#ffc 2022

“With no explanation?”

“Well, I’ve been — ”

Ikora senses the incoming transmat, turns with her hand in a fist. Out of the air shimmers Jenev Furnon, Dredgen, who sways forward before all her atoms have hardly been sorted.

“Hey, what the, I’ve been trying to — ” Jenev starts.

“Ah,” Drifter says, and his shoulders and his arms sink until he’s small.

At the tone of his voice, Jenev skids to a stop, Awoken eyes glancing between Ikora and Drifter.

“Ain’t nobody gives time around here,” Drifter complains, eyes on the book again. “I’ll be back soon as I take a pill. Got some kind of disease. You do not want to look at it, sister.”

Jenev sticks out her tongue. “I bet not, but I gotta know what to tell the guys and gals, boss. We opening up today?”

Drifter’s sigh starts out sarcastic and ends up tired. “Yes. Maybe. Soon.”

Jenev toys with her jade pendant, and her mood in the Light is one part anxious and two parts worry. She wants to know whether he’s okay, and he wants to tell her, and neither of them talk like that much.

“I’ll leave you alone,” Ikora says softly. “But get somebody in front of Gambit within the hour, or I’ll send the masses your personal net number.”

“Wait.” Drifter fishes around on the bed. “Jenev. Give this to her.” He comes up with a finger-length feather, iridescent jade and violet.

Ikora’s stomach drops even before the Dredgen shoves Ikora’s shoulder on her way to take it. Jenev looks at the feather with wide eyes, from the open books and scattered pages to the red-and-gold broad wings folded at Ikora’s back. Her lips open and close, and Ikora wants to hurry her up. We all know what it means. But give it some time. It always takes everyone time, especially …

“No,” Jenev says, but hands the feather to Ikora with a sleepy detachment. Takes a deep breath that could presage a laugh or a sob.

Ikora takes it, but she doesn’t hardly have to look at it either. “I’m glad,” she says, “that you didn’t really run.”

“Not yet,” Drifter growls.

“Anna let’s get you some inside before you hurt yourself,” his voice a worried tone.

“But, I’m having fun,” she whined. “Come on Kris! Join me!,” she exclaimed, continuing to splash around in the water.

He knew he shouldn’t, but the strain he felt in his pants was telling him otherwise. I guess a few minutes wouldn’t hur-, Kristoff shook his head, ridding his mind of dirty thoughts. No. Stay focused, no matter how good her slender form looked in the water or how the water droplets on his breasts made him want to-, Fuck! Before his thoughts could get anymore dangerous, Kristoff turned on his heel, heading inside to grab a towel, quietly praying to himself that nothing bad happened to his mischievous girlfriend in the few minutes he would be gone.

Thankfully, his wish came true. He set the towel on one of the pool chairs before going around to the side where Anna was currently peeking over the edge as she watched him. “Okay feistypants,” Kristoff grunted as he put his hands under her arms, lifting her out of the water. Thankfully Anna’s parents weren’t here to see him hauling their naked daughter out of the water. While they allowed Anna to date, something told him they wouldn’t like seeing their daughter’s boyfriend holding her nude form. “Let’s get you to bed.” He carried her bridal style, setting her down on a chair, proceeding to wrap her in the white fluffy towel. If it had been earlier in their relationship, he would have avoided his eyes from Anna’s bare form, being the respectful gentleman his mother raised him to be; but since then their feelings for each other have developed even more, and yes, they that included already crossing that boundary, so seeing Anna naked wasn’t new. He rubbed her arms, in an attempt to warm her up faster.

“Mmm,” Anna hummed, burying her face deeper into the towel. She looked like a kitten curling up into a ball and the image made Kristoff smile.

He kissed the tip of her nose, “Does that feel better feisty?”

Anna nodded, her eyes drifting shut. Kristoff rolled his own, and gave a half-grin before picking her up bridal style once again.

Once they got inside, he made sure to lock the door behind him. The steps creaked as he tried to quietly walk up the steps to the best of his effort, eventually bringing them to the hallway that led to her room. She curled deeper into his chest, humming in contentment. He laid her down on her bed, her body immediately sinking into the downy sheets from her weight. He kept opening and closing drawers in his search for some pajamas and it was about four drawers later - Anna had a lot of space to put her clothes in - before he found a silky and, albeit, a little risqué, nightdress. Not wanting to waste anymore time getting his girlfriend to bed, however - and not wanting to go through any more drawers, he decided that it would have to do.

Getting Anna dressed didn’t go down without a fight. It wasn’t exactly that she was fighting back perse, but was too drunk to stand straight. Her arms would flail around and he would have to catch her as she clumsily tripped on her carpeted floor. To put it simply, she had two left feet more than usual. She still smelled of chlorine, but a shower could wait till the morning, as well as getting her to brush her teeth because if dressing her was a challenge, then cleaning her teeth would be impossible.

“Come on,” he grunted, lifting her up one final time. “Let’s get you tucked in.”

“No. I don’t wanna,” she grumpily protested, half-conscious. “Because that would mean you would have to leave and I don’t want you to leave.” She clung tightly to his neck, breathing in his scent as she wrapped her legs around him, preventing him from setting her down. And whenever he would ever try to unwind her, she would immediately wrap an arm and leg around him again.

“Fine,” Kristoff gave in. I was gonna sleep on the couch, but seeing as you're too stubborn to let go, I guess I have no other choice but to stay with you.” Which he definitely didn’t have any problem with, despite the faux agitated voice he put on, besides it’s not like he could go home; not with the state Anna is in. It wasn’t safe to leave her alone in such a condition and he would always be there to take care of her.

Elsa drove further along the highway, into the unknown.  She didn’t quite trust the GPS to get the right address, but there hadn’t been any cross streets for miles, so she couldn’t have taken a wrong turn.  She was singing to herself, since the only radio stations out this far were not exactly to her taste in music.  She wasn’t much for public performances, but singing in the car by herself was a little secret indulgence. 

Rolling farm fields began giving way to hilly woods. She glanced down at her phone.  There was no service whatsoever out here. Probably the hills took care of that.  Elsa didn't mind this drive. She liked Anna’s boyfriend--well, now he was her fiance, and by tonight they would be married.  Kristoff had said he was from nowhere in particular, but Elsa hadn’t realized that he was really from this far out in the middle of nowhere.  He was nice, though, and since Anna had first brought him home, she had trusted him. He had become a good friend, so even though this wedding was a bit sudden, she had given her blessing and jumped at Anna’s request to be her bridesmaid. 

“I just wish she would have agreed to ride with me,” Elsa caught herself saying out loud. She sighed. Anna would be there, but she insisted on driving herself so that she could pick up a few last minute items, and she wanted to make sure that someone got there on time so that Kristoff wouldn’t worry.

“In five hundred feet, turn left,” the GPS voice suddenly announced.

Elsa blinked and shook her head. She had zoned out. Lifting her foot off the gas pedal to make sure she had time to turn, she put on the signal despite the complete lack of other cars for miles in either direction. There was a dirt road to the left, but still no houses in sight.

The road was bumpy and rutted, curving this way and that, slowly winding up the hill. The woods began giving way to rocky clearings. Around a rock outcropping, she saw a group of irregular houses, and what she could only guess was a tent for the wedding. 

“You have arrived,” the GPS informed her.

“That’s obvious enough,” she muttered at the electronic voice coming from her phone.

She slowed down, the rattle of the gravel quieting down as she pulled to the side of the road at the first house to the right. 

Any other cars must be parked elsewhere.  She stepped out of the car, and grabbed the dress hanging in the back seat.  She needed to find where she could change clothes.  Why couldn’t they have planned to at least have an overnight before the ceremony? Anna said she’d never been to this place, either, but Kristoff insisted that they weren’t allowed to be there until right until the ceremony.

***

“Who even does that?” Elsa asked.

“Sorry,” Kristoff apologized, “it’s how my family does things.”

“Where are they from, anyway?”

“Mostly nearby,” Kristoff shrugged. “It’s… kind of their own thing.  I guess it’s kind of new.  I mean, it’s not new, don’t tell them I said it was new, please…”

“Wait, is this like-”

“It’s a kind of a commune, okay? I promise they don’t do anything too out there.  I know there’s that Norwegian movie-”

“I saw it, but it’s Swedish, not Norwegian,” Elsa corrected, immediately realizing she was missing the point.

Kristoff groaned. “Right…  People keep talking about that movie when I tell them about where I grew up. I swear it’s nothing like that.  I’ve told Anna about what’s going to happen at the wedding, so just… play along?”

***

Elsa stood by her car holding the dress in its plastic cover, looking around. Thankfully it wasn’t raining this week. The place would get entirely too muddy. She could see why Kristoff had brought up that movie.  Kristoff didn’t give her bad vibes, unlike- she wouldn’t think about Anna’s ex. She never liked him.  

Elsa walked toward the closest house.  “Hello?” 

She heard some commotion, and some women came out of the house.  

“She’s here!” several said. 

Elsa smiled nervously. “Is this where I can change?”

“Don’t worry about that,” one woman said, taking the dress from her. 

“You can change into that later after the ceremony,” a younger woman assured her.

Kristoff had said to go with it.  This was for Anna. 

They helped her put on a long, plain tunic.  This didn’t seem that strange.   

Now one of them was braiding her hair.  This was nice, really. Now there was some kind of veil over her head, and they were blindfolding her.  Maybe a little creepy now, but she had promised to be understanding.  This wasn’t some death cult.

The women led her back outside. Perhaps this was like the idea of not seeing the bride on the wedding day, but more egalitarian?  It had been a while now, and maybe Anna was here already.  She must be.  Someone nearby had started speaking, and everyone else had gone silent.  It was surreal, alternating between the people around singing and the one person speaking, and she couldn’t tell where Anna even was.  Suddenly, someone grabbed her hands and guided them to some others.  This was very odd.  But she was supposed to go along with what they were doing.  More words.  Now everyone was saying something in unison.

She could feel people gathering around her.  She was briefly blinded by the sunlight as they removed the blindfold and veil.  Everyone cheered.

“Elsa?!” Kristoff exclaimed.

She blinked and smiled. “Kristoff, I said I’d be here. Congratulations!”

“But where’s Anna?” he whispered.

“Wait, what?”  Elsa looked around.  Everyone was lining up to shake their hands.  A cloud of dust was moving along the road in the distance, and she could just start to make out Anna’s car approaching.

“Congratulations, Anna, it’s so nice to finally meet you,” an older woman smiled sweetly, shaking Elsa’s hand.

Elsa looked at Kristoff in a panic.

“Ma, I-”

“I was so worried you wouldn’t want to have a wedding with your family,” she continued. 

“Mrs-” Elsa realized she didn’t know anyone’s names.  Because why would she?

“Oh, Anna, dear, please call me Bulda!”

And Rapunzel placed her foot on Eugene’s leg and rolled down her…

“Anna, what’s the status of those petitions you were supposed to draft?”

"They're in your in-box, Hans. They’re flagged and ready to go."

"Hmmm. Did you cancel my meeting this afternoon?"

"Moved it to Wednesday afternoon so you have time to finish the Wesselton closing that day. Anything else?"

"We'll see."

Whew, crisis averted! Now, on to the next one…

… rolled down her stockings to reveal her bare leg, which Eugene wasted not time in running his hands all over…

“Anna, I’m running late for my meeting. Is everything ready?”

I grab a red rope from behind my desk and hand it to Elsa.

“Thanks, Anna.” She rifles through it to make sure she has everything she needs.

“Oh, I almost forgot, do you have the access code to get into the apartment complex? I could call the client, but I thought if you had it already…”

I pull out the sheet in front of the file with all of the important information typed up.

“Thanks, Anna. What would I do without you?”

“I don’t know cause you’ll always have me!”

Elsa’s the coolest, and she looks like a model. Dresses like one, too. And she’s always so sweet and never yells. Except when she marches into Hans’ office and slams the door. Apparently they used to be quite the couple, until he cheated on her with someone from the mail room who no longer works here. I have to admit that I kind of had a small crush on Hans when I first started, before I knew he was Elsa’s ex. He’s so charming and well spoken. He knows a little about everything, it seems. But then he yelled at me for something so stupid that I don’t even remember what it was, and realized how horrible he really is.

Email alert

I have rules enabled on my Outlook so I only get notifications when one of my bosses email. One of my seven bosses. That way I don't have to stop everything I'm doing just to look at every new email that might be from one of them.

This time it’s Sven. He’s a little older and has trouble typing, plus he’s dyslexic, so he likes me to read through and edit almost everything he writes. I can’t help it if sometimes I add a little flourish here and there to make it sound better. He never says anything about it, but I know the real reason he asks me to edit his stuff for him is because he likes my improvements.

So, he needs that by Thursday… add it to the calendar with a pop-up reminder for the day before. Got it.

Now on to the next task… check my calendar… Oh, looks like Olaf’s got several cases set for court on Friday. He never tells me to, but I always get his documents started for him. Whereas Sven likes me to spruce things up after he’s written them, Olaf likes me to get all the basics down so he can spin it into art. He’s one of the best trial lawyers in Arendelle because of how persuasive he is to jurors. I’ve gone to court with him to help out in some of the bigger cases, when there was so much going on that he needed me to help keep him organized. He never gives anything short of a Broadway performance. The jury actually stood up when he finished speaking. Didn't take them long to side with our client.

Once I’m done with Olaf’s stuff, I go through my email to see if there’s anything urgent. There isn’t so I’m gonna get the worst part of my job over with. It helps when I think about how Pascal is going to torture Eugene this time, or what kind of crazy antics Rapunzel and Cassandra are going to get into.

I’m bent down underneath my desk looking through a box. I really do need to stay more on top of my filing…

Knock, knock

"Ouch!"

“Oh, Anna, are you ok?”

Kristoff instinctively reaches for the back of my head but withdraws his hand.

I lean back on my heels and rub my own head.

“Yeah, I’m ok. Thanks.”

Yeah, he’s my boss, technically, but I mean he’s just an associate. It’s not like he’s a partner or anything.

I start to stand, but it’s awkward because I’m wearing a pencil skirt and boots.

“Here,” Kristoff reaches for my hands and helps me up. “So, do you want some help with that box?”

Before I can even answer he grabs it and sets it against the wall instead.

Ok, I know I’m probably drooling. But I mean, come on. His shirt’s untucked and his sleeves are rolled up, his tie’s loose… His hair’s too long and his eyes are too dreamy. Yes, please to all of that! He looks like he should be working in the mail room, and not as an associate on the partner track.

“I’m sorry, did you need something? Or did you just come here to hurt my head and save my back?”

“Oh, um, yeah.” He’s so cute when he blushes. “I actually… oh, this is sort of embarrassing.”

“Well, now you have to tell me!” Usually he smiles when I tease him, but this seems important.

“So one of Hans’ clients is having like a charity dinner, and all of the associates are supposed to go, and we’re supposed to bring a plus-one, and you know… hmm…”

He’s about to ask me out and it’s so adorable. Eeehhh!!

“Well, it’s just that I’m kind of new in town, and I really spend all my time at work, and…”

He never really asks me to do much for him. All the younger attorneys are so self-sufficient, but I do review his billing before it goes out and yeah, he spends a lot of time at this place!

“Well, you’re the only woman I really know here, and…”

I’m going to overlook how badly this is going for him because he’s just trying not to be the creepy boss asking his employee out on a date.

“I was wondering if you might…"

He’s looking down and, well, it’s a good thing he does real estate law, because he’d never be able to speak in front of a judge.

"...want to come with m-”

“Yes!” I say with no hesitation.

“Oh, great! So… maybe you could send me your address and I can pick you up?”

I jot it down on my steno pad for him with my green pen. It's what I always use for editing. Oh, who am I kidding, it's a green pen! I use it for everything! I add my phone number, even though he didn’t ask and I’m pretty sure he already has anyway, and a heart.

He smiles once he sees it and stuffs it in his breast pocket.

I turn my attention back to the file box he moved for me.

“Oh, Anna, um, Happy Valentine’s Day.”

“Aww, thanks! You, too!”

“Ok,” he smiles and leaves my office. I jump up and down a few times until another paralegal walks by and I pretend like nothing happened.

I lean towards my door, and he leans towards his, so we see each other and my email dings. I don’t want to move, but I do have other bosses that need my help from time to time.

It’s from Kristoff. A Tangled Valentine meme? I laugh into my hand, astonished. How does he even know?

I look around my office: Rapunzel and Eugene pez dispensers, magnets, mouse pad, lunch bag… Yeah, ok. I see it.

I respond with a cute reindeer Valentine and turn towards the box to finish filing. I think I'm going to start working on a new story.

Kristoff dances better than Anna thought he would, but she needed a break. They walked out to the balcony and she shivered. So he took his coat off to cover her bare shoulders. Anna pulled him down to…

… kiss me. I want more of him, but he’s my boss and I don’t want to be too pushy on our first of hopefully many dates.

But his eyes are so dreamy I can't let him leave just yet. “Do you want to come in?”

“You tell me," he teases.

I hold onto his tie and tug gently until he crosses the threshold to land on my lips again. Then I let go of his tie and he stands up straight.

"You’re the boss, Anna. Just tell me if there's anything you need me to do.”

"Oh, it's a pretty long list, actually..."

He smiles and drapes his jacket on the back of the couch and rolls up his sleeves.

Lucille had a nice voice. Other than her job and where she originally came from, she had not outed herself very much. Well, maybe that was more a face-to-face thing. Well, then. Still, he was glad that he didn´t tell anybody about this. Not to think how teasing his family got about him meeting a girl on a blind date. And he could not even believe that he was really doing this… but Sven got at him too many times and Kristoff got fed up with fighting against his friend´s worry of him staying single. Though he did not mind being single… And was Kristoff supposed to follow Sven´s advice…? Well, here he was and guessed that he couldn´t retreat now, could he? He could stil write a message he was still at work.... No, that was a lie and lying was truly a bad base for a relationship…

He wondered what she looked like. Why was he getting nervous? There was no reason to be nervous, it was simply meeting somebody, doing some conversation and seeing how they got along. Right? Right!

And the restaurant chef knew for certain… That knowing grin and too much of understanding a nod when he showed the customer to his seat. That was the worst, sitting down at that table for two, and the place opposite was vacant… Certainly, he was too early…

Kristoff ordered a water to at least have something to hold is hands quiet for a moment.

And suddenly it didn’t matter if there was a restaurant full of people or if he was the only living soul on earth when there was this breathless girl standing before him and reaching out her hand to him, her voice so cheerful and her face all flushed.

“Hi! I´m so sorry for being late. The bus didn´t come so I thought I walk, but then I realised I´d be late so I started running, and then I noticed I started sweating so I rather slowed down to a faster walk as not to get all messy and that´s the cause I am late… please forgive me.”

She stared with widened eyes, such lovely blue eyes and the freckles around her nose and covering her heated cheeks danced like bouncing points upon her still heavy breath.

“Hi.” Kristoff wanted to rise to greet her but she had rushed already to the chair across the table and put off her coat and hung it up over the backrest. She quickly checked on her hair, which was set into a lovely style of twisted braids pinned into a twirled bun at the upper back of her head. The auburn mass of wild locks must have gotten roused by the wind and her rush, and her fingers shakily adjusted some pins while she sat down and then kneaded her hands in her lap.

“Did you wait long? It´s awkward to wait alone and I hate the thought of making you wait on our first…”

“Date?”

“Yeah…” the lovely girl nodded slightly blushing.

The waitress came around and asked if they´d like to order anything else. And the girl across from Kristoff ordered a cherry coke with a glinting smile. Apparently she was a very cheerful person.

“So…” Kristoff cleared his throat and thought hard of starting some sort of conversation, but he noticed that this seemed no problem, when his table partner continued with a gallant question for him.

“Did you come directly from work?”

“Yes, and you?”

“Uhm… no, I had the chance to go home first and get myself ready a bit more appropriate. You know…” she chuckled and rand a slender hand along the base of her hairstyle.

“Well, I hope you don´t mind I didn´t come in suit and tie.”

Her eyes grew wide, and she shook her head feverishly. “Oh no! That´s not what I meant. I just needed some time to gather my nerves… I mean, not that I was anxious coming here, or not liking it… no… I was just… You know…”

“A bit nervous?” Kristoff could not restrain a fair smile upon her chatter which he assumed of the same reason as the one for him being quieter because he simply lacked the words.

She nodded, bit her lips, and then shrugged.

“This is somewhat the first time that I try this you know…”

“Me, too. So… I guess we´re in a fair pool position?”

The bell-like laugh that escaped her throat was something the young man had not heard before and it made him laugh himself. Two grownups, both nervous and then relieved to find out the other was in the same boat…

“Oh, you know I´m so glad you´re saying this because I really didn´t know how to show up tonight. Should it be sportive casual, or sexy naughty? No, that would be so pushy and Elsa, you know, my sister, scolded me for going for something so hot on a first date, so I decided for casual elegant. Do you think that´s appropriate? Oh no, I should not talk about dressing up. Elsa told me a hundred times not to chatter nonsense so much. But I am chattering, am I? I am so sorry…”

She frowned upon herself and kneaded her fingers in her lap and bit her lips. Kristoff wondered if this was even harder for her than it was for him and he chuckled relieved to realise that he was the one to give her some comfort, as if he was an expert on such things and that made him laugh. Upon which his opposite looked up with sparkling eyes.

“No. You don´t bother me with this. And to be fair, I think you´re dressed nicely. The sunflower look suits you. Underlines your shining eyes.”

“Oh… thank you.” She blushed slightly, but seemingly relieved and flustered.

Then crooked her head and seemed to study his features, and she straightened and gestured wildly with her hands, like trying to find some logic explanation to her detection. Was something wrong? What if she didn´t like his looks.

“I don´t know… please don´t mind me saying so, but I have imagined you looking somewhat different, you know?” she blinked at him with a cute smile. “I thought your hair is shorter and more into brown…”

“Sorry if I don´t meet your expectation.”

“Oh, no, no, no! That´s not what I am saying. To be honest, I am… uhm… rather surprised on the positive side. Oh, not that I would have mind if you looked like what thought first, but I appreciate the present prospect.” She smiled genuinely, and Kristoff felt his own face heating up now. Nobody had ever spoken about his features in such a manner.

“Glad you´re not disappointed. I am… uhm… positively surprised myself to mention your own words.”

“Oh… thank you.” And her hands wandered up to check on her hair again, as if she didn´t quite believe this to be true.

“But what made you think I looked different than what you thought?” Kristoff was still curious about her studying efforts of before. Was it a female thing or was he simply unknowing of such matters?

“Well, your photo you sent once, remember? The one where you leaned against your car.”

Kristoff stared at the girl.

“I don´t have a car, and I never sent a photo. You didn´t want us to exchange any pictures, so the surprise would be more tense.”

Now the girl stared.

“You are… you are not… Patrick?”

“My name is Kristoff. And I assume, you are not… Lucy?”

“No… I´m Anna.”

They both glared at each other rather flabbergasted and then, Anna turned all red, covered her face with both hands, and then she jumped from her chair, almost nocking it over. She grabbed her coat and turned around to Kristoff.

“I am so sorry! I will sit… over there… and wait for…”

“Patrick?”

“Yes… and you… will have your date with….”

“Lucy.”

“Yes. Well, have a nice evening and good luck with your…”

“Date.”

“Yes!”

“Thank you, Anna. You, too!”

And then Anna made her way to a vacant table on the other side of the room.

Okay, if Kristoff had thought a blind date was awkward, this was the weirdest thing now… Why had he felt a slight pang at his side when she called him Patrick? They had hardly had what you could even call a conversation. But for some reason Kristoff had felt for a tiny beat of a second that this evening could indeed become very nice.

He waited, reached for his glass and wondered who that Patrick might be… And where was Lucy? This was so stupid now.

His mobile buzzed and he reached into his coat pocket, glancing at the screen.

Lucy had messaged, that she was sorry, but having given this all another thought she doubted this would work. And to be fair she rather told him than letting him sit all night. Wishing him all the best.

And that was the reason why Kristoff assumed it might be easier to stay single. All those fuss around feelings and doubts… It was all so complicated. Well then, he could just as well go home and make a clear statement to Sven that this was all no use for him.

He was about to turn and pay for his water, when he noticed Anna´s cherry coke still standing next to his now empty glass. Kristoff glanced unobtrusively across the room to see if Anna had got company by her date by now and his chest clenched briefly but sharply. She still sat alone, nervously balancing her own mobile in her hands. Was she anxious to ask this Patrick where he was about? After all, she had already been late. According to the plan, Lucy was long overdue to an hour now. And so, this man must be delayed just the same… Poor girl… She looked rather miserable…

Anna sat quite a distance apart from him, but Kristoff noticed out to the corner of his eyes that she had lost her jovial glinting aura. That was a shame! Nobody deserved to get treated that way. Maybe that man had an accident or excused himself like Lucy had? What if he didn´t message at all? That would be the worst and Kristoff felt some anger about such cowardness. But rather than dancing around suspicion, he could just was well be going over to her and ask if she was alright.

He ordered another glass of water, tossed his jacket over over his arm, grabbed both glasses and strolled over to Anna´s table. Sven would be so proud of him… Kristoff realised with a secret smile.

“Hey… “

Anna raised her eyes and blinked at him in surprise. It was not that she had not noticed Kristoff sitting alone all the while, but she had not expected him to come over to her.

“Hey…” Anna glanced behind him towards the table he had just left. “What about…”

“Lucy?”

“Yes.”

“She texted me, informing me politely about breaking up that…”

“Date?”

“Yes.”

“Oh…” Anna lowered her gaze. “I´m sorry.”

Then, she noticed the drinks in his hand.

“Oh, my coke! Thank you. Would you like to sit down?”

She motioned to the empty chair across the table and gratefully took the coke from his hand and the so slight and soft touch of her fingers briefly brushing his was like a warm soothing greeting gesture, secretly to them both.

“Thank you.” Kristoff sat down and adjusted his jacket over the backrest. Turning back to her he watched her for a moment.

“So…. You mind if I ask?”

“You want to know what happened to….”

“Patrick?”

“Yes…

“I called, asking if he was alright. You know, who knows if he got hit by a car and laid in the hospital?”

“And…?” Kristoff tried desperately to hide his hopes that the guy not necessarily was dead, but at least had vanished for some reason. Though he scolded himself immediately upon his selfishness because Anna looked obviously devestated.

“He said he was sorry, but something came in between and then…” she reached for her glass and emptied it with a loud gulp, the unladylike gesture rousing Kristoff´s adoration for that feisty girl even the more.

“There was a noise in the background, and I could clearly make out another girl calling him to come back to bed…”

Now Kristoff almost dropped his own glass.

“Okay… that is… uhm…”

“What I call a bloody bastard!”

Kristoff nodded in response. So totally a bastard. But what now…? And upon spotting the waitress at their neighbour table, an idea hit his grateful mind.

“So… now that we seem to sit here like two remnants… can I at least invite you to a glass of wine? To wash down the sour taste of being dumped?”

Anna´s eyes lit up and she formed the cutest smile the man had ever seen.

“Oh yes! Thank you. That´s the perfect idea! And uhm... to be honest, I feel like getting hungry after all. What about you?” and her heart hammered up her chest upon that bolt question. Elsa had told her not to throw herself at the man first thing… but after all, they had been sitting at the table before and it was over an hour now that they had met, and Kristoff seemed not the sort of guy to stand a girl up while at the same time be literally fucking around.

And did he just blush and smile back at her?

Oh…. She was doomed.

The waitress halted at their table and Kristoff did not take his glance of his lovely table companion when he ordered while he feverishly tried to contain his excitement in a controlled voice.