Kristoff's eyes shot open.
Not again. He thought to himself with a groan. He had had another nightmare, the one that always made his heart race in fear and sweat form on his forehead. His breathing was sharp and quick, matching his rapid heartbeat. Kristoff let out a deep sigh as he recalled the horrid dream.
He was back on the frozen fjord, standing on the icy ground.
"Kristoff." He had heard and turned to his left. There was Anna, far off in the distance. Even though there was great distance between them, he could tell that she was shivering from the ice in her veins.
"Anna!" he had yelled in his dream and took off towards her. He ran harder and faster than he ever had before, but it seemed to make no difference. Panting and running as hard as he could, he kept trying; he had to get to her, he had to save her. But Anna just didn't seem to be getting any closer.
"Kristoff." He had heard again faintly. It was then that his running had actually begun to decrease the distance between them. As Kristoff got closer however, he could see the white snowflakes forming on her body. Her hands were blue, held tightly to her shivering chest. He could see snowflakes forming on her face; he was running out of time.
"I'm coming Anna! Just hold on!" But as he let the words escape his mouth, he could tell it was too late. Ice began to form on her body; starting from her chest and spreading like a disease all over. It was then, as the ice began to grow to her neck that he reached her. She began to fall, but Kristoff caught her and looked into her now bright blue eyes. The ice was now inching up her neck. She smiled up weakly at him,
"Kris—" she had whispered, but she couldn't finish; she wouldn't finish. As Kristoff had begun to lean in to save her life, Anna had frozen. His lips met ice, and he stared helplessly at her frozen body.
He had been too late.
He had had others like this before, but this one was the worse. He hated seeing her in his arms, so scared, so cold, and so helpless. It made him shiver thinking of her face and the way her body shook from the rapid cold running through her body. But the worst part of it was not being able to save her and just watching with great pain as she froze in his arms.
He rolled over on his back, looking up at the ceiling as he tried so desperately to steady his heartbeat and to get rid of the image of Anna's frozen face. A sigh to his right made him look over. His heart skipped a beat again when he realized who was beside him. Anna was sleeping peacefully, though her hair said otherwise. It had begun to tangle and tease its way into the morning mess that would appear later. Her mouth was slightly open, though a small smile was on her face. At least someone was having a good dream.
As much as he wanted to grab her and hold her tightly, he resisted. He had awoken her so many times before over the nightmares he had had; there were so many to begin with. Anna had her share of nightmares too, and Kristoff was always there to comfort her, just as she was for him. But this meant less sleep for both of them. There was once a solid week where Kristoff and Anna both had woken each other to nightmares, needing comfort every night. Anna had been absolutely exhausted and Kristoff could barely make it through his ice duties. But it had reached a new level of ridiculous when Kai had caught Anna sleeping at the dinner table while she was eating her lunch. Though Kristoff knew Anna didn't mind comforting him, he still felt guilt in the pit of his stomach.
It wasn't fair to wake her up and remind her of what had happened oh so long ago and what could have happened. Especially since it still gave her nightmares as well. Looking back at Anna, he decided he needed to calm himself some other way.
Kristoff sat up slowly, making sure not to bump into any of Anna's legs or arms that could be sprawled across the bed. He pushed off the sheets and covers, and eased his feet onto the cold floor. Gently, he eased his weight into his feet and off the bed. The floor creaked.
"Mmm." He heard, and froze instantly. He looked over his shoulder to see Anna roll over the other way, her arm now hanging off the other side of the bed. Sighing in relief, he inched his way into the bathroom and silently closed the door. He turned around, lit the lamps in the room, and blinked at the light.
Yawning, he headed over to the sink. His heart was still racing, even after all of that.
Why do I keep having these darn nightmares any way? Why do they bother me so much? He thought to himself as he turned on the sink. She is alive, I know she is alive; but why do I always have to wake up desperate to know if she is.
Kristoff cuffed his hands under the sink, lowered his head, and splashed the cool water on his face. The coolness felt refreshing but it did nothing to steady his nerves. He gripped the side of the sink and let the water drip off his face as he thought over his previous question.
Because you love her, ding-dong. Kristoff looked up into the mirror at the scruffy man in the reflection.
Love was an interesting way of putting it. Did he love her? Of course he did, but stronger than normal people did. He loved her with his heart and soul. There was not one thing that he couldn't love about her. He loved the way she giggled with excitement over pretty much anything and everything. He loved the dance she would do when her excitement and happiness just couldn't be held in any longer. He loved her freckles, every single one; especially the ones only he and Anna knew about. He loved the way she said his name. It sounded so sweet when she said it, so full of love that he would just soak it in. He loved the way she cared about everyone, no matter who they were.
He recalled a day she had helped a small child in the village who had fallen and scraped his knee. As soon as she had seen him fall, she had ran right to him.
"Are you ok?" she asked him as she bent down to him. Tears in his eyes, the boy shook his head.
"I tripped—and—and—my knee—it hurts." The boy said, trying so hard to hold back his sobs.
"Awww, let me look at it." She placed her hands on the boy's own hands, and gently pulled them away from the injury. It wasn't too bad, but it was enough to make a child cry.
"It'll be ok." Anna said with a smile, looking into the boy's eyes.
"Are—are you sure?" the boy asked her. She nodded,
"Yep, I think you are going to be perfectly fine!"
"But—but it hurts so much!"
"I know it does." She said soothingly. "Trust me, I have my own share of scars too, look!" Anna sat down next to him and pulled up her skirt to show a scab on her calf.
"That was from running down the hallway and attempting to slide across the floor. I ran right into the table and completely smashed the vase." Anna looked at the boy smiling, who sniffled as he looked at her with interest as she moved to her other leg and pointed at her knee.
"I have a scar on my knee from when I tripped once, but I didn't actually trip on anything. I tripped on air and fell right smack on the floor." The boy laughed at this and Anna laughed with him. She continued to share her scars, pointing out everyone that she had that was easily visible to them both. Soon, the boy's tears had vanished and the crying had been replaced with laughter.
"You see, even a Princess has scars. You'll be ok! If I survived all the ones that I have, then you should be fine!" The boy smiled at her and began to stand. Anna followed his lead, grabbed his hand and helped him up. When stood he let go of her hand, only to hug her tightly. Anna returned the favor and watched as the boy ran to catch up with his friends.
Kristoff smiled down into the sink and turned it off. He loved her gracefulness; well, her lack of would be a better way of putting it. He loved the way she would try so hard to talk in Sven's voice to try and win an argument. Only to hopelessly fail and still win the argument anyways. She was so kind, oh so kind. She loved him so much, that she wanted everything to be absolutely perfect. Kristoff chuckled at the thought of perfection. There was absolutely nothing perfect about their relationship. They had fights, they had messes and they had first times. Oh their first time.
He had been so afraid of hurting her, of doing something wrong. He didn't want to hurt her and he knew if he did, he wouldn't be able to live with himself. But he didn't realize that she was afraid too. Well, he knew she would be but she had hid it very well. Anna had been calm the whole way through. She had lured him to the bed with intoxicating kisses, completely drunk on lust. Once they were both lying on the bed, panting in between kisses, she pulled back and looked at him with a smirk. She began to pull at her dress and Kristoff helped eagerly. He unlaced the back, sneaking in a few soft grazes on her back that he knew drove her nuts. When the dress was off, he kissed her exposed shoulder and then her neck. She moaned at his touch and shivered slightly when he ran his fingers down her spine. But her slip was still in the way, so he tugged at it and she maneuvered so he could pull it off. She then turned around and faced him. She began to run her hands up and down his arms, following any exposed veins. Their eyes met, and she kissed him hard as he slipped one of her bra straps off her shoulder, and then the other. He struggled for a moment with the hook on the back, enough to make him break off his kiss. Anna giggled,
"Here, let me." In one swift movement her bra fell off, exposing her breasts. Kristoff glanced only briefly, turning red from slight embarrassment, then returned to their kisses. He lowered her down on the bed, kissing her neck and then moving down her chest. She twitched and moaned as he caressed and suck on her breasts. He then continued on his trail down as he followed her freckles and then stopped at the lining of her underwear. He grazed his finger under the lining, making her sigh deeply in enjoyment. He then pulled them off gently, and looked at her. He then took the moment to take her in. She looked beautiful, more so than he had imagined. Seeing her lying there, he kissed her eagerly; a small smile forming on his face as he did so. He pulled back and looked into her blue eyes. Biting her lip, she tugged at his shirt and he answered by pulling it off. Her fingers ran up and down his chest, making him moan from her gentle touch. He saw her begin to move her hand lower, down towards the lining of his pants and that's when he noticed her shaking. He grabbed her hand, gently squeezing it.
"Anna," he said looking into her eyes. "We don't have to if you don't want to."
"I want to Kristoff." She said with a grin, but her eyes said other wise.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes!"
"Then why are you shaking?" She looked away and mumbled.
"I—I don't want to do anything wrong. I don't want to disappoint you." Kristoff had chuckled, and she looked at him solemnly.
"Kristoff I'm serious! I've never done this before; I've never gone past a kiss. I'm just so afraid that I'll be a huge disappointment to you and I won't live up to what you think I can do and—" he cut her off with a passionate kiss. He lined her lips with his tongue, putting as much love into the moment as he could. He then pulled away, cupped her face, and looked into her eyes,
"Anna, do you really think I know what I'm doing here?"
"Maybe. You've been doing a good job so far…" She mumbled. He sighed, that wasn't the response he had been looking for.
"Anna, I have no idea what the hell I'm doing. I've—I've never had anyone else other than you." She widened her eyes in realization.
"Really?" He laughed a little.
"I don't know why you would think I did." She glanced away.
"Well, you are easy on the eyes." She smirked at him and Kristoff chuckled. But she looked back at him again, a look of concern. "But I know you have thought about this night and I just want it to be perfect for you, I want to perfect; I just don't want to be a disappointment or be clumsy or screw everything up." Kristoff sighed deeply
"I don't know why you would think you would disappoint me or screw anything up. I'm not expecting perfection, god I know it will be far from it." Anna looked away, but Kristoff caught her gaze again. "But I don't care. I don't care if this time is perfect or not. I know I'm not going to be perfect and neither will you, but I don't care. I just want to be able to have you, all of you because I love you. We will just have to work at it to make it perfect, and don't tell me you won't want to work at it." He said with a wink and a smirk. That brought a giggle out of Anna.
"So please, don't think I'm going to be disappointed and that you won't live up to my expectations. You have already surpassed them completely." Tears forming in her eyes, she had leaned in and kissed him. He felt her arms wrap around his neck, pulling him gently down on top of her. He followed her pull, carefully placing himself on her, grinding his hips against hers. Lust consuming them both.
But that night had been perfect. He thought to himself, now looking back at his reflection. That night had been filled with so much love, so much passion, so much lust; he had loved every minute of it. Sure, it had been awkward at first. Neither of them knew what to do or how to begin; Kristoff had laid on top of her, stiff as a board, fully within in her but unsure how to move. They had both laughed, amidst their pleasurable moans, as they began to try and get a steady rhythm going. But when they had, oh the sparks that had flown that night.
It was perfect. She was perfect. She is perfect. He looked back down at the sink and smiled to himself. Though Anna didn't think it, and probably never would, she was perfect. She was his perfect wife, his perfect lover, his perfect best friend (besides Sven), and his perfect soul mate. Maybe that was why he always worried when he woke up. To lose something so close to him, something he cherished so much would kill him. She had changed his life so much. He had begun to open up to people, not shying away as he had before. His hidden kindness began to show when he was around her and the way she cared about him only made him care about her more. He had never cared about another human being so much. She had changed him. He wasn't the quiet, grumpy mountain man who delivered ice. No. He was the kind, opened, honest, official ice master and deliver, prince and husband to an amazing woman. To lose that, to lose something that had affected his life so much, he wouldn't be able to handle it. He wouldn't know how to live without her. It seemed that the nightmares were there as kind of a subtle reminder to remember how lucky he was to have Anna, and to cherish her everyday.
I'm one lucky man. He thought in his head.
"Kristoff?" He turned around to the faint calling of his name. Anna stood at the doorway, eyes squinting at him and her hair completely a mess."What are you doing?"
"Oh—uh—nothing." He said, beating himself up for letting her wake up. "Just –uh, had another nightmare is all." Her eyes widened a little, still sensitive to the light.
"Which one?" she asked as she shuffled her way towards him.
"I was—too late." He felt her arms wrap around him as he placed his around her. She squeezed gently as he rested his chin on her head, blowing away stray hairs from his mouth.
"Why didn't you wake me up?" she whispered, still half asleep.
"I felt bad for waking you up so many times before. I just wanted you to rest."
"But, you shouldn't have to deal with that alone. That's the worst one."
"Yeah, I guess." Anna loosened her grip and looked at him confused.
"You guess? I thought it was." He looked at her sleepy blue eyes and pushed back a strand of her hair. Even half asleep and completely a mess, she still looked absolutely beautiful.
"Well, while I was in here calming myself down I realized something. The nightmares aren't really nightmares." She looked at him confused. "I could never figure out why I panicked so much when I woke up from those nightmares. I know you are alive, I know you are lying beside me but I always want to grab a hold of you after to make sure. I just couldn't figure out why. So, I came in here to think about it, expecting to just splash my face, calm my breathing and go back to bed; but I didn't. I instead began to think about you. I thought about how perfect you are and how lucky I really am to have you. How you have changed my life forever just by being apart of it. If it weren't for the nightmares, I wouldn't have realized it. I guess the nightmares are just a way to remind me of what I have and how I would feel if I ever lost you. Really it just reminds me of how much I love you Anna and how truly luck I am to have you."
Anna smiled sleepily at him, and he wasn't exactly sure if she understood what he had said. He was answered though with a soft kiss.
"You're not the only one who is lucky." She said as she pulled away. "But I am always here to comfort you Kristoff. I don't mind. It means I can sleep an extra hour or too in the morning anyways." Kristoff chuckled as she yawned.
"I'll remember next time."
"Good, and by the way, I am not perfect." Kristoff chuckled and rolled his eyes.
You have no idea how wrong you are. He could just begin to explain why she was perfect right then and there, but he decided to wait another time when another yawn escaped her.
"Ok feisty pants, let's get you to bed." He scooped her up into his arms, letting her rest her head on his chest, and walked back to the bed. He laid her down, returned to the bathroom to douse the lamps and shut the door, and then returned.
He smiled at the sight. Anna was already back asleep, above the covers no less. Her mouth was gapped open and soft snores echoed through the room. He picked her up again, placed her under the covers and then crawled in beside her. He wrapped his arm around her, nuzzling his face into her messy hair; taking in the strawberry scent coming from it. He closed his eyes, smiling when he felt Anna place her hand on his. Holding onto it, he rested easy that night knowing that he didn't have to worry about the nightmares anymore. For now he knew that they only meant he would be reminded of his love for her once more and how truly blessed he was to have her.
He was one lucky man.