Kristoff drummed his fingers against the steering wheel as he drove. He was nervous. He was man enough to admit that. Then again, who wouldn't be nervous about bringing the girl he was completely in love with but too scared to actually ask out to the family Christmas party? He glanced to the passenger seat where his Anna sat happily. She had agreed to come the moment he had asked, which had thrown him for a loop.
"Really?" Kristoff said in disbelief. "But it's going to be my whole family. There's…a lot of them. And my grandparents are from Norway so the food won't be what you're used to."
Anna shrugged. "I'm not picky. And I'd love to meet your family."
And she still hadn't begged him to turn the car around. Either she was crazy or she was the most perfect person in the world.
Maybe a little bit of both.
He had actually asked both Anna and her sister Elsa to come to the party. Elsa was, after all, his boss at the ice skating rink. Technically, their parents were, but Elsa was the manager and he was just the assistant so, she was his boss, too.
Yeah, he had to go and fall in love with Elsa's younger sister.
However, when he had arrived at their house to pick them up, Elsa had informed him, very apologetically, that she had a cold and wouldn't be able to make it tonight before practically shoving Anna into him. He'd had to grab her to prevent her from falling on her face and it was all very awkward and he was sure he saw Elsa smirk. And that was how he found himself here. In his car. With Anna. Alone.
Gulp.
"What'd you get me?" Kristoff asked curiously. He nodded toward the gift bag sitting at Anna's feet.
"It's not just your present in there. I got something for Sven as well," Anna replied. "And you don't get to find out until later. These are going straight under the tree. Well, maybe not Sven's present. He can open it early."
"Oh, so my dog gets special treatment?" Kristoff teased.
Anna smiled and giggled. "Yep."
They made another turn. They'd be at his house within minutes. Oh, God. He was bringing a girl to meet his family. He loved his family, he did, but he had never brought a girl home before. "So…" he said. "About my family."
Anna sat up a little straighter, listening intently.
"I don't want to scare you, but they can be…inappropriate…and…loud. Very loud. They're also stubborn at times, a little overbearing and heavy. Really, really heavy, which you'll-but you'll get it-they're fine. They mean well-"
"Kristoff!" Anna cut him off. She placed a reassuring hand on his arm. "They sound wonderful."
Kristoff let out a sigh of relief. Anna's hand did not leave his arm for some time. Did…did she know it was still there? Maybe he should tell her. But that would ruin the moment…whatever moment was going on.
He turned onto his street and let out a low whistle at the sight of his house. In the short time he had been gone, it seemed like all of his relatives had arrived. So much for slowly introducing Anna to them all.
"I guess this is it?" Anna said as they pulled into the driveway. At least they had left Kristoff's spot open.
"The one and only Bjorgman House," Kristoff replied, shutting off the car. He got out on his side and walked around to the other side, opening the door for Anna. She put her gloved hand in his-just to steady herself because of all the ice, he told himself-as they walked up the steps of the house and through the front door.
"Mom! I'm back!" Kristoff called, taking off his coat. He helped Anna with hers and threw both of them on the coat rack. A chorus of laughter rang out from nearby in the house.
"I like it!" Anna said, looking around and nodding approvingly at her surroundings. She took off her hat and gloves and stuffed them into her coat pockets.
"Thanks. So did you want a tour first or-"
Anna gasped at something behind him. "Oh, my…is that you?" Kristoff turned around. Oh, great. Anna had already noticed the embarrassing childhood and baby photos.
"Yes, it is," Kristoff sighed. "And I'm regretting not burning those things when I had the chance."
"But you were so cute!" Anna gushed. "You still are, but seeing you as a kid is just…is this when you first got Sven?" She was pointing at a photo of a fourteen year old Kristoff holding a puppy Sven.
He nodded, still distracted that she had called him cute. "Yeah. Back before we discovered that he had an addiction to carrots that would make a crack addict look like a model of self control."
Anna giggled at that. Kristoff was reluctantly explaining the story behind the photo of him dressed up as a reindeer ("It was for my first grade Christmas pageant and they made me sing a stupid song for it and everything") when Mrs. Bjorgman walked into the foyer. She stopped in her tracks, her eyes wide and mouth gaping before she broke out into a wide smile.
"Oh, hey, mom," Kristoff said. "Anna, this is my mom. Mom, this is Anna."
"Oh. My. God," Mrs. Bjorgman breathed. She turned her head and called out to the depths of the house. "KRISTOFF BROUGHT A GIRL HOME!"
A chorus of "What?!" and "A girl?" chimed back.
"Mom," Kristoff groaned. He could feel his face flush in embarrassment. "I told you that I was bringing Anna."
"Oh, I know," Mrs. Bjorgman said.
"It was supposed to be Anna and my boss, her sister, Elsa. I told you they were coming tonight. I told you weeks ago. I've even shown you Anna's picture."
Anna narrowed her eyes up at him. "What picture?"
"I thought maybe you were playing a prank on me," Mrs. Bjorgman admitted. "I mean, you've never brought a girl home before now!"
"Really?" Anna asked, smirking. Kristoff's face suddenly felt very warm. Mrs. Bjorgman reached out and grabbed her by the wrist.
"Come on, you need to meet everybody! They'll never believe-oh, I can't believe this is happening! Oh, it's a Christmas miracle!"
"Mom!" Kristoff complained. His mom whirled around again and grabbed his hand as well. She yanked the two of them so hard after her, Kristoff was amazed that his shoulder hadn't dislocated. Hopefully Anna's was okay.
Mrs. Bjorgman pulled them both into the living room where every one of Kristoff's relatives seemed to be waiting with bated breath for this mystery girl. They all blinked once. Twice.
"He did! He did bring a girl home!" his Aunt Heidi gushed.
"There is hope after all!" his Uncle Toby said in amazement.
His cousin Alfred held out a hand toward his cousin Harald and said "You owe me fifty bucks!" And Harald pulled out his wallet and grumbled about "closets."
"What's going on?" Anna asked stepping closer to Kristoff.
"I've learned to just roll with it," he said, shrugging. "Last chance to bail out of here if you really want to."
Anna shook her head. She smiled and opened her mouth to say something-
"Oh, look at that beautiful smile!" Mrs. Bjorgman gushed. "I bet that smile would look lovely on my grandchildren."
Anna's smile looked more like a pained grimace now and Kristoff hid his face in his hands. "Mom y-you got the wrong idea. Anna's just my friend-"
"Y-yeah…" Anna said weakly. "We're not…I'm not…" For once, she was at a loss for words.
"Well why aren't you two dating?" Mrs. Bjorgman demanded to know. "Kristoff's my only chance at having grandchildren and that can only happen if he finally loses his vir-"
Kristoff clapped his hands over Anna's ears. "New subject!" he said almost hysterically. "Where's grandpa? Grandpa's less crazy than the rest of you."
"He's napping," his Grandma said.
Great.
"I'm just gonna put this under the tree," Anna decided, gently pushing Kristoff's hands down. She extracted Kristoff's present from her present bag and placed it underneath the tree. "Oh, and I made these!" She pulled out a tin box from the same bag, decorated with a winter scene and handed them to Mrs. Bjorgman. "They're brownies!"
Mrs. Bjorgman took the tin from her with a smile. "Thank you, dear. Why aren't you and my son dating?"
"Mom, let it go," Kristoff begged.
"I bet it's because of his feet!" his Grandma suggested. "I always thought they were shaped kind of funny. They're kind of…square."
"His B.O. was really bad when he was younger but I thought that problem was taken care of," mused his Aunt Liv.
"But he's such a sweet and sensitive young man! You'll never meet another like him!"
"Are you guys done yet?" Kristoff muttered. He was never going to live this down. And Anna would never want to speak with him again. And he was going to lose his job at the ice rink once she went and told her sister and parents how weird his family was.
"I told you that you should have taken him to a psychologist for his social impairment," Uncle Busby said, rolling his eyes.
"This isn't about when he was seven and would pee on the trees in the park, is it? He's grown out of that!"
"I did not need to know that," Anna decided, looking up at the ceiling.
"Maybe she doesn't like blond men!"
"He only had lice the one time!"
"He's just a big old teddy bear! He'll be fine with a big hug for a while if you two aren't ready to-"
"That's enough!" Kristoff shouted. "Come on, Anna. You must be thirsty. Let's get you a drink," he said, leading Anna out of the living room and to the kitchen.
Kristoff went straight for the cooler sitting in the corner and pulled out a bottle of beer. He was startled when he felt a soft hand on his back. He turned to see Anna giving him a sympathetic smile and sighed.
"Sorry about…that," he said gesturing back toward the living room.
"It's fine. All families are embarrassing," Anna assured him. "I bet if you came over to my house, my parents would have shown you the picture of me dressed up as Ariel for Halloween."
Kristoff smirked. "Now I know what I should tell Elsa I want for Christmas." Anna smacked his arm playfully.
"If it helps, I really like your family," Anna told him.
Kristoff blinked at her. "Seriously? After all that?" Anna nodded.
"Even after all that."
Wow. This girl was amazing, beautiful, smart, funny, brave, and she actually liked his family.
Why couldn't he just ask her out?
"Did you want anything to drink?" Kristoff asked. He found the bottle opener in one of the drawers and popped the cap off his beer. Anna made a face.
"I'm only eighteen…" she said hesitantly.
"Welll, uh, well I meant like a soda."
"Oh, sorry, I just saw you with the beer-"
"I mean if you really wanted one you could-"
"I wouldn't want your family to think-"
"My family won't care. Besides, it's not all alcohol. We have soda and water in there, too. But if you do decide to drink something tonight…stay away from my Grandma's cider…and the egg nog."
Anna shrugged and started sifting through the cooler. "Is this safe?" She pulled out a bottle of apple ale.
"Yeah, that should be fine." He took the bottle from her and popped off the cap. "But just stick to one, okay? And drink a big bottle of water after."
"Fine, fine, I will," Anna promised, rolling her eyes. She took a sip from her bottle. "Hm, not bad." Mrs. Bjorgman came back into the kitchen then, smiling brightly at them.
"Dinner will be ready soon," she promised, peeking into the oven. "You two go back to the living room. They're about to play the video of Kristoff's Christmas pageant."
Anna gasped, a big grin on his face. "Is it the one where he's dressed as a reindeer?"
"Why do you still have that video?" Kristoff groaned.
Anna had been a pretty good sport the whole night. His family loved her. And she had even put up with all the photos his mom had insisted on taking. Kristoff had to put a stop to that when the directions she gave for the photos became increasingly embarrassing directions("Put your arm around her! Hold her close! Now if you could just lean in and kiss her, that'd be-Kristoff, stop being so difficult about this. Oh, have you never kissed anyone either? No wonder you're so nervous! Guys! Kristoff's never kissed a girl!")
Presents had gone over well. Anna had gotten him a new jacket ("Your hoodie has holes in it," she explained) and she had laughed over the "Kristoff Coupons" he had made offering her a free rock climbing lesson and a free ice skating lesson.
"Your parents own an ice rink and you can't skate. It's embarrassing. Oof!" he grunted when Anna smacked him in the chest for that remark. He had also included a snowflake necklace which, he explained hurriedly was part of a matching set and there were earrings in Elsa's present and they could switch if one would prefer the other or she could give both to Elsa if she hated the necklace. Anna told him to stop talking and just help her with the clasp already which he had trouble with due to his hands being so large but he managed.
Too soon and not soon enough, it was time to drive Anna back to her house. Kristoff wanted to spend more time with her, but at the same time his family kept asking questions that were increasingly personal and inappropriate and he needed to get her out of there.
"I had fun tonight! And yes, I'm serious. Stop looking at me like that."
Kristoff couldn't help laughing. "Alright, alright, I believe you. Doubt Elsa will when you tell her how crazy my family is."
"Sure she will. She knows you."
"Oh! I see how it is!" Kristoff acts offended while Anna dissolves into nearly uncontrollable giggles. "Keep it up and you won't be invited to the Bjorgman Fourth of July Barbecue!"
"Is that supposed to be a threat?" Kristoff reached over and playfully shoved her. They pulled into the driveway of Anna's (much larger) house and Kristoff turned the car off, a little disappointed that the night had come to an end.
"I'll walk you up," he offered.
"Wait, wait, wait! You can't do that!" Anna said, climbing out of the car. Kristoff paused.
"I…can't? Why not?"
"Because there's a second part to your present! I couldn't wrap it because you would know what it is!" Anna looked ready to burst with excitement. "Just wait right here by your car and I'll be right back."
"But it's cold out," Kristoff complained.
"And cover your eyes! No peeking!"
Sighing, Kristoff closed his eyes and covered them with his hands. Anna seemed really excited about it so he'd play along. He started to count to one hundred when he heard the front door close and when he got to seventy-nine he heard it open again.
"Can I open my eyes yet?" he asked.
"No! Not yet!" Anna scolded. "Wait until I tell you to." Kristoff heard some shuffling and some mumbling from Anna before she ran back over next to him and tugged on his sleeve. He brought his hands down, smiling at Anna's squealing, and he blinked once. Twice.
Leaning up against the garage door was a brand new snowboard, topped with a big red bow.
"I owe you a snowboard," Anna said.
There had been a little incident just last week where Anna had accidentally run over Kristoff's old snowboard. He hadn't been mad (maybe just a little disappointed) and Anna had been feeling guilty over it. But he hadn't expected her to go and get him a new snowboard!
Kristoff felt his jaw fall open. "Are you serious?" he breathed.
"Yes!" Anna squealed. "And it's the latest model."
"No, I-I can't accept this." It was too much.
"You have to!" Anna demanded, pointing a finger at him. "No returns! No exchanges! You need a snowboard. You aren't called the 'Ice Master' for nothing!"
"I'm pretty sure I'm called that because I'm the only one who knows how to work the Zamboni," Kristoff says but he's smiling and laughing. She got him a snowboard. A brand new snowboard that's much nicer than any snowboard he's had before.
"Do…do you like it?" Anna asks. She's biting her lip like she always does when she's nervous.
"Like it?" he echoes incredulously. "I love it!" And before he can stop himself, he's picked her up and he spins her around in the air. "I could kiss you!"
Wait, what did he just say?
Anna looks as shocked as he does at this sudden proclamation and he quickly puts her back down on the ground. For some unknown reason his brain decided that since his secret was out, he might as well keep on digging his own grave and keep on babbling.
"I could. I mean, I'd like to. May I? We me? I mean-may we? Wait, what?" His eyes widen with shock when he feels the press of warm lips on his cheek. He looks down with a hopeful smile on his face at Anna who's coming back down off of her tip-toes.
She's smiling, too.
"We may," she allows. Not bothering to hesitate, Kristoff leans in and presses his lips against Anna's. He uses one hand to cradle her head and the other arm wraps around her waist. Anna makes a little surprised noise but she reciprocates the kiss in kind. Her hands slide up his chest and grip his shoulders as he slides his hand down from her head to her back and he pulls her closer. Her lips parted ever so slightly and Kristoff cautiously slips his tongue forward-
Anna makes a very contented sigh which is enough to encourage Kristoff and assure him that he's doing this whole kissing business right.
After a few minutes, they part with wide eyes, swollen lips, and slightly out of breath.
"So, um…" Kristoff says awkwardly. His arms are still wrapped around Anna and she doesn't seem to mind. "Are you free next Saturday?"
A/N: If the characters in Frozen were in a modern setting, I can see Anna and Elsa's parents owning the Arendelle Ice Rink, Elsa working as the manager there while she's pre-law (going into International Law) and Kristoff being the assistant manager to save up enough money to go to Veterinarian College while Anna is going to the local community college to get her General Associate's until she decides what she wants to do.