Since I am still working on the epilogue of Out of the Ashes, I figured I'd give y'all this to tide you over. It's one of the other one-shots that I've been hiding away for a rainy day, so to speak. It never hurts to have some pre-written stuff to keep the mobs happy when writing goes slowly :) Not that I'm calling any of you, or all of you, a 'mob...' it's just an expression. Well, it's not really an expression I suppose, but-
Never mind. Enjoy!
It was odd, Anna supposed as she made her way down the neat suburban street several blocks from her own home, that she'd never been here. She and Kristoff were practically inseparable in school. They shared the same classes, walked to and from the classrooms together, had their lunch together, studied together in the library, and attended whatever socializing opportunities they could. Together.
Yet, for some reason, she'd never actually been to his house. She knew he lived somewhere around the same neighbourhood as she did, but she'd never been. There had never really been any need, she supposed. And, while it was true that they were always together in school, neither of them had felt the need to meet outside school as well. Or, perhaps it was because they were always together in school that they didn't feel that need?
There was, after all, such a thing as too much.
Now that Mr. Weselton had given them this ridiculously large assignment, which would certainly take weeks to finish, they didn't really have any choice in how much they got to see each other. They had considered doing all their work in the library, but people easily got peeved when you talked too much, so they had just used the dusty space to make a schedule, divvying up the work, and deciding to meet at least once every week.
The assignment would make up more than half of the final grade they'd receive for this course, so making sure to do their utmost best was quite important. Everyone dreaded having to retake this course next year. The horrors of enduring so many extra hours in one room with Weselton, knowing that you could have prevented it, were enough to make Anna cringe. Literally.
Finally reaching the right house – designated, as Kristoff had told her, by the statue of a reindeer in the front yard – Anna made her way up the path to the front door – which featured more reindeer pictures – and knocked.
Kristoff had told her that it would perhaps be best to have their meetings at his place, since his parents always worked until late, so they would not be disturbed. Anna had told plenty of stories about her nosy, intrusive, badgering parents for the bulky blonde to know that it would not be conducive to a working-environment.
The door opened after a full minute of waiting. Anna was about to punch her best friend in the arm for keeping her waiting for so long, but stopped just in time. This… was not Kristoff. Standing in the door opening was a tall, blonde woman, only a few years older than Anna herself, she estimated.
Like Kristoff, she had blond hair. However, it was absolutely nothing like Kristoff's… His hair was the colour of straw… This woman's hair was much, much paler, as if she had somehow fashioned snow into a hairdo and put it on top of her head.
"Um… Can I help you with something?" the blonde asked, snapping Anna out of her daze, and reminding her of the fact that she had been staring. Unabashedly. But, hey, who could blame her? This woman was gorgeous.
Right! She should probably answer, instead of resuming her blank stare. "Oh, um. I'm looking for Kristoff… But um. You're not him. Obviously."
"Kristoff's my brother…" the woman said, eyes narrowing slightly. "And you are?"
"Oh, right. I'm Anna… Kristoff and I were supposed to be working on an assignment together?"
The woman's eyes widened a little with something Anna imagined to be recognition. "Right. He mentioned that… He has not returned from his errand, though. You can come in and wait."
The blonde opened the door a little wider, beckoning Anna to come inside. Anna meekly followed the blonde toward the kitchen. "Want something to drink?" she asked, looking over her shoulder with those startlingly blue eyes of hers.
It was blazing hot outside, and – already being a little late – Anna had hurried over here. And now Kristoff wasn't even here, and yes, she was thirsty. "Um. Yes please. Water is fine…"
"You sure? You can have iced lemonade, if you want… I just finished making it, and need a guinea pig to see if it's actually drinkable," the woman replied with a cheeky smile. Anna's eyes wandered to the large pitcher set on the counter, filled to the brim with delicious-looking lemonade.
"Well, since you're offering," she smiled sheepishly.
The blonde took a glass from one of the cupboards, pouring the lemonade into it and placing it on the table. "Have a seat. Kristoff might be a while… Also, if it's really disgusting, please tell me. Before I drink it myself…"
Anna gave her a beaming smile, lifting the glass up to her mouth and taking a hefty gulp. As the cold liquid washed over her tongue and relieved the discomfort caused by her parched mouth, she couldn't supress the strangled half-moan that escaped her.
When she opened her eyes again, the blonde was sitting opposite her, one eyebrow arched and a small smile playing around her lips. "I'm guessing it's not disgusting?"
"Nope," Anna replied instantly, licking her lips. "It's delicious."
Just as the blonde was about to answer, they heard the front door open. Kristoff could be heard trudging through the hallway, sighing and heaving and panting, before he became visible as he stepped into the kitchen – face red as a tomato, and sweat dripping from his brow like tiny waterfalls.
"How's that lemonade coming along?" he asked, before noticing the women sitting at the table. "Oh, Anna. You're… here. Already."
"Yes," Anna replied. "And I thought I was running late, too. Apparently not."
Kristoff had the decency to look apologetic. "Sorry about that… I had to go and run some errands for dad. I didn't expect you to be on time…"
"Rude much?" the blonde on the opposite side of the table snickered as she got up. "Lemonade's on the counter, take as much as you want. I'll make a new pitcher tomorrow. I'm headed over to Jasmine's, probably won't be back before dinner, but there's leftovers in the fridge. Have fun with your assignment," she added with a small wave, grabbing a set of keys from the table and making her way outside.
Anna watched as Kristoff took the pitcher, filled three glasses and drained them right after one another, before offering to fill Anna's glass up again. "Ah, that's much better," he sighed, wiping his brow clean.
"So," Anna drawled. "You never told me you had a sister?"
Kristoff looked up, head cocked to the side. "I didn't? Oh… Well, Elsa's cool, I suppose. As cool as an older sister can be, anyway."
"Nope, you didn't," Anna huffed playfully. "What kind of best friend are you, anyway?"
Kristoff smiled deviously. "The kind that won't do all of the hard work for your assignment if you're not careful…"
"Alright, alright," Anna laughed, raising her hands in defeat. "You win this round, oh bestest friend in the world."
Kristoff laughed for a moment, before heaving a deep sigh. "Right. We should probably get productive…"
It was going to be a long day.
The second time Anna came over, Kristoff was home. It still took Anna ringing the doorbell three times and then calling his cell phone before he opened the door, but at least he was home. "Sorry. I was out in the backyard," he muttered sheepishly.
With the weather still being blazing hot, and the sun beating down on everything that did not seek cover, Anna couldn't really blame her friend for attempting to soak up some sunshine. His skin had already turned into a marvellous bronze that could put Greek gods to shame, and would have you swooning on the spot. You know, if you're into that kind of stuff.
"Well, are you coming in or what?" Kristoff asked, waving his hand towards the interior of the house.
"Oh, right. Sure…" Anna muttered, walking in front of her friend, already moving towards the stairs.
"I've got everything set up in the backyard, if that's okay with you?" Kristoff suddenly asked. "Weather is way too good to spend cooped up indoors."
Anna nodded quickly. She loved the sun, and even if she didn't, it was pretty darn hard to argue with that logic after the autumn, winter and spring they had endured. It felt as if the past nine months had comprised solely of rain, hail, a wee bit of snow, sleet, hail, rain, and some extra rain. So, yes, enjoying the sun while it lasted was probably a good idea.
As soon as they stepped outside, though, Anna realised it was everything but a good idea to work on their assignment in the backyard. There was nothing wrong with the backyard, really. It was just that, in the shade of a small tree, Kristoff's sister was laying on a lounge chair, wearing shorts and a bikini top, and instantly sending Anna's brain into a state of shock.
It wasn't that the redhead had never seen women in bathing suits before. Or even naked women, really. It was just that she'd never seen a woman like Elsa, until now, and all the alabaster skin that was on display was a little… overwhelming.
"Oh, hey… Anna, was it?" the blonde asked, pushing her sunglasses up into her hair and looking up from her book. "Working on that assignment again?"
"Um, yeah," Anna replied slowly, trying to tear her gaze away from the blonde and towards the table onto which Kristoff had piled their work. "Needs to be done, right?"
The blonde hummed as she pushed her sunglasses down again. "If you want something to drink, feel free to take whatever's in the fridge. I know Kristoff will probably not have the decency to offer you anything…"
"Hey!" the larger blonde balked. "I take offense to that!"
"You take offense to practically everything I say," Elsa said dismissively, already staring at her book again. "Better get to work so you and your friend won't waste the entire day on school stuff."
Kristoff nodded, ushering the still-distracted redhead towards the table. "So, Anna, how about you finish up the chapter we started on last week, while I start working on the references for the next chapters?"
"Um, yeah, sounds good," Anna nodded, reaching for the books she'd need, and opening them at a random spot, before leafing to the right page.
She tried to concentrate on her work. Really, she did. But she just couldn't help glancing over towards Elsa, who seemed entirely entranced by her novel, from time to time. She wasn't even sure why she was looking at her so often, though. Maybe she was jealous of Elsa's amazing body and looks. Yeah, that was probably it.
Nothing to worry about. Just good old jealousy rearing its ugly head.
Nevertheless, when half an hour had passed and Anna concluded that she had only written three sentences, she figured this distraction was a bit of a problem. With a frustrated grunt, she dropped her head onto the table, immediately having the attention of both blondes.
"Anna, what's up?" Kristoff asked, while Elsa asked whether everything was alright at exactly the same moment.
"I'm fine, I'm good," Anna muttered, head still resting on the table. "Kristoff, we need to move our work inside."
"Oh… Why?"
Because your sister is being unfairly distracting was the first thing on Anna's mind, but she wisely kept herself from spouting that bit of information. "I think the sun is getting to me. I can't work here. Not like this."
"You can always move over here," Elsa offered. "There's plenty of shade for all of us."
"No!" Anna blurted. "I mean, that's very nice of you, but we really should just move inside."
Kristoff rubbed his neck, having gotten used to Anna's antics a long time ago. "Whatever you say, Anna. We'll move inside, even if I have no idea what's going on with you."
Elsa merely looked at them curiously as they gathered up their stuff and moved towards everything inside. Once they were situated in Kristoff's room, Anna released a long breath.
"So, are you going to tell me what the heck is going on with you today?" Kristoff asked good-naturedly.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Anna huffed defensively.
"Come on, Feisty-pants. Usually, you work twice as hard as I do, and I know you've been doing squat ever since we started. And now you suddenly want to move inside, while I've seen you bake in the sun for hours on end at several points in the past. What's up?"
Wiping some sweat from her brow, Anna lowered herself onto the chair. "Just not feeling very well, is all. Nothing to worry about."
Kristoff did not seem convinced, but apparently decided to let the topic slide with a muttered 'if you say so.'
The third time Anna came over, the weather was considerably less favourable, with clouds hanging overhead and threatening to unleash a horrible downpour upon the poor people below. Anna was just happy that she had arrived at Kristoff's without getting wet.
They'd been working for hours. While they had made amazing progress, they had also, apparently, forgotten to keep track of the time.
"Sweet flying potatoes!" Kristoff suddenly yelled, nearly toppling his laptop as he jumped up from his chair.
"What the heck has gotten into you?" Anna asked, half amused and half worried.
"I have an appointment across town!"
"When?"
Kristoff took another good look at the clock, checking its time against the one displayed on his laptop. "Three minutes from now?"
"Um. Then you should probably get going?"
The redhead followed him as he stormed down the stairs and shrugged his coat on, trepidation filling her as she stared at the storm raging outside. "Elsa! I'm headed over to Oaken, and won't be back until later tonight!" he yelled, one foot already out of the door.
"What about Anna?" the blonde's voice replied from somewhere inside the house. "I assume you're driving her home?"
Kristoff looked torn between replying in the affirmative and just dashing off. "Oaken's exactly the other direction, and I'm already too late!" he muttered as Elsa sauntered into the hallway. "I'm so sorry, Anna, but I really don't have the time!"
Anna nodded. "It's fine. I don't live that far away anyways. I'll just brave the storm and take a shower when I get home."
Elsa frowned at Kristoff, eyes shooting daggers. "Kristoff, I swear to god, you're not leaving here without bringing Anna home."
Kristoff shot her an apologetic smile. "You heard her, it's fine."
"No, it's not fi-" the blonde started, jaw snapping shut in tandem with the front door, eyes narrowing more when they heard the engine of Kristoff's truck starting, barely audible over the pounding of the rain and the rumbling of the thunder.
After several tense moments, the blonde rubbed the bridge of her nose, before looking over at Anna. "I guess I'll be driving you home, then," she said, clearly annoyed by her little brother's behaviour.
"Oh, no, you don't have to!" Anna immediately countered. "I'll be fine. I'll walk! I don't want to be a bother…"
"You're not, Anna," Elsa smiled kindly, her annoyance apparently already forgotten. "Go get your stuff, I'll try to find my car keys."
"Well, if you're sure…"
The two of them each went their separate ways, meeting up at the front door again after mere minutes, Elsa dangling a set of keys from her perfectly manicured fingers. "Ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be," Anna smiled hesitantly, looking at the weather outside.
Elsa unlocked the doors with the button on the key, smiling at the redhead. "Guess we better make a run for it."
Anna did as the blonde suggested, miraculously making her way into the car without getting entirely soaked. She could feel her wet hair clinging to her cheeks, though, and she shivered at the sudden chill in the air.
Elsa plopped down beside her, taking a quick look over at Anna and shooting her an apologetic smile. "There's a towel in the back… You kinda look like you need one."
Anna laughed bashfully, taking the fluffy towel and running it through her hair. "Thanks. I must look like a mess right now," she muttered when she lowered the towel again.
"You look great," Elsa smiled, appearing as if she really meant it, rather than just being nice. "So, where to?"
"Huh? Oh! I live right off Arendelle Park."
"I thought you said you lived close?" Elsa remarked as she drove into the streets, visibility near zero.
"Close-ish," Anna amended. "If the weather's good, it's a nice stroll."
The blonde chuckled. "I'm not sure you noticed, but the weather isn't good at the moment."
"Which is why I'm very grateful for getting a ride home," Anna muttered earnestly.
"Don't mention it," Elsa remarked with a roll of her eyes. "My idiot brother should've driven you home, regardless of his appointments."
Anna merely hummed, not wanting to betray her best friend to his sister, but not wanting to disagree with Elsa either. Most of the ride was spent in silence, with Anna only offering occasional directions. Nevertheless, it wasn't nearly as awkward as Anna had feared.
"Well, here we are," the blonde smiled as she lined the car up alongside the curb.
"Thanks again," Anna smiled. "I really appreciate you driving me home."
"It's not a problem, Anna," Elsa replied immediately, giving her a gentle smile. "Not a problem at all."
The fourth time Anna came over, it took so long for anyone to open the door that Anna had started considering the fact that, maybe, no one might be home. Which was stupid, because she and Kristoff had planned their meetings way in advance.
After what felt like an eternity, and ringing the bell for the fifth time, Anna finally heard movement on the other side of the door. After a few more minutes, the door opened just the tiniest crack, revealing only one startlingly blue eye.
"Oh, Anna…" Elsa's voice sounded from the other side of the wood. "Um… Kristoff isn't here."
Anna hummed with annoyance. "We were supposed to get together for our assignment today," she explained. "I'll just give him a call and re-schedule or something. Sorry for bothering you!"
Before she could walk away, the door opened a little further. "Why don't you come in? I have no clue where my brother is hanging out, but if you were supposed to meet up today, maybe he'll be back soon…"
Anna shimmied through the narrow space Elsa had made available, barely fitting through the crack between the door and the post. When she turned around to ask about Elsa's skittish behaviour, she immediately understood, and felt the air being knocked out of her.
"Sorry," Elsa grimaced. "I was in the shower when I heard the doorbell. I came down as quickly as I could, but I didn't want the entire house to get wet, so…"
Anna couldn't help the fact that she barely caught on to what Elsa was saying. The sight of the blonde, standing in front of her wrapped in a towel that barely covered the essentials, and with her damp hair still clinging to her neck and shoulders, took most of her brainpower.
At the word wet, Anna jumped a little. "You alright?" Elsa asked, brow creasing with worry.
"Yeah, sure," Anna muttered. She wasn't about to tell Elsa that she herself was getting quite wet as well, albeit in an entirely different, and decidedly less innocent, way.
"I'll go upstairs and get dressed and stuff," Elsa smiled, not seeming shy or embarrassed at all. "You make yourself at home, I'll be right back down."
Anna really did try not to stare at the way the towel tried to cover Elsa's body as the blonde made her way up the stairs. It just wasn't as easy a task as it sounded, and she only managed to turn her head away when she caught a peek of the underside of Elsa's backside.
Lowering herself onto the couch in the living room, Anna closed her eyes and released a long breath. She wasn't used to people affecting her like this. Especially not women, she added mentally. Although she had never really given her sexuality a lot of thought, she found that she wasn't very surprised at the fact that she was, apparently, at least somewhat attracted to women.
Before she could properly delve into that subject, and Elsa more specifically, however, the blonde already came back down the stairs, now dressed in a tight pair of jeans and a tight-fitting tank-top that were almost more enticing than the towel had been.
"Want something to drink?" she called form the kitchen, already having set to glasses out on the counter.
"Um, a soda would be fine?" Anna responded, still not entirely certain that her mind was in the here-and-now.
Moments later, Elsa walked back into the room, carrying two glasses and gently putting them down on the table in front of her. "There you go. I'll give my idiot brother a call and see when he plans to grace us with his presence."
The blonde took her phone out of her pocket and dialed. After a few moments of waiting, Anna could hear Kristoff's run-of-the-mill voicemail message. "Hey, Kris. Anna's here, wondering where the heck you are. Call me, or her, when you get this message. You're an idiot, love you, bye."
She tossed her phone onto the table and leisurely took a sip from her drink before turning to Anna with a raised eyebrow. "So, are you going to wait Kristoff's idiocy out here, or are you just going home?"
Anna hesitated a moment before answering. On the one hand, she didn't want to be a bother… On the other hand… Time spent with Elsa could not possibly be passed up. "If it's alright with you, I suppose I could wait here? Just for a little while, to see if he gets back soon."
Elsa nodded with a smirk. "Sure. I was planning to watch a movie, though. You're free to join me, if you'd like."
Anna felt an impish grin spreading across her face. "What are we watching?"
As it turned out, they were watching some new superhero movie. Anna liked superhero movies as much as the next gal, but despite that felt her eyes slowly falling shut as they neared the halfway point. It wasn't that the movie was boring. She just hadn't slept very well the night before, and… well, Anna was one of those people that needed a lot of sleep.
She wasn't exactly certain how long she had been sleeping, but when she drifted back into consciousness – eyes still closed – she instantly became aware of several sensations. First of all, she'd apparently toppled over, because her cheek was resting against something soft and warm. Secondly, someone was doing the most amazing thing with her hair, gently twirling, stroking and scratching it.
The voices had been what had woken her up, though. Or, at least, she thought they must have been.
"Where the heck have you been, Kris?" Elsa's hissed voice came first, sounding unrealistically close.
"I was at Sven's," Kristoff murmured in his usual gruff tone. Anna could practically visualise the shrug that accompanied the words.
"I tried calling you-"
"Yeah, I got your voicemail. I was already on my way back when I heard it though. Sven's whole family came over, so there was a lot of noise. I must not have heard my ringtone."
"Anna has been here for hours," Elsa hissed again, sounding positively affronted. "Waiting for you."
Kristoff chuckled silently, clearly not wanting to wake Anna up. "From where I'm standing, it doesn't look like she minded too much," he replied with amusement.
Anna could feel Elsa's laugh, rather than hear it. "She fell asleep about an hour and a half ago. I didn't have the heart to wake her up… She probably needed the nap."
She heard Kristoff chuckle again, followed by a sigh. "Well, as far as I'm concerned, there's no need to wake her up."
"What about your assignment?" Elsa asked in a quiet whisper, her fingers gently pulling a strand of hair away from Anna's cheek. "You could still get some work done on that."
"Yeah," Kristoff chuckled. "Let her sleep, though. I'll go upstairs and get the work for today done. I suppose that's the least I can do to make up for the fact that I wasn't even here today."
Anna felt Elsa's breathy laugh again. "You're an idiot, Kristoff. But you're not a bad guy. Just make sure to keep better track of your appointments."
"Duly noted," Kristoff responded with a dry chuckle. "I'll be upstairs if she wakes up."
In the silence that followed, Anna could feel herself drifting in and out of consciousness repeatedly. Eventually, after a particularly deep journey into the world of her dreams, she became aware enough of her surroundings to figure out what was going on exactly.
She was sleeping on top of Elsa, her head resting in the nook of her neck while the blonde's fingers carefully played with her hair. The room wasn't silent anymore, either. Instead, she could hear the whispers of a conversation between Elsa and Kristoff.
Deciding she slept long enough, she slowly opened her eyes, stretching her legs to get the tingly feeling out of them.
"Good morning, sleeping beauty," Elsa cooed softly, nails softly scratching her scalp.
Anna carefully sat upright, taking her weight off of the blonde's form and looking around. It was late in the afternoon, and Kristoff was seated on the chair opposite the couch, looking at her funnily. "Is that drool dripping down her chin?" he asked with a smirk. "I don't think sleeping beauties drool."
Elsa sighed, sounding amused as well as annoyed. "You have a lot to learn about women, little brother," she admonished. "You never tell a woman that she isn't beautiful. If you can't make it a compliment, don't say anything at all."
Anna laughed softly. "Unless they ask for your honest opinion. Then everything goes."
Elsa gave an approving nod as the redhead turned towards her. "Sorry to fall asleep on you like that," she smiled shyly. "Literally…"
"That's alright, Anna," Elsa responded easily. "I didn't mind one bit."
"I find that hard to imagine," Anna countered as she stretched her arms and back.
"If I had, I could have just woken you up," Elsa clarified dryly. "But you were kinda cute sleeping like a little koala bear, so I didn't."
Before Anna could respond, Kristoff cleared his throat. "Anna, I'm sorry about not being here when you came over. I'd made a double appointment… To make up for it, I did all of today's work already while you were snuggling with Elsa."
"We weren't snuggling!" Anna huffed.
"We really were," Elsa laughed in return, entirely undermining Anna's statement.
"Well," Anna hummed, "thanks for doing all the work, I suppose. You didn't have to, though. We all forget stuff, so I don't really mind that much. I should probably go home right about now, though, before my parents start to think I've been kidnapped."
"I'll take you home," Kristoff said immediately, jumping up from his chair and grabbing his keys.
As she said her goodbyes to Elsa, Anna could have sworn she saw the blonde shoot her brother an annoyed glare, and she was pretty sure she saw Kristoff sticking out his tongue in return.
She had no idea what that was all about, but hey, she was still sleepy, so what did it really matter anyway? She had more important things to work on inside her pretty little head. Such as the question why waking up with Elsa right there had felt so good. Or why her stomach kept doing little backflips as she recalled the feeling of the blonde's fingers in her hair. Or why she felt so dreadfully disappointed about going home.
Then again, she was fairly sure she already knew the answers to those questions.
The sixth time Anna came over, there was no way for her to keep denying it. She had a crush on Elsa, plain and simple. Well, nothing about her crush was plain or simple. And she had already known for a while, honestly. Having dinner with Kristoff and Elsa, however, and watching the blonde moving about the kitchen in her apron, preparing that delicious feast, had really driven it home.
Even though the nights she had spent in bed, imaging her pillow to be Elsa's soft skin, had already done that, too. Or the anxious feeling she had gotten in her stomach last time she had come over, and the fact that she had actually taken the time to get dressed nicely and to put on some additional make-up before going to Kristoff to do homework.
Elsa had given her a beatific smile when she'd seen her that day, and Kristoff had just raised his eyebrows with an amused expression, before dismissing it as being 'just a girl thing.'
Kristoff almost immediately opened the door when she knocked, and before she knew it they were sitting in his bedroom, working their butts off to finish of their assignment. They only had a little bit of work left to be done, and while Anna was ecstatic about finally being done with this piece of crap assignment, she was mostly downtrodden. After all, once they were done, there would be absolutely no reason for her to come by anymore, and she'd stop seeing Elsa.
When they saved the final version of their assignment and prepared to e-mail it to their professor, Kristoff looked over with a smile, only for his face to fall as he contemplated Anna's expression.
"What's going on underneath that mop of red?" he asked playfully.
"Nothing," Anna responded automatically, waving her hand in a casual dismissive motion.
"Yeah," Kristoff grunted. "I'm sure 'nothing' has you frowning like that all the time, right?"
"I don't really want to talk about it," Anna huffed in response. After all, she had no chance with Elsa, and Kristoff would just laugh at her for telling him her dirty little secret.
"Well, tough luck," Kristoff countered, crossing his arms and turning his chair fully towards her. "I'm your best friend, and if you're having something on your mind, you can tell me. Who knows? I might be able to help."
"I really doubt that," Anna chuckled grimly.
"Try me."
Anna knew the expression on Kristoff's face. It meant he wasn't going to let this slide, and that she might as well get it over with if she ever wanted to get out of here.
"I think I have a crush," she shrugged. Really no need for further specifics. Hopefully.
"That's generally not considered to be a bad thing, Anna," Kristoff said with a smile. "Unless you have a crush on me, because that would be weird."
"Ew, no!" Anna yelped, scrunching her face.
"Gee, thanks for that," Kristoff laughed, rubbing his neck, but smiling at the same time.
"I didn't mean it like that," Anna immediately backtracked. "You're just not really the type I'd go for."
"Well, thank heaven for that," Kristoff laughed loudly. "So?"
"So what?" Anna sputtered, knowing that she was merely buying herself a few more seconds before Kristoff would pry the information out of her.
"Are you planning to do something about this crush of yours?" he asked, rather than the expected 'who is it?'
"Absolutely not," Anna replied, leaving no room for doubt.
"Why the heck not?" Kristoff asked, clearly not understanding her logic.
"It's complicated."
"I'm a smart guy, Anna. I'm sure I'll catch on if you start explaining."
"Well, the thing is… I don't think this person is… interested in someone like me."
"Redheads?" Kristoff asked with raised eyebrows.
Anna rolled her eyes. "Girls, you dumb oaf."
"Oh…" Kristoff murmured. "I… see."
"Yeah," Anna sighed dejectedly, getting up from her seat. "Well, no use worrying about it, I suppose. I'll be going home."
Kristoff nodded slowly, following her down the stairs. Before Anna could make the turn towards the front door, she practically ran into Elsa. "Oh, hey Anna. Want something to drink before you continue working?"
"Um, no thanks. We're all done, so I'm headed home."
For a moment Elsa frowned at her, before her lips stretched into a small, reserved smile. "Congratulations. You must be very happy?"
"Y-yeah," Anna murmured with a strained smile. "Glad to be rid of that assignment."
"Well," Elsa said, wavering for a moment. "Goodbye then, I suppose?"
"Yeah, bye," Anna muttered, barely audible.
Kristoff was already keeping the door open for her, allowing her to step outside. Before she could walk down the path, though, he closed the door behind himself, locking them both out. "Anna?"
"What is it, Kristoff?" Anna sighed, trying to not show her emotions.
"I just thought you might want to know that Elsa's gay."
The words seemed to smash into Anna as if they were a battering ram, forcing her to take a small step backwards and re-stabilize herself. "What?!"
Kristoff smiled guiltily. "I promised her I'd never tell anyone. And if anyone asks, I never did. Just thought it might be something you'd like to know. For reasons. You know?"
"You knew?!" Anna asked, her voice a hoarse whisper.
The bulky blonde shrugged. "I didn't know until you just confirmed it for me. But yeah, I suspected. A good friend notices these things, right?"
"Right," Anna nodded in response, mind still reeling from the reveal. "Um, thanks?"
"You're welcome," Kristoff laughed, opening the door behind him again. "I guess I'll see you around, huh?"
But Anna was already running down the street, determined smile playing at her lips as she mentally ran through every romantic idea she had catalogued inside her brain over the years. She didn't see the fond shake of Kristoff's head, or the amused smile he wore as he let himself back into the house.
The seventh time Anna came over, it wasn't for Kristoff. In fact, she knew that he wasn't at home, because he had texted her that he was going over to Sven's place and wouldn't be back for a few hours, and that Elsa was holding down the fort on her own.
Over the past two weeks, Anna had mentally run through every possible scenario she could think up, trying to find the perfect way of revealing her feelings for Elsa. In the end, however, she had decided that she was overthinking the whole issue, and that she should just go up to the blonde and tell her.
Easy as pie.
Though, now that she was standing in front of the now-familiar front door, it didn't seem so easy anymore. She considered turning around, getting back in her car, and driving off before anyone could notice her. But she quickly reconsidered. After all, she was many things, but a quitter was not one of them.
She took a final glance down at herself, smiling at her black heels and dark green dress. She'd spent an insane amount of time deciding on her outfit, and even longer on her make-up and hair. But now she looked as amazing as she possibly could. If she was going to crash and burn, at least she would do so in style.
The sound of the doorbell sounded distant, and for a moment she didn't realise that she had actually rang. That quickly changed when the door opened, revealing Elsa in a tight jeans and a light blue blouse. "Anna?" she asked with a faint voice, eyes roving up and down the redhead's body, before settling on her face. "I did not expect you… I thought you and Kristoff were done with that assignment?"
"We were," Anna nodded, portraying more confidence than she actually felt.
"I see…" Elsa murmured. "Well, I'm afraid he's not home right now, but-"
"I'm not here for him," Anna interrupted, before her courage would desert her.
"You're not?" Elsa asked, her voice rising a few notes higher, following the trend her eyebrows set.
"Nope," Anna smiled, tapping into every reservoir of courage and confidence she could find.
"Well, then, feel free to come in," Elsa smiled, quickly recovering from her surprise and opening the door further. "You look… quite amazing."
"As do you," Anna countered with faux ease.
Elsa gave her a sceptical look, glancing down at her outfit. "I'm afraid I really don't compare to you," the blonde smiled.
"Actually," Anna responded after a deep breath. "That's sort of why I'm here. I think you look really amazing all the time."
"You do?" Elsa asked with a tilted smile.
"Uh-huh," Anna nodded. "Which is why I was hoping you would like to have dinner with me. Tonight, I mean…"
Elsa's smile grew a little wider as she narrowed her eyes playfully. "As in… a date?"
Anna bit her lower lip as she slowly nodded her head. "Yes. As a date. With me. Tonight."
Elsa's face turned thoughtful for a brief moment, sending searing hot flashes of panic through Anna. But before she could bolt from the house, Elsa smiled again. "I think I'd look a bit… unrefined next to you. I'd love to join you if you give me a little time to get dressed, though?"
"Um… sure," Anna chirped slowly. "That's a yes, right?"
"Yes, Anna," Elsa laughed. "It's a yes."