#fpfic

Anna took a deep breath.

The room was cold and quiet except for the dull echo of children screaming in the lobby or other rooms or maybe even somewhere else in the building, and she could feel her heart pounding hard enough to break her ribs. Her fingers twisted together around the tissue she had been holding since she walked through the waiting room doors. Tears had started days ago and had yet to stop.

Maybe she had jumped to conclusions. Maybe she was mistaken. Hans was stressed with work, and brought that stress home, and that caused Anna to be stressed… and when she was stressed she was late! She was late all the time. Maybe not three weeks, but…

She sighed, dabbing at her lower lashes again, willing her eyes to just stop watering for a few minutes. 

A part of her had been ecstatic when she took the first test. She’s always wanted a big family, and an engagement had to be just around the corner, so what was the harm in starting early? But then another part of her thought about their plan. They had a plan, and having a baby right now was definitely not a part of it.

Hans was always very uptight about following plans.

So she took three more tests. Waited a few days and took four more.

Positive, positive, positive…. And more positives.

When she told Hans, he froze. 

He was at work, texting her about how rough his day was and how he couldn’t wait to get home and see her (and do other things to her). So she thought maybe he would like a little surprise! So she stopped at the store, got a little balloon and a card that had a dumb little joke on it - You’re One Cool POP, with a popsicle drawn in the O - and then went right to his office. 

He smiled when he saw her, ushered her into his office with a sly smile, and kissed her silly before she had a chance to hand him the card and balloon. 

And then he saw it, and his whole demeanor changed. 

“What is this?” He asked.

“I… I’m pregnant,” she smiled, her eyebrows slanting down with worry. “I… thought you’d like a pick me up —“

“Pick me up?” He dropped the card to the desk. “Anna, we’re not even engaged. How stupid are you?”

“I…” 

“Aren’t you on the pill?”

Anna nodded, tears starting in her eyes. “Yes but—“

“Did you forget to take it? You’re always forgetting!”

“No!”

“This isn’t the plan, Anna,” he sneered, sitting down hard into his desk chair. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“But,” her voice was quiet, as she stood still, attempting to make herself as small as possible. “We want kids, don’t we?”

Hans sighed, pressing his hand against his forehead. “Not unplanned.”

They argued more, his face growing red and hers getting paler as his voice rose and hers fell to barely a whisper, until he told her either she got rid of it or he was gone, and she cried and left and went right home and packed up her stuff and went to her sisters’ apartment. 

And then she ignored his calls until he left her a voicemail saying he was done with this childish behavior, that she was stupid if she thought she could raise a baby, especially alone, and he’d send the rest of her stuff over as soon as he could make the time for it.

But those little sticks could be wrong, right? What really was in your pee to make them so damn accurate? They could pull up false results… right? So Anna decided it was better to go to a doctor and get it all sorted out professionally. She hoped she could go back to his home and show him that it was all a big mistake! That he could take her back now! That —

There was a knock on the door and Anna at up straighter before telling the doctor to come in. She opened the door with a smile, and Anna’s stomach dropped. “Well, congratulations, Anna. You’re indeed pregnant.”

Her eyes welled up with tears and she couldn’t bite back the smile that stretched across her face before she jumped down from the table and wrapped her arms around the doctor. “Thank you,” she cried, happy crying mixing with sad sobs as the other woman hesitantly hugged Anna back.

“I can’t tell if these are happy or sad tears,” she chuckled, leaning backwards from Anna. 

“A bit of both, I think,” she admitted, wiping at her nose with the heel of her hand. “It’s complicated.” 

“Well,” the doctor nodded, handing her another box of tissues. “Take all the time you need. All your paperwork is upfront at the desk. I’ve also given them a bunch of resources for you, for whichever direction you choose to take.” She smiled sadly, shrugging. “I’m here if you have any questions, or want to talk, okay? I know it can all be overwhelming.”

Anna nodded, accepting the tissues gratefully, and was more than thankful she had been relatively honest with the doctor from the get-go. She seemed kind and sweet, like someone Anna could trust, and she was sure she made the right decision when she saw all sorts of pamphlets and recommendations for all the options she could possibly think of.

By the time she got back to Elsa’s apartment, she was completely worn out. She had sat in the parking lot and cried, drove home with her most emotional playlist blasting, and now she wondered if she finally had gotten all of the tears out of her body as she looked at her red and puffy face in the mirror. 

Looking around, she didn’t see Elsa’s car anywhere and sighed with relief. At least she wouldn’t have to face her sister just yet. 

But then she noticed her sisters’ best friends’ beat up truck in the lot and tensed. Why was he here when Elsa wasn’t? 

Wiping at her face again, Anna decided that her bed was all that she wanted, and she could probably just breeze by Kristoff. He was probably out on the balcony or fixing something in the apartment anyway. He probably wouldn’t even notice her.

She took a deep breath and sighed, pushed herself out of her tiny two door coupe, and made her way up to the apartment. She unlocked the door slowly, and tensed when she heard his familiar, deep voice, shouting at the television. 

“Oh, come on, you idiots! That was clearly roughing!”

A loud bark followed his shouts, and she opened the door to him laughing as his dog jumped up on his lap. 

“Geddoff!” He hollered, pushing his mutt off his legs. “You’re not a lap dog and you know it!”

Anna froze when his brown eyes turned up to her, and willed the tears to stay in her eyeballs until she made it to the back bedroom. “Oh, hey!” He started, smiling up at her. But his grin dropped when he looked at her face for a moment too long. “... You okay?”

Her eyes widened and she laughed, waving a hand in front of her face. “Oh, you know,” she mumbled, stepping into the room and closing the door while kicking off her shoes. “Typical female after a breakup. Cry, cry, cry.” Forcing a chuckle from her mouth, Anna pushed her hair back from her face before noticing he wasn’t laughing along with her.

“Do…” Kristoff shifted uncomfortably on the couch before muting the television. “Do you want to talk about it?” 

Anna smiled affectionately. There was always a little awkwardness between them - she was just his best friend’s annoying little sister ever since they were in middle school - but she appreciated the effort. He always tried to include her. In fact, he was probably one of her favorite people in the world. But she still didn’t want to burden him.

“Oh, god no,” she laughed, hanging up her coat. “Enjoy your game.”

Kristoff stood up abruptly, almost knocking over the beer he had clearly let sit until it was too warm to be enjoyable. “I can change it… If you want to — I mean,” he stammered, his cheeks flushing. “If you want some company we can watch something else or…” he ruffled his hair between his fingers. “Just… I know you don’t really like to be alone.”

Feeling her whole face soften, Anna nodded after only a moment of hesitation and sat down beside him on the couch. She didn’t even mind that he took up so much space, especially when he draped his arm over the back of it, behind her shoulders, wordlessly offering her some physical comfort if she needed it. He picked up the remote and started flipping through the channels, finding something she might enjoy. 

He found a movie he knew she loved, and sat the remote down with satisfaction.

Anna looked up at him, her heart feeling full, and scooted just an inch closer, tapping the back of his hand with her fingers. His arm lowered over her shoulders, and pulled her a fraction tighter. Her feet rose up to curl under her on the couch, and before she knew it, Anna had started to doze off on his shoulder, pushing closer into the warmth of him.

The sun was shining brightly in her eyes, and Anna was just a little more than pissed off. There was a reason she bought those light blocking curtains, and what a waste of money they were. Her eyes opened blearily as she took in her surroundings. This… was not her room. Right.

Strong arms were still wrapped around her, but she had turned over in her sleep and buried her face into his neck, his chin resting on the top of her cheek. Anna took a deep breath, enjoying the musky scent that was so very deeply Kristoff before failing to hold back a yawn. 

He stirred above her and, in his half sleepy daze, nuzzled his nose against her face as his arms tightened to pull her closer. 

“G’morning,” she murmured, smiling against his skin. 

But as soon as he was fully alert, he was pulling away from her, cheeks red and body tense. “Ah…” he let go of her, and Anna blinked rapidly at the loss of warmth. “Sorry.” He sat up fully, running his hair between his fingers as he looked anywhere but at her.

“...It’s okay.” Anna bit her lip before rolling onto her back and staring at the ceiling. “Felt nice.”

Kristoff laughed, his shoulders surging forward. If he was being honest, he was just glad they were both still fully dressed. There were more than one occurrences of him waking up with her pressed flush against him and having to adjust himself in more ways than he was willing to admit. Thank god she was a heavy sleeper.

It wasn’t like him to do things like that. To throw caution to the wind, and risk making things with someone important to him complicated. In fact, he liked things to be as simple as possible. Which is why he hooked up with strange girls who were visiting from out of town and he knew he’d never see again. The number of them had lessened as he got older, but he was safe and they were simple and the idea of being vulnerable enough to be in a relationship with someone had him completely terrified.

No one knew him that well. If everything went according to his plan, no one but Sven ever would.

But when Anna, who he’d maybe had many, many dreams about since the sweet young age of fifteen - mostly innocent, mostly about chaste kisses and hand holding and getting a cat together, but had maybe occasionally gone to a filthier place once or twice when they were out of high school - showed up looking like that and batting her eyelashes at someone who wasn’t him, he may have totally lost it. 

He risked a glance back at her, scrolling through her phone and still absentmindedly running a hand over the stuffie, and pressed his lips together firmly. He didn’t think he had feelings for her - not romantic ones, anyway - so he knew sleeping with her would have just made things far too complicated. And if he did ever cross that line… 

Maybe he wanted it to mean something.

Besides, he knew her too well. Knew she’d be crawling back to Hans the second he gave her an opening. And then she’d be broken again, because guys like Hans take the best people they can find and beat them senseless until they don’t know any life but the one where they’re dependent on him.

Kristoff sighed and laid back down, placing his head on her stomach. He felt his heart clench as she moved her fingers to his hair and ran them through, gently untangling any knots she came across. “Sorry,” he mumbled, reaching up to pat her knee before dropping his hand onto his own stomach. 

“For what?” Her head was clearly far away, and Kristoff tried his best to not feel hurt. 

“Last night.”

“Don’t be. It was probably for the best.”

He glanced up at her as she dropped her phone down to her chest to smile at him. 

“All right.”

She patted his head a couple times before returning her attention to her phone. Kristoff was comfortable and didn’t want to move, but he also kind of wanted her attention.

“What are you looking at?”

Anna’s nails were scratching his scalp, a comfort amongst the tension he felt.

“Just instagram. Look how cute this family is!” She handed him her phone and he couldn’t help but smile. They were cute. He nodded and hummed an agreement before handing back the phone. Anna seemed to hesitate for a moment before speaking slowly. “Do you want to be a dad?”

Kristoff’s throat dried up. “A dad?” He squeaked out, trying to cough and ease the tightness. He thought someday he’d like a family, but he thought maybe he should find a person he trusted enough to have a family with first. “I mean… yeah? Eventually?” Why was she asking this in the first place?

“Would you…” her voice was low and slow, as if she was trying her best to think about what she was going to say. “Ever date someone who already had a kid?” 

His heart was beating faster and he could feel his forehead breaking out into a light sweat. This conversation was going very much into Complicated Territory, and he let out a little laugh. “I mean, sure. If I liked them enough.”

“...Okay.”

He almost let out a sigh of relief as the conversation seemed to be ending, but Anna’s hand had completely stilled in his hair and she wasn’t one to just let a conversation end without a resolution. “Why?” He started, turning his head to look at her, planning on cracking some joke before he noticed the tears welling up in her eyes. 

“Whoa, whoa,” he started, sitting up and moving up the bed. “What’s wrong?”

She sniffled and wiped at her eyes, some leftover makeup smearing across her cheek. “I’m…” 

Oh god.

“So I’m pregnant. And I just…”

Oh no.

“I’m scared no one’s ever going to -“

Kristoff’s face had gone completely pale, and Anna stopped mid sentence to squint at him through her teary vision. “Are you okay? It’s not like it’s yours.”

He forced out a laugh and ran a hand down his face. “Right, of course. It’s… Hans’?”

“Of course it is!” Her eyebrows lowered in offense, as if he thought she was just sleeping with anyone who looked at her. Well, she supposed that could be a fair assumption after... “Thanks for the faith in me.”

His hands shot up in mock surrender, and he shrugged. “Look, sorry. Just after last night…” 

Anna had pulled the troll stuffie closer to her chest again, propping her chin up on top of its’ head. “... I wasn’t going to go home with that guy, okay? I wasn’t going to go home with just anyone. Why do you think I came to your bar?”

His breath quickened and his eyes locked onto her flushed face. She risked one glance up at him and the red in her cheeks deepened. “Oh.”

“Yeah.”

A heavy silence fell between them. Kristoff could see how upset she was, and he tried to push down his shock as he moved to sit next to her and wrap one arm around her shoulders. “Okay…” There was a long beat where neither of them really knew what to say. So she was pregnant, and Hans broke up with her … Something quickly occurred to him. “Does Hans know?”

Anna nodded and his frown deepened. 

“Is that why…”

“Yeah.”

“Ouch.”

Kristoff hugged her a little closer, pressing his cheek to her head. He knew Hans was a terrible guy, but to leave your pregnant girlfriend? That’s beyond scummy. Especially since they had been together for years at this point. What a classy guy. Damn. 

“Have you told Elsa?”

“God, no,” Anna laughed, sniffing and wiping at her face. “She’ll kick me out.”

“No she…” Kristoff paused and cringed a little before nodding against her hair. “Okay, she does hate him. But she loves you more.”

A scoff escaped Anna’s throat and she tried to look up at him. “Sure.”

They both knew Elsa could be a bit fickle and more than a little bit selfish at times, but she always meant well, and always tried her best to make sure her sister was well taken care of. But that didn’t necessarily mean she wouldn’t get angry enough to do something drastic. It wasn’t like it hadn’t happened before.

“So…” he shrugged, squeezing her arm. “What’s the plan?”

“Well my original plan turned out to be… the worst. So.” Anna sighed, biting her lower lip. “I guess it’s time to come up with something new.”

Kristoff let out a chuckle, shaking her shoulder. “Wait, original plan? What was that? Not get pregnant? Or find someone who wasn’t a total scumbag?”

Anna’s whole body tensed under his arm as a very forced and uncomfortable laugh ripped from her throat. “Yeah, hah, I should have done that, right? Maybe I should have slept with you instead.”

She sounded weird, as if she were hiding something, or possibly revealing a half-truth. Kristoff slowly removed his arm from her shoulders and turned to look at her head on. That was when he finally noticed the shame written all over her face. She wouldn’t have…

 “Did you… Were you trying to… with me? Is that why you came last night? Were you trying to...” His eyebrows furrowed, unsure of what exactly he was feeling. She wouldn’t have tried to trick him, would she? Anna wasn’t like that. Anna… not Anna.

Her jaw dropped, words stuck in her throat. “No, I… no. Listen.” She fisted her hands in the sheets before tears started brimming her eyelashes, but it seemed she was determined not to let them fall. 

Fuck.

“I just thought maybe if… if it was you… or at least everyone thought it was you…”

Kristoff pressed shaking fingers into his forehead, sliding just a little further away from her. “Oh, god. Anna, come on…” 

“Listen, please,” she was sitting up higher, shifting to her knees and wrapping her hands around his wrists. “Please don’t be mad. It was a dumb idea that I wasn’t going to go through with, and just…”

He pulled his hands away from hers and shook his head, as if he was trying to pretend this conversation wasn’t happening.

“I thought Elsa wouldn’t hate me if she thought it was yours and, and listen, please,” she was trying so desperately to make him just look at her, to just see how sorry she was. All he could see was red. “I can’t do this alone.” Tears were falling freely now. “I can’t, I can’t.”

Not Anna. He couldn’t believe this. He wouldn’t… 

“You gotta go, okay?” He was standing now, moving down the hall. Anna scrambled after him, legs tangling in the blankets as she reached out for him, desperate for him to give her just a moment to explain. He stopped and turned on her quickly, holding up his hands to stop her from touching him. “Please go.”

“Kristoff, please.” She had finally escaped the bed, fingers tugging on her hair as she always did when she was nervous or upset. “I was even thinking maybe we could do this together. We could just pretend — Kristoff just listen, please—“

“You could have just talked to me, Anna!”

He had never raised his voice at her before. Not once. And even though this was more stern talking than actual yelling, Anna felt herself wince. She shrunk back, nodding. “I know.”

“What if I hadn’t stopped it? What if we had hooked up last night. Would you be telling me that I knocked you up in a couple weeks?” 

“No, god, I know it’s dumb now… I wouldn’t—“

“Are you sure?”

She felt a surge of confidence and took another step towards him. “Yes.”

Kristoff’s jaw clenched, unsure if he really believed her, and he pulled his jacket off of the hook before kicking her shoes out of the way. “Go home.”

“Please don’t make me.” Her voice was small but certain, and Kristoff felt just a tiny bit of his anger lessen. “I want to talk about this. I want to fix this. And I can’t face Elsa yet. I can’t. She’s going to be so mad…”

Pressing the heels of his palm into his eyes, Kristoff groaned. “Fine.” He cracked his neck with frustration and took a few steps forward. “I’m going to take Sven on a very long walk. We’ll talk about it when I get back.”

Anna stared at him with disbelief before sighing with relief and letting the smallest of smiles touch her lips. “Thank you.” She was practically crying again.

“Okay.”

Anna woke up laid out on the couch, her head pounding, and the television quiet, but still on in the background. She looked around, memory of the long, long day quite hazy, but the important things still stood out to her. She was pregnant. Hans wanted nothing to do with her. Elsa was going to disown her. Kristoff…

She sat up quickly, looking around before spotting a scribbled note on the coffee table. Sniffling and wiping at her eyes, Anna reached over to grab it before blinking a couple times to clear her vision. 

Had to head down to work. Call me or stop by the bar if you need anything.

- Kristoff

Sighing and placing the note back down onto the table, Anna dropped her chin into her hands. What was she going to do? Hans was probably right. She couldn’t do this alone. There was no way. She was just a child herself, freshly twenty-one, and so, so naive. She had no marketable skills. No experience with anything, really. She had met Hans when she was still in high school and just imagined that that would be enough…

Anna laughed to herself, frustrated that more tears were coming. Her only aspiration in life was to find love, have a family, and be a mom. 

She supposed at least part of it was happening for her. But what guy would want to be with a young girl who already had a kid? That was so much responsibility to take on when you were in your early twenties and casually dating. No one would even give her a chance after this.

Maybe…

Scratching at the back of her neck, Anna moved to stand. She knew this was a terrible idea. Knew she’d probably regret it. Knew tricking someone into loving her was a mistake and probably made her a horrible excuse for a human. But she was so desperate to not be alone. And he wouldn’t ever leave her alone. She knew he was too good, too kind, too perfect to be bad.

And she used to have feelings for him. Maybe she still would if she hadn’t met Hans. Maybe she and him would have connected at some point. Maybe they still would. He was the best man she had ever known, and he treated her with such warmth…

Anna sighed, and headed back to her room to change. May as well take advantage of some of her skimpiest party clothes now that she was single and about to blow up like a whale. If it got Kristoff to look at her differently, that wouldn’t be so bad either. 

So she got dressed, did her hair, and her makeup (maybe trying her best to look older and less like the kid sister), got into her car, and drove as quickly as she could to Oaken’s Pub a few minutes down the road. Kristoff was the main bartender, and she knew he’d be there, but she hoped to open her tab with someone else.

She didn’t need him noticing she wasn’t actually drinking.

Taking a few deep breaths before she headed inside, Anna smoothed the short, emerald green dress around her thighs before swinging the door open. The pub definitely wasn’t a party spot, but enough young professionals drank here that she was sure she’d garner at least some attention tonight. She wouldn’t act on it, of course, because she was here with a mission - and when brown eyes turned to her, fumbling with the bottle they were previously focused on pouring, Anna realized this might be easier than she thought.

When his attention turned back to the customer who was confused as to why he spilled part of their drink on the counter, Anna took advantage and moved quickly towards the other half of the bar that was being tended by his younger apprentice, Ryder. “Hey, Anna,” he grinned, wiping a spill off of the counter. “You look fancy.”

Anna pushed her hair over her shoulder before sitting up at the bar and setting down two hundreds, sliding them across the wood discreetly. “No alcohol tonight, okay?” 

His fingers touched the edge of the bills, eyebrow raising. “I’m sorry, what?”

“I’m going to order vodka tonics… but I don’t want any vodka in them.”

“But-“

“You can charge me full vodka price, I don’t care. But do not,” she emphasized, tapping the counter hard. “Put any alcohol in them. Okay?”

“I’m-“

“Okay?”

“Geez, okay!” Ryder threw his hands up in defeat, before rolling his eyes and pouring her a glass of just tonic water. “Here’s your,” he slid the glass across the table and threw up fingers making mocking quotation marks. “Vodka tonic.”

“Can you not be so obvious?” Anna gripped the glass, annoyed that Kristoff was coming towards them before she had the younger bartender sorted, and her eyes darted between them anxiously. Ryder shrugged it off before snatching up the bills and turning to acknowledge Kristoff, who only had eyes for Anna.

“What?” Kristoff laughed, leaning up against the bar beside Ryder. “Am I not good enough for you anymore? Want some young, new flair on your drinks?” He was definitely a bit more old fashioned, but he never felt threatened by new trends that came up. In the end, classic would always win out.

Anna laughed uncomfortably, scratching behind her ear and taking a sip of the bittersweet soda. “Oh, you just seemed so busy…” she lied, biting at her perfectly colored lips. “And I figured this one here could use some practice.”

“Oh yeah,” Ryder mocked, throwing his hands up. “Vodka tonic. So challenging.”

Kristoff rolled his eyes and threw a towel at the other man, jerking a thumb behind him. “Looks like Sir Duke of Weasels over there has had a bit too much again. Can you handle it?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” 

Ryder walked off and Anna watched him with stressed eyes, hopeful that she could nurse this small glass long enough for him to come back. 

“So,” Kristoff started, smiling as her eyes snapped back to him. “When I left you were snoring on the couch. What’s all this about?” His hands gestured up and down her figure, causing Anna to blush as his eyes followed suit. 

“Oh,” she laughed, leaning back slightly to give him a view of the whole dress and just exactly where it landed on her thighs. “I figured maybe I could get a date.” His eyes rose slowly up to hers, something she couldn’t place etched into his features. “... Rebound.”

Kristoff clicked his tongue, nodding, before pressing his lips together. “Gotcha.”

“Okay, judgey.” Anna raised the glass back up to her mouth, not missing his gaze flickering to her lips as they wrapped around the thin straw. 

“M’not judging,” he frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. “Just…” 

Anna noticed a man looking at her from the other side of the bar and smiled, giving him a tiny but flirtatious wink, hoping it would do exactly what she wanted it to. 

“Concerned,” he finished, dropping a coaster down in front of her. “Can you use this, please?”

Anna blinked a couple of times down at the coaster before noticing he was walking away, a new tension in his shoulders that she hadn’t ever seen before. But as soon as he was gone, the man from across the way was sitting beside her, his elbow on the edge of the bar and a smile crossing his lips. “This seat taken?” He asked, propping his cheek against his fist.

Pressing her lips together quickly, Anna turned her attention back to the stranger. “It is now,” she giggled, twisting her hips to let her bare knees brush against his. “Anna,” she smiled, holding out her hand.

In the end he was cute, funny, nice, and many other positive things, but Anna knew why she was here, and even though the man whose name she could not remember for the life of her had given her his number, she had no intentions of ever contacting him again. 

Besides, Kristoff had waited on him, and Anna couldn’t help but notice that he had been placing his drinks down just a touch too hard, a fraction too far away, in what seemed like attempts to make the stranger look a fool. Whenever Anna laughed at something he said, Kristoff would make a little more noise. Whenever she leaned in closer, he would shove another drink or some food, or something in between them. 

And when the guy’s hand dared to rest above her knee as she told him a story, his drink was conveniently knocked off the bar by a clumsy hand and a towel.

“Oh, jeez!” Kristoff howled, sarcasm evident on his face. “Sorry about that, man!” 

“What the fu—“

“My bad, my bad.” Kristoff came out quickly from behind the bar, before smacking a hand onto the other man’s back. “Let’s get you cleaned up!”

Anna couldn’t help but laugh, biting down on the straw of her third drink. She was pretty sure that worked exactly how she had wanted it to. Too focused on the hollering that was coming from the bathroom, Anna didn’t notice Ryder come up to her.

“Wow,” he sighed, pushing his hair back from his forehead. “Kristoff’s like, never that clumsy. Wonder what’s wrong.”

She jumped slightly in her seat before turning back to face the younger bartender. “That is strange!” Anna said, dropping her glass back down to the table. “I wonder if maybe he’s not feeling the best?”

Ryder shrugged with a twist of his mouth and returned back to work, waiting for Kristoff to reemerge. They both watched the bar patron leave in a huff, a towel wrapped around his waist in an undignified manner, and Kristoff followed behind, his entire face looking smug. 

He sat down beside Anna, leaning his elbows against the bar. “Ryder, I’m done for the night. I think it’s slow enough for you to handle it on your own.” His eyes flicked to Anna as she propped her chin in her palm, eyebrow raised at him. “And bring me like, four drinks.”

They sat in silence for a moment before Anna sighed. “So.” She smiled when he looked at her. “What was that?”

He shrugged and placed his palms flat on the bar as a double shot of whisky appeared in front of him, his focus immediately returning to the bar and the drink. “You can do better than that guy.” He took a sip of his drink, sucking his lips against his teeth, and turned just his eyes back to her. “If you’re going to rebound, make it worth it.”

“Kristoff.” Her voice was tight, unsure of him, and she leaned forward, her hand sliding softly along the edge of the bar. “How do you know he wouldn’t have been a perfectly good option?”

He laughed, his hand brushing her fingertips as he leaned back in his chair. “I’ve worked in bars for many, many years now.” His nose scrunched up slightly, as if he knew this next part was a bit distasteful. “You start to learn which guys… are satisfying the women they’re picking up.”

Anna’s eyes widened, and she pressed her lips together again. “What are you saying?”

“May as well…” he knocked back the rest of his drink, swallowing hard and tilting his head to the side. “Pick someone you know will… help. Someone who will actually make you feel better.”

Anna hesitated, knowing this little comment would either get her exactly where she was hoping to be, or ruin everything completely. “Are you,” she breathed, leaning forward and laying a firm hand on top of his thigh. “Suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?” Her heart was racing and she was certain he could hear it, but she made herself stick to the plan.

He shrugged, rolling his shoulders back with a small pop, before turning his head to look her dead on.

Slowly they had started telling everyone. Elsa wanted to know more specific details, and after staying up late on video chat, they felt like they had come to a pretty good story. 

It was about a month ago, she and Hans had gotten into a huge fight and split up. She had thought it was permanent and was frustrated and upset, and Kristoff wanted to help…. so they had a one night stand. When Hans found out, he was rightfully angry, which is why they’re not together right now. No, she didn’t know if they ever would be again, considering how angry Hans was.

No, she and Kristoff weren’t together, and no, they didn’t have any plans to be. They were still close friends and fully planned to co-parent, but that didn’t mean they had to get together.

Kristoff had an extra room in his apartment, and offered it up to her if she felt that would be easier. 

Anna, after crying because she couldn’t believe how nice he was being during all of this, agreed.

So they’d be living together, for now. Not dating. Preparing for a child. But… not dating.

That was exactly how people said it to them when they found out, as if they couldn’t wrap their heads around the idea of them not even giving it a chance. Clearly they had to have liked each other somewhat to hook up, and they were so close, it just made sense!

But Kristoff and Anna were not prepared to cross that line. A kid was enough of a commitment. They didn’t need or want to complicate it even further. “Besides,” Anna would laugh, pushing against his shoulder, “He’s too good for me. He’ll get someone way better. If we tried, I’d just screw it up. I’m a mess like that.”

Kristoff just forced out a smile, as if he were laughing along.

“You’re perfect,” he’d say, and she’d blush and turn her head away. 

He cleared out his guest room of all the junk he had been storing and helped Anna move herself in. It took a couple weeks of doing a lot of purging, but she managed to cut her important belongings down to just enough to fit in the room, with a baby and all to come.

Elsa wasn’t sure about all of this, and kept pulling Kristoff aside, as if she knew something Anna didn’t… but Anna tried her best not to worry. Kristoff was one of her best friends, and one of the best people she had ever known. He wouldn’t keep anything from her! If it affected her, she’d know about it.

So she did her best not to worry, and moved into the spare bedroom in his apartment. 

They had to share a bathroom which took some getting used to, but he gave her her space when it was a pregnancy issue, and she gave him his whenever they were spending just a little too much time together. 

Anna didn’t work at the moment and figured there wasn’t much of a point now that she’d have to go on maternity leave soon, so she spent most of her days lounging around his apartment. When she was particularly bored, she’d shove her swollen feet into his big shoes and make her way to the bar, smiling wide as he laughed at her appearance.

“You’re cute,” he’d chuckle, as she spun around to show off her ‘Sweet Fit’, as they kids were apparently calling it. Leggings with an extra stretchy waist, an old t-shirt, usually with holes, and his smallest sneakers that were still miles too large for her tiny feet. “Do I even own any of my clothing anymore?”

“Nope!” Her smile grew brighter, if it were possible. “Pregnant Lady gets to take ownership of whatever she so chooses.”

When he got home from work, they’d sit on the couch, her legs draped over his lap as he ran his fingers over her warm skin. He’d tell her about his day, she’d let him know all the current happenings of her soap operas and television dramas. She’d fall asleep against the arm rest and he’d carry her into her bedroom, hesitating in the doorway as she mumbled a soft and sleepy goodnight. 

Every once in a while, Anna would wake up in the middle of the night, and slide her feet shamefully across the hallway, knocking on the other bedroom door. “Kristoff? Psst.”

“Hmm?” He woke up slowly, blinking up at her backlit form.

“I need something.”

“What’s that?”

Anna toed the ground, biting at her lower lip. The problem is, she never really knew. They’d go to the late night corner store and she’d look at everything until it struck her. Usually it was something standard like pickles or cheese or salami, but occasionally they’d come home with sauerkraut and she’d eat it straight from the jar. 

Kristoff tried to forget about the time she piled the sauerkraut onto chocolate and said it was the best thing she had ever eaten. 

When he started to deny her the weirder cravings, Anna decided she needed to learn how to cook. She’d try her best to make him dinner most nights, especially if she was bored at home all day. Some things were great successes! They devoured her slow cooked pulled pork sandwiches. Others, like some sort of jellied meat dish, didn’t go over so well. 

“Why. Just… why?” Kristoff asked, poking at it with his knife. 

“I dunno!” She was already scraping the remainder of it into the trash. “It sounded good at the time and seemed like a fun challenge.” 

They ordered pizza that night. 

He rubbed her back and feet when she was aching, and ran her a hot bath if she was particularly miserable. She brought him cookies at the bar if she felt like she could move. He went with her to all of her doctors’ appointments and mommy classes and helped her learn to breathe through the pain with the Lamaze technique. 

She couldn’t help but kiss him on the corner of his mouth when they found out it was going to be a boy. He had turned bright red, but a dorky smile tugged at his lips. 

Anna decided that was the perfect time to go to the store and work on their registry. So she grabbed his hand, smiling as she scanned practically everything in the store, and Kristoff wrapped his arm around her shoulders as he took off everything that was even bordering on superfluous. 

They had found a balance and it was seeming to work for them, even if their friends and family were saying they should just go for it. Kristoff didn’t want a relationship, and Anna was, quite frankly, still a little damaged from Hans. So this worked. They were content to be best friends, and stay best friends.

——

Anna sighed as she moved around the room. She had just entered into the third trimester, and everything was becoming very, incredibly real. They had rearranged her room, making space for the crib, changing table, and anything else that was needed. Kristoff had built a little baby dresser, just to hold all the littlest essentials, and Anna had almost wept when she saw it for the first time. It was so tiny. She was having a hard time realizing anything could be so tiny. 

She sat down hard on the bed and sighed, rubbing circles over her belly. When Kristoff appeared in the doorway, she looked up at him with tired eyes. “I can’t sleep on my stomach anymore. This is the worst.”

“I know.”

“And he just keeps kicking me.”

“I know.”

“Why did I agree to this?”

Kristoff shrugged and walked into the room with a laugh. “That, I do not know.” He sat down beside her and immediately moved a soothing hand across her back. “You okay?”

“It’s…” she sighed and leaned against him. “It’s really real. And this plan… really worked…” 

His hand stopped for a fraction of a second, but Anna noticed. 

“It did.”

“I hate being pregnant.”

Kristoff’s cheek was now pressed against the top of her head. “Don’t you want a ton of kids?”

“Not anymore.”

She was pouting.

“You’ll change your mind when you meet him.” He shrugged. “Or there’s always adoption.”

Wrapping her arms around his waist, Anna couldn’t help but sniffle as tears were brimming her eyelashes. Damn hormones. “Thank you,” she mumbled, pressing her nose into his neck. “Seriously. For everything.”

“Eh,” he shrugged, waving a hand in front of them. “It’s nothing.”

“I figure once he’s born and we’ve settled down we can do the paternity tests and…” she paused, her arms squeezing tighter around his waist. “You’ll be off the hook.”

“I’m not on any hook.”

“Well, you can leave if you want. And no one will think anything of it.”

“Anna, I’m—.”

“Like… I get it. You don’t want kids, right? This isn’t your responsibility. I still can’t believe you invited me to live with you.” 

“I wanted—.”

“I should’ve said no, though, I think. I think this is going to be harder when I have to leave.”

“Anna, you don’t—.”

“I’m sorry I put you in this situation. I’m so, so sorry.”

“Anna!” His voice grew louder and more stern. “Stop.”

She quieted then, keeping her eyes trained on the floor in front of them. “Sorry.”

“I wouldn’t have invited you to live here if I didn’t mean it. I wouldn’t have agreed to do it if I didn’t care, okay?” 

She looked up at him with wet eyes, wiping at her face and nose.

“No matter what, you’re my best friend, okay?” He placed one palm to her cheek before pressing a firm kiss against her forehead. “I care about you and want what’s best for you and your kid. No matter what.”

Anna stared at him for a moment, for hours, for days. He couldn’t tell you. But when she leaned up and kissed him, really kissed him, he felt his entire body melt. Everything about her warmed him from his core to his fingertips, and he wasn’t sure why, but right in that moment he decided he was going to tell her how he felt.

Not now. 

But soon.

His hand flexed at his side, desperate to touch her and kiss her more, but knowing that this wasn’t the time. When she pulled away, eyes panicked and cheeks flushed, he immediately lifted that hand to the back of his head.

“Sorry!” Her hands clasped over her mouth, her eyes wide and still damp, looking anywhere but at him. “Oh, jeez… you were just being so nice and you should know that I can’t help but kiss nice m—“

They both froze, and Kristoff shook his head. “No worries. It’s all good. Just…” he patted her shoulder before letting it fall back to it’s spot between her shoulderblades. “Pretend it didn’t happen.”

“Okay. Okay.” She sat up and looked around the room. “Geez….” Anna lifted her fingers to her chin in thoughts. “Hopefully anything else we need we’ll get at the baby shower tomorrow…”

“Oh, yeah,” he nodded, letting his hand slide off of her back. “Ma said to be there a little early so we can do just a family thing before all the friends get there. That okay?”

Anna nodded and smiled, stretching her arms over her head. “Absolutely. You’re the best fake baby daddy a girl could ask for.”

He laughed, but felt his heart tighten. “What are friends for?”

Kristoff had been waiting patiently while Anna got ready. He knew it took a little longer these days because she was tired and sore, but they were bordering on being late… and you were not late to a Bjorgman function, especially not one being thrown for you.

“Anna? You almost ready?”

“Yeah! Coming!”

She came bouncing down the hallway, and Kristoff felt his throat tighten as he looked up at her. It wasn’t the soft green sundress that flowed around her thighs, or her hair down in messy curls around her shoulders, but instead the warm glow of her skin and the bright shine in her eyes took him by surprise. He stood up, wiping his hands down his jeans, and smiled softly.

Taking a step towards her, Kristoff paused when she started digging through her purse. “Should we be bringing something? I feel like I should have made something. Should we stop and pick up —“

He laughed and lifted his hands to her shoulders. “It’s fine,” he smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear and relished in the blush that tinted her cheeks. “It’s my mom, she’s going to have made more than is physically possible to eat anyway.”

Anna nodded and let out a sigh.

Then finally they were out the door.

The drive to his childhood home wasn’t long, but it was clear that Anna was nervous and uncomfortable. This was the first time they had to spend a significant amount of time with anyone besides Elsa, and Anna never really liked lying - especially to someone who she looked at like a second mother. Kristoff wouldn’t lie, he felt a bit guilty too, but it wasn’t like this was some stranger who was trying to con them out of money. It was Anna. 

Kristoff leaned over, placed a large hand over her knee and squeezed gently. “It’s gonna be fine.”

She jumped slightly but looked up at him with a smile. 

“I know.”

There were strings of balloons hung up on the mailbox, tacky little decorations all over the yard, and a giant sign stating IT’S A BOY! hung above the doorway. Kristoff thought it was bordering on too much, but Anna hopped out of the car with pure excitement taking over her face. 

Kristoff shut off the car, grabbed her purse that she forgot, and walked around to meet her. “Ready?”

Anna nodded and, with her hands around her stomach protectively, tried her best to skip to the door. 

They were greeted with big hugs from the whole family, Kristoff’s sisters holding Anna at arm's length to look at her tummy while his brothers clapped him on the back in congratulations, and Elsa stood off to the side, that disapproving look on her face burning a hole in Kristoff’s back.

He took the hint, and excused himself. 

“Heeey,” he started, his voice dragging out the vowel. “How’s it going?”

Elsa did not look amused, her one eyebrow cocking up at him. “Kristoff…”

“I know, I know.”

She sighed and put her hands up to his biceps, forcing him to face her. “You don’t have to do all of this, you know. Anna and I… We can handle it, if you don’t want…”

He smiled and shook his head. “No, I’m…” A laugh. “I’m actually really excited?”

“... You are?”

“... Yeah.”

Elsa’s eyes searched his before she sighed. “Are you guys going to get together?”

Now he froze.

“I know you’ve had feelings for her since we were kids and even if you didn’t know it or didn’t want to act on it I think it’s important that you —“

“I’m going to tell her.”

She stopped and a smile twitched at the corner of her mouth. “You are?”

When Kristoff nodded, Elsa just leaned forward and hugged him, no more words needed. This wasn’t the first time she had suggested they date, but she always respected that Kristoff needed to come to the idea himself. She always understood that he needed to decide he wanted a relationship before he would even chance anything with Anna.

Anna hollered over at them and they both immediately turned their attention towards her. “Bulda says she has something special for us, Kris!”

Elsa winked at him before shoving him towards the gathering of chairs.

Anna grabbed his hand and led him to the large oversized chair, mainly used for story time with the kids, sat him down, and plopped herself down between his thighs. His hands moved automatically to her shoulders, squeezing her tense muscles between his fingers. She sighed gratefully and leaned closer to his chest while everyone gathered around and sat in a big circle.

“Now,” Bulda started, her eyes glued to his hands on Anna’s skin. “Even though this might’ve started out as a mistake, I can’t help but see it as a blessin’. Kristoff here has just needed a little push to settle down and —“

He coughed, staring her down.

“Anyway.” There was a small moment of awkward silence in the room, but Bulda pushed on. “There’s something special that I was savin’ for you, ever since you were little and we took you in.”

Bulda reached back behind the stack of presents and produced a large, lopsided present. 

“I probably should have given it to you years ago, but I wanted to make sure it stayed safe and protected.”

Kristoff and Anna both received the present together, tugging at the ribbons that held it all together. As it opened, Kristoff dropped one hand to Anna’s belly, rubbing a soft circle as she pulled the wrapping paper apart. From the paper came a beautiful, crisp, white and embroidered blanket. All the colors and designs stood out against the pure fabric, and Anna ran her fingers delicately across the lace detailing. 

“Ma…”

Bulda had her hands together over her mouth. “It was your mothers’, and she made sure it got to us.”

His whole throat was tight and he wasn’t sure how to react. It was stunning and he remembered it so fondly, wrapped around him as his mother held him close and sang him lullabies before she…

“Thank you.”

Anna looked between him and his mother, worrying her lip between her teeth. He knew she was thinking the same as him. If they had to split… would he keep it? Would he let her keep it? 

Kristoff folded it up and put it in Anna’s lap before reaching forward to grab his mothers’ hand, still trapped in the chair, his other hand still pressed gently against Anna’s bump.. “I didn’t even know we still had this.”

He watched Anna wipe at her eyes, avert her gaze, and smiled as she allowed them to have this moment. “It’s so beautiful, Bulda. Thank you.”

Bulda released his hands before clasping her own together in front of her heart. “I wanted to make sure it was ready for whenever you had a baby, Kristoff. And I couldn’t be more thrilled that it’s with Anna, here. I know she’ll cherish it just as much as—“

Anna stood up quickly, his hand being forced off of her stomach. “Excuse me.”

He watched everyone shrug the exit off before he stood and hugged his mother, genuinely thanking her, and left the room to find Anna. She had stepped outside, Elsa had followed, and he kept his distance as Anna paced and Elsa tried her best to soothe her little sister.

“You don’t get it, Elsa.” 

She twisted her feet into the dirt as she walked, grinding through the grass. 

“I don’t deserve all of this, okay? I don’t… I don’t deserve the kindness and the care and the love from his whole family. I don’t even deserve how Kristoff has been treating me.”

“Anna…”

He leaned against the half open door, arms crossed and heart racing, wondering if she was going to come clean to Elsa.

“He deserves so much better than me, okay? And we’re not even together! He deserves a real family with an actual wife and not this fake thing we’ve been —“

“It’s not fake, Anna.”

He froze.

“It…” Anna finally stopped pacing, clenching her dress between her fingers. He only saw now that there were tears brimming her lashes. “He’s going to be such a good dad…” His heart grew tighter. “Like, I can’t imagine anyone being a better dad.”

Anna sat onto one of the patio chairs and hugged her belly. “I don’t want to mess it up. But I think it’s just… it’s just starting messed up.”

Elsa moved to kneel in front of her and grabbed her hand. “Nothing is messed up. Anna… Kristoff and his whole family love you very much. Whether or not you guys wind up together will not change that.” 

Anna sniffled and nodded, and Kristoff shifted against the door frame to make himself known. 

“You okay, Anna?”

The sisters looked up at him, and Anna’s whole face softened. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

Kristoff stepped out into the yard and held out a hand for Anna to grab. “You sure? Rest of the guests will be here soon… If you need some time…”

She stood and threw her arms around his waist, smiling as she buried her nose into his chest. “I’m sure.” 

Elsa walked by, patted his shoulder with a wink, and left them alone as Anna wiped at her nose and eyes, trying her best to look more put together. 

When he was sure no one else was around, he moved a hand to cup her head, resting his chin on top of her head. “... Do you want to tell Elsa?” She sniffed again, wiping her eyes into his shirt. Anna shook her head, but stayed quiet. 

“You know…” He swallowed hard and pulled her back far enough for her to look at him. “We don’t have to do any fake tests. We don’t have to…” Her eyes widened and he scrunched his lips to one side, trying to find the right words. “I want to be in his life. I’m going to be, as long as we’re friends. So…”

The door burst open with a holler from his youngest sister, who had clearly gotten into the wine a little early. 

“Oh loooovebirds! Party’s starting!”

Anna sighed and waved her off, pulling away from Kristoff. “Continue this at home tonight?”

He smiled, grabbed her hand and nodded. “It’s a date.”

——

The rest of the party went over without much of a hitch. They got all the last things they needed from their registry, and many things they wouldn’t have even thought to ask for. It was much too long for Kristoff’s taste, with mostly women and mostly talk of how to keep your body healthy during the last few months, and how to deal with all the postpartum issues. 

Basically things that Kristoff couldn’t really help with. So he moved to the side to stand with Elsa and their other high school friend, Honey, giving her a quick fist bump as he settled in with them.

“She okay?”

Kristoff nodded and took a sip of his drink. “Overwhelmed and tired, but I’m probably going to help her escape in a minute. After I escape for a minute.”

“What?” Elsa gasped, knocking back the last of her glass of wine. “You’re not thrilled to learn that she has to moisturize her nipples? Thought you’d like to hear all about that.”

Honey snickered behind them, lifting her own glass to her lips. “I mean, I sure like hearing about moisturized nipples. Plus, maybe you’ll get to help her.”

“Shut up,” he groaned, rolling his neck.

“Don’t talk about him touching her nipples, I swear to god.” Elsa’s whole face had morphed into a cringe, as if this was the worst thing she could ever hear about.

Honey smirked, tipping her glass. “Well hasn’t he already done more than that? Pretty sure he’s touched them and maybe even…” Her head swung around to Kristoff, red and shrinking into himself. “You a breast man, Bjorgman? You probably did nasty —“

Elsa pushed Honey away, groaning. “Let’s stop talking about this.”

“You brought them up!” Honey’s laugh echoed through the room.

“Yes, that was my first mistake.”

“Okay, bye!” He practically yelled, leaving the conversation and going right back into another one that had circled back to the possibility of her vulva tearing all the way to her a— “Hello!”

He cut them off just in time and knelt down to Anna, whose whole face was filled with terror. “Wanna go?”

“Yes, please.” Anna stood immediately, grabbing her purse off of the chair. Kristoff had taken the initiative and filled up their car with the presents ahead of time, and both of them were thankful that he did so.

They said their goodbyes, hugged more people than they could keep track of, thanked everyone and headed out, hurrying to their car and started off as quickly as they could.

“Hungry?”

After a moment of hesitation, contemplating just how much she ate at the party, but also aware that she could always eat more, Anna nodded.

God damn it. God. Damn. It.

Kristoff was pretty sure he was angrier than he had ever been before in his entire life. Nothing on earth could have prepared him for this. How could one of the most important people in his life - one of the only people he trusted - try to trick him like this? How could she do that? 

No, he felt more than anger. He felt betrayed. He felt like everything had shattered around him. He felt a dull ache in his chest, and then something he couldn’t place, something begging him to go back and wrap her up in his arms and work on a solution together… but then there was the anger again.

Why didn’t she just talk to him? 

He might have been willing to help. He might have been able to do something to help. But she acted impulsively, acted without thinking, without worrying about how this would affect him.

Just like she always did when she was scared.

Scared.

God she was probably so scared…

Kristoff let a sigh escape his lungs and wiped at his face. That didn’t excuse this. Nothing would ever excuse this. Anna was never going to learn how her actions can hurt others if he just forgave her every single time she messed up. No, she needed to see that there were consequences for her bad decisions. She needed to grow up.

All of this was her own doing. She was stupid for dating Hans in the first place, right? He was twenty-three when he met her. She was seventeen. And she stuck around after years of being mistreated and kept on a leash. What stupid girl —

Sven barked and pulled forward on the harness, forcing Kristoff’s thoughts off of their current trajectory.

No. Kristoff scolded himself for even so much as thinking that about Anna. She wasn’t stupid. Hans was predatory. He met a girl who loved harder than anyone he ever knew, who was alone and desperate for someone to love her again, and took advantage of her. Then he got her pregnant, and after years of leading her on decided that wasn’t what he wanted. No wonder she made such a poor decision. 

He didn't know what to do. He wanted to help, but not like that. He wanted to make her feel better, but he was still hurt. He wanted to forget all this shit ever happened and comfort her like he used to when she and Elsa had bad days, when she’d stay the night and he’d make her popcorn and they’d watch a movie and she’d fall asleep against his shoulder and…

“Sven?” Kristoff smiled when his dog looked up at him as he continued trotting happily along the sidewalk. “What would you do?”

Well, Kristoff could clearly hear the dumb voice he’d always been doing for Sven in his head. I’d make sure she was okay.

“You would, huh?”

She’s probably really upset.

“So am I.”

But you don’t have to face a life changing decision right now.

He nodded and smiled awkwardly at the stranger who walked by, listening to him converse with his dog. With a quick roll of his eyes, he tugged on the leash to get Sven to stop walking before moving to an unoccupied bench. Sven laid his head in Kristoff’s lap and looked up at him with sad eyes.

Anna cares about you. And trusts you. Maybe it was the wrong decision, but she wanted it to be you.

“But she almost tricked me into thinking my life was going to be changing, too.”

She’s Anna. She wouldn’t have gone through with it. She would have come clean before it went too far.

“How do you know?”

You know it, too.

Kristoff felt some tension easing from his shoulders as he scratched the mutt’s ear. Sven was right, after all. 

He fondly remembered the time after they had first met, and she was just twelve, watching him and Elsa play video games. He was kind of annoyed by her and her incessant questions about it but he tried his best to just ignore her. She just wanted to play, but Elsa kept telling her no, and he stayed quiet.

They had run to get a snack, and when they came back they found Anna whistling innocently on the couch, and a bright red Game Over screen flashing on the TV.

“Anna!” Elsa had shouted, groaning in frustration. “What did you do?!”

Anna threw her hands down and scowled, insisting that she hadn’t touched anything. Their frustration was quickly turning into anger, and Kristoff had done his best to calm the situation. 

“Hey, we probably… just didn’t pause it right. It’s fine. We weren’t too far in.”

Elsa had let out another frustrated groan before leaving and slamming the bathroom door, and Kristoff knew just to give her some time to calm down. With a sigh, he turned to the television and reset the game, doing his best to ignore Anna sitting behind him.

“... I’m sorry,” she mumbled, tapping his shoulder. 

“Huh?” He turned to look at her, and saw her blue eyes filled with tears. 

“Elsa just doesn’t let me play with her because I’m not very good… and I just really wanted to try it… I’m sorry I didn’t know what to do.”

She was sorry she didn’t know what to do.

That was just the first of many years of Anna apologizing for every little thing that went wrong. Once she spilled water on him and apologized like she had killed his parents. Another time, she ate the last piece of cheesecake, not knowing he was saving it for later, and bought him three full sized cakes to make up for it. Last year, during one of the rare times he actually spent any time around Hans, Anna had apologized for his behavior after Hans had gotten drunk enough to try and punch Kristoff in the mouth.

She owned up to everything, didn’t she? Even things that weren’t her fault. Even things she had no control over. Of course she wasn’t going to go through with it.

“Why are you always right?”

Sven just started panting, his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth and what looked like a smile stretching his lips.

——

Kristoff had been gone for almost two hours, and Anna couldn’t help but try to find any way to relieve all of her anxious energy. She had tidied up their mess from the night before, made his bed, hung up some clothes he had left in his clean pile, made some coffee, wiped down his empty fridge, and, most of all, just paced around in circles hoping he’d be back soon. 

How could she have been so stupid? They say hindsight is twenty-twenty, but she was starting to feel like she had spent the last twenty-four hours completely blind. It was as if some sort of storm of Bad Decisions had swept her up and blown her every which way. No wonder Kristoff was so angry with her. She’d be pretty angry if she were him, too. 

God, and all he asked her to do was leave, and she couldn’t even do that correctly.

With a sigh, and a pretty good idea that he was trying to stay out until she left, Anna started to gather up her belongings. She didn’t know if just taking his clothing home was the right move, but she really didn’t want to squeeze back into her dress. Worst case, she supposed, was she could wash his clothing and have Elsa bring it back to him, since she assumed he wanted nothing to do with her from this point onward.

She folded her dress, slipped on her heels knowing she only had to wear them for the short walk down to her car, and started looking for her purse and keys when she heard the latch of the door open right before she had a ninety pound dog jumping up at her. “Oh, whoa, okay, hi!” She laughed, trying to keep her balance as Sven’s front paws rested on her shoulders. “Good to see you, too.”

Kristoff walked in behind him, hanging up his leash and toeing off his shoes. When Anna laid eyes on him, she felt them filling with tears again. “Really good to see you.”

He didn’t speak, just continued putting his stuff away and ignoring Anna’s gaze.

“I…” Anna watched Kristoff’s shoulders tense, unable to stop her mouth from scrunching to one side in thought as she lowered Sven’s paws back to the floor. “I was just about to go…”

“Why?” He dropped his keys on the small table by his door and turned to face her. “You wanted to talk, right?” He could see her whole body shaking, whether it was relief or anxiety or something else, he couldn’t tell, but it was starting to make him feel bad. He wanted to ease the tension. “Those heels look good with the shorts. Real high fashion.”

Anna sniffled once before letting out a wet breath, definitely full of tears that hadn’t fallen yet. “Yeah,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper as a smile pulled at her lips. “I thought I could pitch it to a designer. Really… Blow them away.”

Both of them released small, breathy laughter, thankful that there was a tiny semblance of normal falling back between them. Anna took a step closer to him, stepping back out of her heels, waiting patiently for a sign that he was okay. “I’m … I’m so, so sorry, Kris.”

He took in a deep breath before releasing it with a loud groan. “I know, Anna. I know you are.”

“But I-“

“Don’t, all right? It’s…” He paused for a minute. He was going to say it was fine, but it absolutely was not. “It is what it is.”

Anna nodded and stood still, waiting.

Kristoff looked at her, eyes red and smudged with old makeup, hands straight at her sides, as if she was holding back from running up to him and throwing her arms around him, and the tension drained from his shoulders. “Come on. Let’s talk.”

Dropping down onto the couch, Kristoff waited patiently for her to sit beside him. A soft fondness crept over him as she picked up a pillow, sat down next to him with her legs crossed, turned to face him and held the pillow tightly between her arms. He knew she did this when she was trying to restrain herself and he almost felt bad. Almost. Okay, maybe a little bit.

“So…” He started, scratching at the back of his neck. “Explain?”

Anna took a deep breath in before releasing it slow and steady through round lips. “Okay…” Pressing her lips together, she turned her eyes downward and tapped her fingers together. “Thought I might be pregnant. Told Hans, in a way I thought was pretty cute, he got mad, told me I had to get rid of it or leave, so I left, because like, I’ve always wanted to be a mom, and then he called and called and called, but basically it all boiled down to him calling me dumb and childish and incapable and other things I don’t really want to think about.” 

She paused to take a deep breath and Kristoff just nodded, knowing she had much more to say before it would be a conversation. 

“So I went to the doctor and found out for sure and that was right before I came home yesterday, and I was just so, so scared of being alone because like, genuinely, maybe Hans is right, you know? Maybe I am just a dumb kid who can’t do anything right, like I’m probably going to just mess this kid up so much okay? So much. I mean, look at me, and I had two perfectly pleasant parents. What kid stands a chance with me as their mom and no one else?

“And then you were just… god, you’re so wonderful, Kristoff, has anyone ever told you that? You’re just so kind and caring and you always have been, you’ve always treated me so well, and I got to thinking like, hah, what if we were meant to be, but I just didn’t see it? And I know that’s dumb, that’s so stupid, I’m sorry, you’re like a brother to me -“

Kristoff felt a weird, sharp pain in his chest.

“- so like of course that wasn’t right, but I just thought, you’re the most amazing person I’ve ever, ever known, and I was thinking like, you would be the best dad, just the best, and if this was how well you treated me as just the annoying little sister of your best friend, right? Imagine how well you’d treat me if you ever like, loved me… so I just… I had this weird idealized fantasy in my head of us, doing that, and then, even if it was backwards, maybe you’d love me someday, and maybe we’d just have a family and …”

She wiped at her cheeks, adjusting her legs so her knees were under her chin, the pillow still trapped between her chest and her thighs. 

“It was so, so stupid. I know. I know that. I even knew it when I was trying to do it. But the way you looked at me last night, I… I snapped back to reality.” Her eyes finally rose up to meet his. “I’m sorry, Kris. And I understand if…” she hiccupped before biting her lower lip. “I understand if you don’t want anything to do with me now. I really do.”

Nodding slowly, Kristoff felt his face contorted with a bit of confusion. “Okay…” he started, blowing out a long breath. “A lot to unpack there.” 

Anna let out yet another hollow laugh. “Yeah… yeah.”

Kristoff turned on the couch, lifting up his leg to make it easier to face her. “Okay, listen.” He watched her nod and prop her chin on the pillow. “I… I’m pretty upset, okay? Like… I don’t think I’ve ever been this mad at anyone before.” Her face dropped, but he leaned forward to press his hand against her knee. “But… you mean a lot to me, and I know you, and I know you didn’t mean any harm.”

Well, he hoped she didn’t.

Her hand clasped over his, and his walls dropped just a fraction.

Anna had thrown cash down as quickly as she could, waved goodbye to Ryder, and grabbed Kristoff’s hand tightly as she practically ran for the front door. He had an apartment right above the bar and there was absolutely no way in hell Anna had the patience to make it back to her place, and she had stayed here before and he wasn’t a stranger and the quicker this happened the better because she didn’t need a minute to second guess herself and —

He paused when the cool air hit their skin and turned to face her, his quick movements jerking her out of her thoughts. Uncertainty was written all over his face. She had noticed him take a shot or two while watching the other man, and realized that maybe he had more than she realized and was possibly just a little tipsy. When his hands rose to her jaw, cupping her face as he pressed his forehead against hers, Anna felt her heart skip a beat. 

“Are you sure?” He asked with his eyes trained on hers, pupils blown out almost to the point of completely blacking out his irises.

Was she sure? No. This was probably her dumbest idea to date. This was probably a mistake. But she…

“Yes,” she sighed, throwing her arms around his neck, pulling herself up to her tiptoes as she pressed her body flush against his. She tried not to think about how her soon-to-be big belly would be getting in the way eventually as his hands moved to her waist that wouldn’t be so slim for much longer, and around her back that was bound to be aching every day… 

Before she knew it, his mouth was sliding over hers, capturing her lips in a kiss that wasn’t at all what she expected. It was gentle and warm, like a comfort she didn’t know she needed. Was this what she had needed? Maybe he was what she needed from day one. 

Another patron wolf whistling in their direction tore them apart, flushes rising high on both of their cheeks. Anna coughed and adjusted her purse on her shoulder. “So… upstairs?”

“Yes,” he replied just a touch too quickly, laughing uncomfortably when her eyebrow quirked at him. “Let’s just go.”

They left their hesitation on the street, and Anna couldn’t help but chuckle as Kristoff took the steps three at a time, leaving her far in his wake as he climbed to the fifth floor. “Wait!” She hollered, her voice echoing in the stairwell. She looked up to see him peering down at her from at least two floors above and laughed harder. “You can’t do much without me, Bjorgman.”

“Oh, you’d be surprised at what these hands can do.” He winked and leaned over the railing, his fingers dangling over the side. “But hurry up, because I think it’ll be much more fun with two people.”

Anna choked on her laughter, but quickened her steps until she heard the pounding of his feet coming back down. They met on a landing, both skidding to a halt, before he reached down to pick her up, tossing her over his shoulder before continuing to practically sprint up the stairs. She wasn’t used to being manhandled, but she couldn’t deny it sort of did something for her. Not to mention his butt flexing with every lunge up the stairs. That definitely did something for her. 

They went through the doorway to the hall, then the door to his apartment, and he finally set her down as he kicked the door shut behind him. Sven sat up with excitement, but when neither of them paid him any mind, he huffed and curled back up in his bed. At his lone whine, Kristoff yelled a quick “love ya, buddy” before guiding Anna’s unsure steps back to his bedroom.

She kicked off her heels as they walked, dropping down to be even shorter than him, but she was fiery and ready to go the whole time. Her hands found his shirt, bunching the fabric of the collar in her fingers to pull him down to her level. His hands wrapped around her body to find the closure of the dress, and their lips messily met, sighs and heavy breaths ghosting across the others’ skin as they both fiddled with the others clothing until they were down to their undergarments. 

His tight fitting boxers grew tighter still as she crawled into his lap, the bed sinking just slightly under their combined weight. Hands roamed over newly exposed skin, brown eyes stared up at her with complete adoration before blinking it away as his arms wrapped around her to flip their bodies, throwing her down onto the mattress. 

Anna couldn’t help but notice the size of him as he towered above her, his hands shifting the sheets beside her head. She reached up excitedly and cupped his jaw, smiling softly when he pressed his mouth against her palm.

“Are you —“

He cut her off with a kiss, laying almost his full weight on top of her, and then his hands were sliding from her shoulders to her waist to her hips back up to tangle in her loose hair and she wanted him so much more than she thought was possible…

And then his warmth was gone, and he was laying beside her mumbling a string of curses under his breath.

“Wha…” her whole body was shaking from the loss. Anna took in a large gulp of air and turned to face him. “What’s wrong?”

The heels of his palms were pressing into his eyes and Anna could barely make out a shitgoddamnitfuck under his breath in all of his muttering.

“Kristoff-“

“I didn’t… Not like this.” He took in a deep breath and rolled off the bed, his feet touching carpet before Anna even had a chance to figure out what was even happening.

“Wait but you’re the one who-“

“I know,” he groaned, pushing his hair off of his face. 

Anna sat up, panic rising in her throat. Everything was going so well! She didn’t even need to try that hard. Why was he stopping it? Why was he ruining this? “Don’t you want to?”

Kristoff laughed, turning to look at her quickly before returning his gaze to the wall. “Jesus, Anna, of course I do. Have you seen yourself?”

She rubbed her eyes, certain she could turn this around. All it would take was a soft, sensual touch, maybe some filth from her lipstick smeared lips, and he would want her again. “So why don’t we just try again,” she purred, trying to rise up to a crawl and regain his attention.

“No.” He was firm, and Anna sank back down to her knees, sitting quietly behind him.

“But… I thought you wanted…”

“I’m changing my mind, okay?”

She looked over at him, hands buried in his hair and elbows propped up on his knees, clearly distraught, and felt sheer guilt take over. How on earth had she ever thought this would have been a good idea? How did she ever come up with such a dumb, hurtful idea?

She nodded to herself and shifted on the bed, moving to sit behind him as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “Okay,” she muttered, propping her chin on his shoulder. “That’s okay.”

They sat this way for a while, his cheek pressed against her arm as she rubbed a small circle on his bicep. “Weird question,” she laughed, breaking the silence. Kristoff looked up at her, guilt written across his face. “Can I stay the night? I know it’s probably too weird but I really don’t want to drive home and I’ve stayed here before so I know it’s like okay but like now it’s different and-“

“You’re fine,” he smiled, patting her hands as he moved to get up. “Need some pajamas?”

“Only if it’s your hockey shirt from high school.”

Kristoff laughed and dug around a bit before producing the shirt in question, ridiculously soft from wear and washing. He threw it towards her, and offered up a pair of too small basketball shorts that he knew at least she could pull as tight as she needed. “Need anything else?”

Anna shook her head, holding the clothing between her hands. “Thanks.”

He shrugged and moved towards the bathroom, giving her the privacy she was too polite to ask for. She watched him leave with lustful eyes, sighing slightly at the way his back muscles shifted under his skin and tried her best not to imagine them moving under her hands as he thrust—

She jumped off of the bed quickly and pulled the clothes on, sliding the uncomfortable plunging bra out from under the shirt. She tied the shorts tight enough for them to stay up on her hips, but not too tight that they were pressing into her skin. All she wanted at this point was to just be comfortable. 

Anna started to pick up some of the pillows they had knocked off the bed, grunting as she leaned down to grab one that had bounced under the frame. A smile crossed her lips when she pulled out his weird, deformed troll stuffie and moved to sit in the middle of the bed, running it’s fake grass hair through her fingers.

Kristoff emerged from the bathroom, pointing back and insisting it was all hers when he froze, choking on his words. His mouth went dry and he couldn’t think straight as she sat in the middle of his bed, in his clothes, gently petting his only childhood toy. Hiding the flush on his cheeks, Kristoff moved towards his dresser to pull out pajamas for himself. “Don’t pull his hair out.”

“I’m kind of surprised you still have him.”

“Of course I do,” he said, pulling a shirt over his head and missing Anna’s eyes catching on his stomach. “Only thing I have left from my mom.” Stepping into some longer shorts, Kristoff couldn’t help but keep his eyes on Anna who was so gently petting the stuffie, before she wrapped her arms around it protectively.

“So I can just, um,” she started, moving to stand. “Sleep on the couch.”

“God, no,” Kristoff laughed, rolling his shoulders. “You don’t want to sleep on that couch. Take the bed.”

He moved to grab some pillows and a spare blanket from the closet before Anna stopped him. “Well, I don’t feel right about you sleeping there either now. So…” She hummed in contemplation and then let out a defeated sigh. “Why don’t we just share? We’re adults. It doesn’t have to be weird.”

Kristoff rubbed a hand across his mouth before nodding. “Okay. You’re right. It won’t be weird to share a bed with a childhood friend I almost hooked up with. Totally normal.” He laughed when he turned around to find her already under the covers, cuddling the stuffie and frowning at him.

“Don’t say it like that!”

Holding his hands up in defeat, Kristoff elected not to say another word before also climbing under the covers and flicking off the lights. He turned his back to her determined not to overthink this situation. This was fine. She used to stay over all the time. Sure they had woken up cuddling on more than one occasion, but that was just humans being humans, right?

“Kris?”

“Hmm?”

“... I think I’m gonna make it weird.”

He let out a rough laugh before turning to look at her, even if her back was also to him. “What’s up?”

She shrugged, pulled the stuffie closer to her chest and sighed. “I just…” She blew a breath out between her lips, rolling them together in frustration. “Can you spoon me? Totally platonic spooning. I just haven’t been —“

Anna’s words cut off when his arms snaked around her, his whole body pressing into her back. She felt his nose against the back of her neck and a shiver shook through her entire body as every part of her relaxed, feeling safe and warm and loved and… 

“Thank you.”

“Goodnight.”

His breath was already slow against her skin, and Anna pushed herself closer to him. 

Anna felt the weight of her duffle bag digging into her shoulder as she stood on the side of the road, waiting desperately for Hans to show up. He said he’d be there as soon as possible, but it had been almost three hours and she couldn’t stop crying. A few of her neighbors had slowed down to look at her suspiciously, but none had stopped when they saw her red eyes, smeared makeup, and shaking body.

Finally, god finally, his silver BMW coupe pulled up beside the curb, and he rolled down his window to look at her. “Well, look at you, all dolled up.”

She knew he meant it as a joke, so she forced out a laugh, but it stung her to her core. “O-only for you,” she sang, her voice tight, before she threw her duffle into the popped trunk and climbed into the passenger seat. “Thank you.”

He pressed a kiss against her forehead before driving off. “Anytime.”

The rumble of the car lulled her to sleep. 

Until the squealing of tires and the sirens of an ambulance shot her awake, and she was sitting in the hospital with her sister, who was paler than normal and unmoving. Anna turned to face her, trying to figure out why they were back here. They couldn’t be back here… 

“Elsa?” She asked, her voice quiet and meek. Anna looked down at herself, in the same hoodie and jeans she was wearing that night. No, it couldn’t be. She refused to believe it. Panic started rising in her throat. It had been six years. Six. She wasn’t here. “Why are we… Where are… What’s…” None of her sentences would finish, tongue literally tangling behind her teeth. Until she managed to shout just one thing. “Elsa!”

Cold blue eyes darted to her, upset that she would make a scene. “Quiet, Anna.”

Anna felt a shiver race up her spine and pierce her heart. This was wrong, this was all wrong. Elsa would comfort her, right? Elsa wouldn’t treat her like this… Elsa… “Where are mama and papa?”

But her sister’s eyes were unblinking. “I said be quiet, Anna.”

“No!”

Elsa’s face stiffened, froze, and she turned calmly to face the front desk again. “Then leave.”

And the floor fell out from under her. She was falling, reaching up to her sister who wouldn’t even acknowledge her, crying out for someone, anyone, to catch her. To help her. To see that she was there.

Her back slammed against something hard, stars bursting behind her eyes as her head followed suit. It was a struggle to stand. She felt heavy, like something was weighing her down. It wasn’t until she touched the wooden handrail that she noticed she was back at her apartment. But she wasn’t, not quite, and her whole body shook as she looked through the window. Another her stood in the kitchen, hands clenched by her side as she fought back tears.

“I’m eighteen, Elsa. I’m not stupid.”

“You’re a child. And he’s… too old.”

Elsa’s own hands were wrapped around her upper arms as she closed herself off, obviously not open to discussion. 

Anna watched herself throw a tantrum, watched herself slam the plate down on the table as her voice rose, laced with frustration. “This isn’t fair, Elsa! You can’t decide who I date! You’re not mom!”

“If you don’t like it, you can go.”

“Go?”

“You’re eighteen,” her voice was full of venom, mocking. “Leave.”

She moved to wipe her cheeks, tears falling fat and heavy, when a new set of arms wrapped around her shoulders, warm and strong and comforting. 

“I’m here, whatever you need.” 

Anna turned in his embrace and tears of grief morphed into tears of joy, her arms wrapping around his waist as he tucked her under his chin. “You can stay as long as you need, okay? I’m here for you, Anna.”

Her name echoed in his voice and she breathed in his scent, a new sense of safety enveloping her.

Anna.

Anna…

Anna?

“Hey, Anna!”

She woke up with a start, gasping for air as she looked around for the source of the voice, not entirely sure where she was or how she got here… until she found her little snowman plush smushed against her pillows. A sigh of relief escaped her.

“Over here,” he laughed, waving at her from the screen of her computer. “You fell asleep.”

Anna shimmied back up her bed, laying back down in front of the camera. “Sorry. Growing a human is exhausting, apparently.”

Kristoff’s warm honey laugh came through the speakers, and she couldn’t stop the smile that stretched over her lips.

After she had confessed her big mistake, they had spent another few hours talking, making sure everything was out in the open and that they were at a good understanding and a place to move forward. Since then they had video chatted most nights when he got home from work and she was too tired to trek over there, and Anna couldn’t help but admit that talking to him was quickly becoming the best part of her day.

They had grown apart a tiny bit in the last year, but mostly because Hans wasn’t the most fond of Kristoff. He always assumed men just wanted to screw Anna and didn’t particularly like her spending time around other guys. But since he was out of the picture, it was pretty nice to have Kristoff back in this kind of capacity.

“Have you told Elsa yet?” He was folding clothes in front of the webcam, shoving up his too old and too loose glasses in between every shirt. 

“Oh you’ll know when I tell her. The whole city will freeze over because of her disappointed glare. You know the one.”

Kristoff laughed again, nodding.

“Think I can just tell her I’m getting fat?” Anna rubbed at her tummy, wondering how long it would take for everyone else to notice that she had a little person growing inside of her.

“Probably not.” He rubbed at his eye. “I think she’ll figure it out.”

Anna groaned before shoving her face into the pillows. “She’s gonna kill me. Do you remember when I started dating Hans?”

Kristoff looked up, straightening his spine. “... Yeah.”

“Sorry, I literally just was having this dream about it.” She rolled back over to look at him. “She kicked me out for dating Hans. God… she might literally kill me for getting pregnant.”

He stayed silent, and she nodded with pursed lips. “I thought so.”

“... If you need a place to stay, you know where I am.”

Anna frowned, closing her eyes. “I think I need someone else to be the dad.” She froze, before sitting up and leaning closer to the screen. “I’m sorry. I’m… I didn’t mean…” she sighed and dropped her face into her hands as a small smile pulled up one side of his mouth. “God, I can’t believe what an idiot I am.”

“How’s your foot taste.” He laughed to himself before realizing she hadn’t caught on to his joke. “... since it’s in your mouth so much.”

“You’re the worst. I cannot believe I ever had a crush on you.”

She heard him drop something before coughing. “You…” 

Anna couldn’t help but look up at him, her eyebrow cocked with confusion. 

“You had a crush on me?”

His cheeks were pink and Anna smiled, rolling her eyes with a chuckle. “Oh yeah, big time. It started when I was thirteen, and you were sixteen, I think?” She tried to ignore how cute he looked when he moved his glasses up on top of his head, his hair pushed back out of his face. “I was grounded because I failed a test.”

The memory came flooding back to her, vividly, like it had just happened.

“And you… snuck into the kitchen and got me my favorite chocolates - you know,” she gestured, leaning closer to the computer. “The ones my mom kept up on the top shelf of the cabinet so I couldn’t reach?” 

He nodded, and his cheeks flushed a deeper shade of red.

“Then you sat with me at the table, and helped me study math until I got it, and gave me a piece of the chocolate as a reward each time I figured something out. It was…” she bit her lip, twirling her hair between her fingers. “It was so sweet. You were just so sweet.” Then she changed her expression and stuck her tongue out, blowing a short raspberry in his direction. “And then I got an A on every other test because I was too embarrassed about you coming anywhere near me ever again.”

Kristoff looked like he had swallowed a frog, his face bright and contorted. 

“... You okay?”

He sucked in a deep breath, before blowing it out with almost incomprehensible words. “I’lldoit.”

“What?”

“The… fake the pregnancy thing?”

“... What?”

Kristoff’s whole face had paled, and he was looking anywhere but at her. “... If you want… to pretend I’m the dad…”

Her breath quickened and she grabbed the sides of the computer to pick it up so she could sit up properly. “... What?”

“Can’t you say anything else?” He choked out, rubbing his hands down his face. “Like… not forever, okay? And not like… pretend dating. That’s… not what this is…” He was clearly doing his best to ignore her dumbstruck face. “And in the end… when Elsa is fine with it… you can do like a … paternity test or something… and just act like it was a big mistake… or… something…”

“You…” Anna was completely speechless. Was he crazy? Was he kidding? Was he… “We don’t… you …. dont…” her breathing was shallow, she was so shocked that she could barely catch her breath. “... What?”

Her stomach was churning. He was saying something else, but Anna couldn’t hear him over the blood rushing in her ears. Had he just agreed to this? Was this real? Was this… no. She was still dreaming. She had to have been! There was just no way…

“So… deal?”

Anna suddenly felt bile rise in her throat and nodded as she scrambled off the bed, through the doorway as quickly as she could.

Kristoff watched her, expression shocked. But he missed the small voice come through his speakers.. “Guess the morning sickness is starting.”

And then he saw Elsa’s head peeking around the corner.

“Morning sickness?”

Ah, shit.

Kristoff slammed his computer shut as quickly as he could and stood, pacing back and forth as Sven watched him irritably from his bed. What did he just do? Did he just agree to — no, suggest that they concoct some crazy plan to appease his best friend? And then accidentally reveal the secret?! 

She could be a bit brash, but she wasn’t so unreasonable that she would abandon her pregnant sister… right? Right! 

She was a good person. Kristoff had known her for almost a decade and when she finally came out a year ago and started being her whole, true self, he noticed a difference in her. She was less angry, slower to make impulsive decisions, more caring and understanding… But god, she still scared the shit out of him. She had dropped out of law school, abandoning all her efforts so that she could focus on her art.

Which he was so, so proud of her for. He wanted her to be true to herself and do whatever made her happy.

But when it came to Hans, Elsa and Anna never, ever wound up on the same page. Which was fair, he was… the worst. But Kristoff knew he and Elsa couldn’t really have any say in what Anna chose to do with her life. And when Elsa kicked her out the first time, Anna had gone to stay with Hans for a while.

And that left Anna easily startled and even more anxious when she made mistakes than before. And Kristoff was not prepared to ever let her be in that situation again.

He swallowed his pride before opening the laptop back up and pressing the call button.

Anna picked up on the second ring, her face red and hands clasping at her stomach. 

“Hang on,” she mumbled, before returning to the screaming match with her sister.

Kristoff wondered why she even answered, but did his best not to interfere. He had seen enough of their fights to know that you just had to sit tight, stay safe, and wait for it to be over. Kind of like a blizzard.

Or a hurricane.

“Well?!” Elsa’s voice was sharp, as if all her zen, I ride magical horses into enchanted forests and paint naked fairies sitting on mushrooms hippy personality receded back into a hidden pocket. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

Anna opened her mouth to speak, freezing when Kristoff’s voice came from the computer.

“It’s mine, Elsa. I, uh, did that.”

She turned on him, then, her eyes alight with rage. “You… did that? You and Anna? When!” They both hummed noncommittally as his eyes avoided both of theirs. Elsa threw her hands up with frustration. “It doesn’t matter! What… what are you planning, here? Are you even… together?”

“No!” They both rushed to answer, their eyes meeting before darting quickly apart. Anna took in a deep breath.

“It was just a… get over Hans thing. One time.” 

“And you’re keeping it?”

“Yes.”

Anna was firm and confident, Elsa was rigid with anger, and Kristoff was just doing his best to remain relatively unnoticed.

“Okay…” she took a deep breath and stood up straight again, nodding. “I’m going back to sleep.” Her words were slow and calculated, as if she was trying to calm herself down. “We will continue this discussion,” she said, looking at Anna and then at the computer screen that held Kristoff. “In the morning.”

And then she left and Anna flopped down onto the bed, and Kristoff let out a sigh of relief. 

“Well,” Anna huffed, dropping her hands hard onto the comforter. “That went just about as well as I expected it to.”

“...Yeah…” 

Anna’s breathing slowed, and Kristoff didn’t doubt she was close to dozing off again. “Well… I guess this is happening now…”

“Yup.” Her lips ended the word with a pop.

“I’m sorry.”

Her head snapped over to look at the computer. “Why?” She turned her whole body to face the same way. “It would have gone way worse if she thought it was Hans’.”

Kristoff laughed, feeling a tiny bit of tension ease from his body. “This is a mess.”

“Yeah.”

“We’ll figure it out.”

Anna nodded, and she smiled up warmly at him. 

“Thank you.”

He almost couldn’t control the absurd laugh that tickled his throat.