Work Text:
It was the dawn of Arendelle's first party since that of Elsa's coronation. Elsa's return to Arendelle had been a raging success, completely changing the townspeople's opinions on her and the royal family. So to celebrate this event, Anna organized a party to take place in the castle as a second welcoming for Elsa as she took her rightful duty as the Queen of Arendelle.
Everyone was invited, ranging from merchants to servants to regal leaders of neighboring countries. Anna spent her days writing and signing invitations by hand, wincing as she inscribed a card out to Prince Hans of the Southern Isles. Time had passed since things fell apart between the two of them, Kristoff and Anna's love filling the void day by day, but Anna couldn't seem to forget how she had fallen for Hans so quickly, and how heartbroken she was in the aftermath.
Anna had told herself ahead of time that she would avoid Hans as much as she could, unless he struck up a conversation first, to which she would act civil and sweet, just like Elsa had taught her. Of course, she would have Kristoff by her side also, so whatever Hans said or did couldn't hurt her anymore.
So now, here Anna was, standing alone in the crowd of joyful people as she searched for Kristoff's familiar blonde hair and chocolate brown eyes. She, sadly, was having no luck spotting him in the sea of people surrounding her. Anna glances at the clock in the corner for about the hundredth time that night, sighing as she sees that its been a half hour since he said he would be arriving.
With tears welling in her eyes, Anna finds her sister in the center of a group of her citizens.
"If Kristoff comes tell him I'll be up on the balcony," Anna whispers to her sister, avoiding eye contact as she leaves without any further clarification from Elsa.
Anna did exactly as she said, leading herself up the never ending staircases up to her only safe haven in the castle, the tower of the balcony that overlooked the entire kingdom of Arendelle. This had been her go to location for the last eighteen years of her life, including the days where Elsa had been forcibly shutting her out, her first and only moment of happiness with Hans, and now the hours she spent with Kristoff. But sometimes she needed somewhere to go for herself, and naturally, she couldn't just leave this place behind.
Retreating to her usual position, Anna leaned her elbows against the fence of the balcony overlooking the many sights Arendelle had to offer. Anna scoped the sea and how the moon reflected off the rolling waters, and every once in a while she'd glance to the streets, hoping to see Kristoff and Sven, but there was no use.
Seconds turned into minutes, and eventually those minutes involved into a full half hour of waiting. Anna was starting to lose hope and get fed up, until she heard the door click open behind her. Anna whipped around, hoping to have her blue eyes meet with a set of brown, but instead, there stood someone she wasn't expecting, a familiar pair of green eyes greeting hers.
"Hi," Hans said, closing the door behind him and giving Anna a half smile, "I saw you come up here, thought you might want some company?"
Anna was paralyzed in place, her eyes wide and her lips pursed together, thoughts racing through her mind as she took in Hans' dashing features, looking just the same as he did when he left.
"Why would I want your company?" Anna asked, squaring her shoulders and standing upright, "It was you who was the cause of the destruction of our relationship, if I do recall correctly."
"I assumed I was better than no one, I guess," Hans shrugged, slowly approaching Anna's side, "Seems like someone important didn't show, am I right?"
"Frankly it's none of your business," Anna scoffed, crossing her arms and turning from Hans.
Hans sighed, resting a hand on Anna's shoulder, "Oh, don't be like that, Anna."
"Why not? I have every right to be, you tried to kill my sister and you attempted to use me for your own selfish needs. I'm pretty positive that I have every single right to be angry at you."
"But I'm the only person who cared enough to follow you up here, you have to admit that," Hans insisted.
Well, Anna had to admit he was right there.
"Fine, if you care so much, then what is it you care about?" Anna asked, rolling her eyes and piquing her eyebrow at Hans.
"You."
"Oh, Hans," Anna replied in astonishment, "I-we can't. I'm already with someone else, and I really love him this time. Plus, he surely loves me a lot more than you ever did."
"Then where is he?"
Anna didn't respond, dismissing Hans with a simple shrug of her shoulders as she sat atop of the balcony rail, "He'll be here, he promised."
Hans hopped up, taking a seat next to her, "It doesn't seem like it, Anna."
"Kristoff wouldn't lie to me, he's probably just busy or, I dunno, I just know he wouldn't ditch me like this if he didn't have a reason," Anna stated, letting her body ease. Maybe talking to Hans wasn't so bad after all.
"Hopefully, he should know how grateful he is to have you before it's too late," Hans responded, his eyes once again meeting with Anna's, but this time, instead of being an empty green, they were filled with sincerity and they shined a little brighter than they had before.
There was a small, comfortable silence between them for a couple of seconds. Anna stared straight ahead, letting what Hans just told her sink in, and hoping that maybe he was right. She had always considered herself to be lucky to have Kristoff, but never the other way around. Anna never thought of herself as too good or too little for anyone else, but now that Hans had mentioned it, she was beginning to feel that maybe she had some sort of value, and she shouldn't let people walk all over her vulnerability.
"Thanks, Hans, that means a lot," Anna smiles, looking back to Hans, who was already staring at her.
"Any time, I just can't believe I was so selfish that I let you go. I really mean it when I say Kristoff must have had the stars aligned when he landed someone as great as you."
"You had me, though," Anna whispers, "You really had me falling for you."
"I know," Hans looks away, shaking his head, "You don't know how much I regret that. But I'm aspiring to still have you, as friends. We could be acquaintances, even civil if that's all you want, but please, just something."
Anna grins, touching Hans' forearm lightly, "I'd be glad to have you as a friend."
Hans' begins to respond, but is interrupted by the creak coming from the door in front of them.
"Anna! Elsa told me that you were up here," Kristoff says, smiling at Anna, but that smile fades as he turns to see Hans there also.
"I came up here to wait for you," Anna responds, rushing forward and wrapping her arms around Kristoff, "What took you so long? I was getting really worried."
"Sven came down with a cold, so I had to come here by foot, but it's alright, I wouldn't miss this for the world," Kristoff gushes, hugging Anna tighter.
Hans awkwardly grunts in the background, hopping down from the railing, "I guess I'll leave you two alone."
"You can stay, if you want," Anna grins, "Friends, right?"
Hans beams back at her, glancing from Anna to Kristoff and back to Anna again, his chest bursting with happiness as he replies, "Friends. Oh and before I get back downstairs," Hans starts, leaning into Kristoff's shoulder and whispering, "Don't ever let her go," And then he's off, leaving Anna and Kristoff alone.
"What was all that about?" Kristoff asks once Hans is gone.
Anna steps back from Kristoff, "Making amends, oh, and we talked about you a lot. All good things. What did Hans say to you, by the way?" Anna asked.
"Not to let you go, and I really wasn't planning on it," Kristoff simpers.
"Good, because I was hoping you wouldn't. How about we head back down to the party?"
"Sounds great to me, let's go," Kristoff said, eveloping Anna's hand in his and he lead her out the door and down the stairwells, and this time, Anna wasn't alone anymore.
fin.