They’re not sure who pulls away first but it doesn’t matter; they both know that is a kiss they’ll never forget, couldn’t forget, even if they wanted to. Kristoff’s voice is low in her ear and she has to physically stop herself from herself from shivering.
“So, my ginger sweet love, might you be free for a date tomorrow night?” It’s the cheesiest pet name and it’s definitely something they’ll need to work on, but it’ll do for now.
“I’ll see if I can free up my schedule.”
*
It’s Boxing Day and Anna has just arrived at her parents’ house for the annual Arundel Boxing Day buffet and this time she isn’t ready to leave in such a hurry.
Sure she’s been pestered by her father’s business partners asking if she’s considered trading in for one of them, begged by her friends to set her up with one of his friends and even been asked by her mother’s friends if a baby is on the cards.
And whilst those kinds of questions would normally embarrass her or cause severe anxiety, this year it isn’t so bad.
This year she has Kristoff to help fend off of those questions, earning a look of approval from her mother and even a wink from her father.
Yep, this next year was going to be the best one yet.