One minute, Kristoff had a roof over his head, a song on his lips, and a warm pile of straw to sleep in (though he was running out of speciedaler and his stomach hadn't been full in days). The next, he was flying over a cliff, his freshly-lacquered sled was a fiery wreck, and his ice business was going down the drain. All because the ice queen had a temper tantrum and her idiot sister had to bribe him of all people to take her up the mountain.
Then Kristoff started to slip backwards. "No, no no no no no no no!" he said, his heart thumping from adrenaline and panic. An ice pick hurtled through the air towards him, landing in the snow with a sharp tink.
"Grab on!" Anna called. "Pull, Sven, pull!"
Kristoff's eyes crossed, flicking over the expertly-tied knot where the head met the shaft before he grabbed it in both hands and held on for dear life. He plowed through the snow, getting cold powder up his nose and down his coat, but Kristoff didn't care. As soon as he was out of danger, he flopped over backwards, sucking in lungfuls of sweet mountain air. He and Sven had had close calls before - the life of an ice harvester could be a harsh one - but being alive had never felt so good.
As he lay there, a magenta-cloaked figure approached, bending over him. She brought with her the faint scent of cinnamon and cedar. "I'll replace your sled, and everything in it," Anna said apologetically. She held out one mittened hand to help him up.
Giddy with the relief that only comes from cheating death, laughter bubbled up within him. Anna cocked her head to one side, puzzled, before Kristoff grasped her proffered hand and jerked her down into the snow. She shrieked and lurched awkwardly to avoid landing on top of him, doing a peculiar pirouette in midair and landing hard beside him, flat on her back with her vivid cloak flared out behind her head.
"Sorry, sorry!" he said, wincing at her landing.
"No, no, it's my usual sophisticated grace," Anna said with a self-conscious laugh. "I'm not the most coordinated person in the world. My sister's always been the graceful one."
"Lucky for you, there's no grace at all involved in making a snow angel," Kristoff declared, sweeping his arms and legs back and forth through the snow. Anna stared at him before laughing and imitating his movements. Her laugh sounded like tiny bubbles frozen in ice. It made Kristoff grin.
Before long, Kristoff sat up and held up his hands. "Sven?"
The reindeer obliged, inclining his majestic head. Kristoff gripped his antlers and pulled himself up out of the depression in the snow. Dusting off his coat, he reached for Anna. Once her hand was in his own, Kristoff took her waist with his other hand and swung her up and away. They stood there together, admiring their handiwork.
"Elsa and I used to make these as kids," Anna said. Kristoff glanced at her. Her eyes were soft and though she gazed at the snow angels before them, she was lost in the past.
"Some of my best memories are playing in the snow with Elsa, but after a while she shut me out and didn't want to play anymo- Oh," Anna said, her eyes going round. She looked up at Kristoff. "That must have been when she discovered her powers!" Anna's face crumpled. "Oh, Elsa . . . I wish she would have just told me then."
Kristoff, to his dismay, felt sorry for the princess. He also had a strange desire to take her in his arms, hold her close and kiss that odd but beautiful white streak in her hair. But Kristoff did none of those things. Instead, he said, "I'm sure she had her reasons."
"I suppose," Anna said. "But it doesn't matter. It's more important than ever that we get to Elsa. She'll listen to me; I know she will! She'll thaw Arendelle and your ice business will be back to normal in no time."
Kristoff was unconvinced. "I sure hope you're right." If Anna was wrong . . . He banished the thought with a shake of his shaggy head.
Kristoff realized his hand was still resting lightly on Anna's waist and his mouth went dry. He stiffened, not wanting to move away and draw attention to just how close he had been standing to her, but Anna saved him the trouble.
"So, are you still gonna help me? I mean, I understand if you don't want to help me anymore, but I, uh, hope you do," she said brightly. Oblivious, she hiked up her skirt and trudged away, waffling between going left or right.
Kristoff and Sven watched her for a moment. "What do you think, Sven?" he asked in a low voice. "Is she worth it?"
Sven gave him a pointed look. Kristoff glared. "Don't give me that look," he said. "It's not like that. She's engaged, remember?" But Sven knew Kristoff well enough to know he had already won and put on his smug reindeer face.
"Hold up," Kristoff called, giving a long-suffering sigh. "We're coming."
Author's note: A short and sweet Kristanna AU-ish moment that takes place just after the wolf chase when Kristoff's sled is destroyed. Speciedaler is the form of currency that was used in Norway between 1816 and 1875.