Disclaimer: I own nothing in regards to Disney's Frozen and all rights of the characters and dialogue etc belong to the Disney company!

Touch

Kristoff wasn't the best when it came to verbalising his feelings.

This was because the majority of his conversations with other people consisted of 'is this for sale' and 'that's a ridiculous price' and most commonly 'please don't kick me out of your store'. This was also because he never really had any feelings that needed to be talked about. They were called feelings for a reason, because you feel them - no need to talk about them, otherwise they'd be called talk-ings. That had been Kristoff's philosophy, up until now.

Because Kristoff had a lot of feelings that he really needed to talk about but couldn't, because he had no clue how.

Trolls and reindeers are very different from people, which may come as a surprise to some. Some meaning Kristoff. The values he learnt growing up were hardly relevant to the few people he'd spoken to in his life. Sven, his pet reindeer he could always remember having, couldn't even talk back to him. In fact Kristoff had been so desperate for a friend in his youth that he gave Sven a voice. As comforting a habit as it was, Kristoff could hardly count that as a valid form of interpersonal communication.

It didn't help that his adoptive family were very fond of the show-don't-tell lifestyle. Affection was shown through their physical embraces that no troll stopped to apologise for. They were proud of their resolve to touch, hug, kiss, offer a shoulder to cry on. It was normal for Kristoff. He was left bruised and battered whenever he came to visit, for his family would knock him to the ground with their love and temporarily forget just how heavy they all were. Kristoff was lucky to escape with his life each time.

"Actions speak louder than words," Grandpabbie had once told him, placing a wise hand on Kristoff's shoulder, "and repeated actions are what shape our character and our reputation. One can use words to manipulate and twist the truth, but it is our actions that demonstrate our effort and our promise. Love is sustained by action, a pattern of devotion in the things we do for each other every day."

So when Anna stood before him, tears in her eyes and looking for an answer, all he could do was gently grab her upper arms and pull her that little bit closer. He caressed her as softly as his calloused, rough hands could allow. Within the palace, that seemed to be the only kind of touch he could get away with. Etiquette was a religion, and those who dared to disregard their manners may as well have committed a crime. Or something like that. It was a sin to touch a princess in any way that seemed improper. Privacy was a privilege the young couple had not yet earned.

"I've barely seen you in days, Kristoff," Anna said longingly, arms folded over her chest to make herself seem as small as possible. His Anna, his happy life-loving Anna, the girl who changed his life was standing in front of him, crying because he was such an idiot, an idiot who never knew what to say.

"I'm sorry, Anna, Fredrik's been sick and I've had to cover for him in the harvest." It was a pathetic excuse. No matter how late he came home he could always find Anna somewhere in the castle. He could always make time for her. But lately he couldn't get her out of his mind, and it was becoming dangerous. Each day was a battle trying to keep her beautiful blue eyes and creamy skin and perfect lips out of his head - he'd almost taken a pickaxe through his foot because he was too distracted.

Anna let a sigh escape her. It was like a punch in the chest to Kristoff. "It's late," was all she said, seeming defeated. She slipped out of his grasp easily, almost too easily, as if she could slip out of his life altogether if she wanted to. Kristoff fought the urge to grab her around her impossibly small waist and kiss her until she couldn't breathe and show her just how deadly his love could be. He wanted to brush back her dishevelled hair, slowly dragging his fingertips across the soft, rosy hollow of her cheek and examine her every feature. He wanted to tell her everything she needed to hear with one admiring look and make everything better.

There was only so much he could show her within the castle walls, and right now all he could do was stand there as she muttered her goodnights and retreated back into her bedroom.

So Kristoff grumpily marched through the halls, scolding himself with every step, until he found his way to the only place in the palace he hadn't formed a grudge against - the stables.

Upon seeing the grumbling state of his lifelong friend, Sven shuffled to the side of his stall so Kristoff could throw himself hopelessly into a pile of hay. "I'm stupid, Sven," He mumbled, mouth full of the stuff. He rolled over and met Sven's curious gaze. Kristoff huffed, propping himself up on his elbow, "But you knew that already, didn't you?"

Sven nodded and laid down next to his friend, resting his head on the hay. Kristoff instinctively started petting him. "It's not that I mean to make her upset it's just... I don't know what's going on anymore Sven." Kristoff looked at him as if he could solve all his problems. But Sven, while he was very much Kristoff's friend, was still just a reindeer.

He hadn't gone looking for trouble, in fact he tried his hardest to stay away from people so there could never be any trouble. Then Anna popped up out of nowhere. The chance of meeting Arendelle's young and very sheltered princess in the dead of night during a surprise summer blizzard at the base of the North Mountain was near impossible. She had stolen him from his warm and cosy shed and destroyed his sleigh and made him face giant snowmen and sisters with ice powers and it was all too much for him. Still, Kristoff nearly killed himself trying to save this girl because there had been something special about her that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Something that made him want to challenge himself and escape his comfort zone. Something that made him want to do more things, new things. Something that made him want to be a better version of himself.

Anna was more than the experiences he'd shared with her. She was nuts, completely insane at times. She never seemed to stop talking, even when she had nothing to say. She was too loud and too excited and too happy with everything the world had to offer. Anna was persistent, fierce, ruthless. Anna was kind, soft, gentle, and all kinds of things he couldn't wrap his head around. All kinds of things that made Kristoff's heart beat fast and slow and stop altogether. All kinds of things that he didn't deserve. She was perfectly imperfect. Kristoff was perfectly nothing.

She made him feel things he hadn't ever felt. His cheeks flushed red whenever she looked at him through those long, fluttery lashes. Whenever she laughed, he laughed with her. Her smiles were contagious and the touch of her skin made his breath catch and she smelled like fresh cut flowers on a spring morning. He wanted to be so close he could count each freckle that dusted her cheeks and feel her warmth and just be with her. He wanted to hear her talk about all the wonder she saw in the world and invite him into her daydreams and see all the graces of her mind that failed to synch with her body. He wanted to be the wall she leaned on when she tripped and he wanted to be the bucket that caught all her fallen, flustered words. All these things he wanted to be for her but couldn't, because he didn't know what to say to her, he didn't know how to show her.

It was driving him mad. He was overwhelmed by her and couldn't get enough of her all at the same time. All this pent up emotion that tied a knot in his guts and made him want to throw up. With everything he couldn't say to her she drifted further and further away. He had only just got her. Like hell if he was going to let her get away that easy. He didn't know if what he was feeling was love but it seemed damn close. It had only taken a couple of weeks for her to completely repurpose his life, repurpose it into something warm and whole. She was a perfect little puzzle piece that fit snugly into everything he lacked.

Kristoff smiled just thinking about her. He looked pretty stupid, eyes closed, goofy grin, which invited Sven to shuffle forward and lick his face from chin to forehead.

"Hey, hey!" Kristoff yelled, swatting him away, "Rude!"

Sven seemed very pleased with himself as he nestled into the hay and lulled himself off to sleep. It was definitely very late, and Kristoff had a whole day of harvesting ahead of him. What he had learned in the last hour was that things needed to change, or he was at risk of losing the only warmth in his life. Kristoff had thought spending a little time away from Anna would help get her get out of his mind but it did the exact opposite - she filled up so much space in his head there was barely any room to think. Avoiding her had only made him feel worse and her even more so.

Something had to give.

A/N: Short, I know! But turns out Kristoff's not as smooth as everyone thinks he is. Did everyone see my sneaky New Girl quote in the beginning?

I made this a two shot because I felt there needed to be a clear divide between the events of this scene and the next! Look forward to a long, dramatic but passionate installment very very soon.

In the meantime, leave me your thoughts! :)