Words: 2116
Disclaimed
It was another one of those nights, where Anna was off doing something whimsical and Kristoff had to talk ice business with Elsa. The first time he spoke with Elsa, the tension could've been cut with a knife. Overtime, they relaxed, and now he considered her a friend. If Kristoff were being honest, he liked the meetings with Elsa better than with Anna. Besides the fact that Elsa focused on business better than Anna, he hadn't quite gotten used to just-friends Anna yet.
They sat at a small wooden table. Ice covered the table and chairs regularly, ruining their original strength. Kristoff worried he'd break the chair just by sitting down. While he shifted and carefully tested his chair, Elsa sorted through a stack of papers. Records, he knew, of resources Arendelle needed or would soon need. The impromptu winter really screwed them over, and Elsa rarely took a break from overseeing every detail herself. Kristoff didn't mention it, since he couldn't honestly tell her it wasn't entirely her fault.
He tapped on the table. He had to be patient while she figured out where they needed ice, but it was so boring. After living in the mountains harvesting ice, full of occupational hazards, followed by an adventure with Anna, who created chaos wherever she went, deliveries barely held his attention. A meeting didn't stand a chance. At least on deliveries, he had Sven for company.
Mostly to break the silence, though he had been curious about it for awhile, Kristoff asked, "So... why did you get locked up in the first place?" Elsa didn't even pause. She marked something on the papers.
"My powers. Come on Kristoff, I know you're not that slow."
Kristoff rolled his eyes. Elsa didn't notice and continued poring over her work, so Kristoff pulled down the papers she held and repeated the action.
"Yeah, thanks, that's not what I meant. Anna said you guys were best friends when you were little, so you weren't always hiding. You guys interacted at some point," Kristoff said. Elsa tilted her head and finally set her work aside.
"The trolls didn't tell you?"
Kristoff frowned. She must be talking about the rock trolls, how many trolls can a girl know, but as much as he wracked his brain for some Elsa reference they made, he came up with nothing.
"What do they have to do with anything?"
Elsa slowly breathed in, then out. Kristoff wondered if he should say something, let her know she didn't have to tell him anything, but at the same time he really wanted to know. He hid a sigh of relief when she responded.
"When you took Anna to the trolls, it wasn't the first time she'd gone," she said. Kristoff's brow furrowed, unsure of how to respond. The first thing he thought involved why the trolls wouldn't have mentioned that, but Elsa wouldn't have an answer for him if she didn't even know he wasn't told in the first place. At his silence, Elsa continued.
"I suppose they might not remember... I'm not familiar with the memory of rock trolls. What did they tell you?"
Kristoff considered giving some vague answer, however decided against it. He'd asked her a personal question and expected a wholly honest answer, he ought to give her the same.
"Uhh, they told us about that true love stuff. After, y'know, singing about how me and Anna could fix each other and kick her fiancé to the curb and almost marrying us in a troll wedding," Kristoff shrugged, "Weird, I know."
Elsa winced. Even on accident, she regretted pulling that information out of Kristoff.
"Sorry for bringing that up," Elsa met his eyes, "And, for what it's worth, I'm sorry about what happened with Anna."
"Oh," Kristoff blinked, completely caught off guard, "Thanks, I guess. I'm not still—I mean, it's not such a big deal, now."
"Still," Elsa laced her hands together, resting her chin on them, "You're a good guy, Kristoff. I know Anna can be... flighty. And somewhat selfish. What she did to you was selfish, though I know she only means the best."
Floored, Kristoff froze. A distant part of him laughed because, imagine that, the Snow Queen froze him.
"Thank you," Kristoff's mouth said, surprising his brain. He felt awkward for being so sincere on accident. "Never thought I'd hear you say anything against Anna."
"Loving someone means accepting their flaws, not ignoring them. I understand Anna can be selfish, and I love her despite that. Besides," Elsa's eyes flickered to the work papers, "selfishness runs in the family."
Kristoff wanted to question her further, but one personal question was his limit. Not to mention the emotional landmine that sort of questioning would evoke. Thinking along those lines, Kristoff steered the conversation back to his original question.
"So the trolls tried to marry you to Anna too in the past?"
Elsa shook her head, failing to hide a smile. She lifted her head and stretched. Kristoff followed her movements with his eyes, shocked when he realized what he was doing. He reminded himself that, yes, Elsa was pretty, beautiful actually, but no, it was not okay to... ogle the queen. Luckily, Elsa missed his misconduct.
"When I was eight, I hurt Anna. My parents rushed to the trolls. They saved Anna that night, and told my father I had to control my powers or else everyone would, um," Elsa ran a hand through her bangs, "fear me."
Elsa laughed, one of those sad laughs, and continued.
"I know they're your adoptive family, but to be honest, they terrified me. I already hurt Anna, and then suddenly I find out the whole world is in danger from me," she laughed again, louder, "I was eight."
She slid her eyes closed for a moment, reigning in her feelings. Kristoff couldn't take his eyes off her, and when Elsa opened her eyes they widened, just enough that he could tell she wasn't expecting such... undivided attention. He leaned forward and reached out to rest his hand on her shoulder.
"I understand what you were saying, before," Kristoff spoke softly, "I love them, but they can be insensitive asses."
Elsa laughed, genuine this time. It was awkward, the table jabbed his stomach just enough to be uncomfortable and he couldn't be sure Elsa didn't see him as some creepy lecher, but he hoped she found some comfort in the gesture. To his amazement, she moved her hand on top of his. His jaw hit the ground and his face flared. He slammed his mouth shut with clack so loud he regretted the action, but if the heat was any indication, the fierce blush stayed. He noticed, however, that Elsa blushed as well. She met his eyes for a moment, her blush deepening, then looked away. He grinned like an idiot.
"They changed her memories so she forgot I ever had powers. Her hair never changed back, though."
Still a little, okay, a lot distracted, Kristoff took noticeably longer than usual to reply.
"Oh! Yeah, um, that... makes a lot of sense, actually. I thought maybe it was just her snow queen blood."
Kristoff never planned on telling either sister that theory. Stupid mouth. Elsa moved her gaze back to him, her eyes sparkled with amusement.
"Snow queen blood?"
She grinned, totally at his expense. Kristoff decided that maybe telling her his silly thoughts once in awhile wasn't horrible if this is the result. He shrugged.
"Hers had to go somewhere, right? I guess it's really only you."
He realized too late that reminding her no one else had ice powers might turn out horribly. Elsa pressed her lips together and Kristoff felt her hand cool. Kristoff squeezed her shoulder, I wasn't thinking, I don't mean to hurt you. After a moment, her temperature returned to normal and her face relaxed. Kristoff, not wanting to make her respond to that, asked,
"Right, so then you locked yourself away?"
Elsa nodded. She removed her hand from Kristoff's. A few moments passed, then he pulled his hand back, as well. He relaxed back into his chair. The table stopped jabbing him, but somehow he'd been more comfortable before.
"My father decided it was best to keep me alone," Elsa placed both of her hands on the table and studied them. "He closed the gates and fired the staff that didn't know. The remaining staff members were instructed to be careful around me and not tell Anna."
Kristoff frowned, both at her words and the temptation to hold her hands.
"I thought your exile was your decision?" He focused on his words, because his self-control was failing and he really didn't want to make a fool of himself by grabbing her hands. Before could've been simply friendly or for comfort, right? But they touched way too long for that. Maybe? Elsa, ignorant of his internal struggle, met his eyes.
"I agreed. My powers were out of control, and only getting stronger. Maybe now we can see that isolation taught nothing, but at the time it was the only idea we had and it kept everyone safe. And anyway," she glared without any true anger, "it wasn't exile. It wasn't even isolation, really. I spoke with my parents and the servants. Anna spoke outside my door, though I tried not to respond."
Kristoff huffed. Screw it, he thought, and grasped her hands. Elsa blushed prettily, and oh my god, she twisted her hands until they were holding his. She stared intently at the table once again, thankfully, because he could look at her unabashedly. He broke the silence first.
"I grew up with Sven. I can't imagine what it would've been like, without him by my side," Kristoff leaned across the table again, lowering his voice, "I might've built a castle in the mountains, too."
Elsa's mouth fell open and she flashed an indignant look. She laughed, more from shock than amusement, and pushed his hands. She didn't let go, though, and he grinned.
"Incorrigible," Elsa smiled, speaking barely above a whisper, and Kristoff leaned forward even further, so tempted. His heart raced, elation flooded his system when he realized Elsa moved to meet him halfway, and her grip on his hands tightened. They breathed the same air, noses bumping, she watched him through her long lashes—
"Your majesty."
Both of them jerked back, blushing furiously. There was knocking at the door that, somehow, they'd been deaf to before. Kristoff cleared his throat, picking at the table, while Elsa stood.
"I should, uh, probably let them in," she said, voice still quiet. Kristoff nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Elsa called out, "Come in," and a servant entered. He discussed something with Elsa, handed her a note, and left. Kristoff doubted the note was anything urgent, and why couldn't it have waited? While Elsa read it over, Kristoff rose, stretching his legs and walking to the door.
"So, see you next week?" Kristoff winced at how uncertain he sounded. Elsa's attention snapped from the note to him, her eyes too intense. She didn't answer. He wondered if this is what a heart attack feels like. Kristoff turned around. Elsa walked back to the table, he could hear her footsteps, but he stopped listening. Deep breaths. Kristoff took a breath and opened the door—
"Whoa!"
Elsa pulled him back and shoved him around until he faced her. Kristoff heard the crinkle of paper, felt it scratch against his skin, but any thoughts disappeared as soon as Elsa seized his collar. She yanked him down with one hand and used her other to tilt his face. Kristoff almost objected to the manhandling, except he sort of liked it, and because holy shit he was kissing Elsa. Kristoff's eyes hurt from being open so wide, and he thanked whoever was listening that he came to his senses fast enough to wrap one arm around her waist and rest the other at the nape of her neck. Kristoff desperately wanted to tangle his fingers in her hair, unravel her perfect braid and leave proof that this happened, he happened, but before he could she'd already separated from him.
Elsa breathed more erratically than before, although the actual kiss had barely been more than them touching lips. He completely understood. Being so close to each other right after her hands draggedall over him messed up his head. They stood there, panting at each other, until Elsa slipped something into his hand. He glanced at the creased sheet of paper. The fucking ice report. She smirked at him.
"See you next week."
Okay, Kristoff realized. This is what a heart attack feels like.
AN: This is my first Krist/Elsa; I love these cuties. Originally they weren't going to kiss, just leave awkwardly. But then I'd have to write them being hilarious nervous wrecks around each other until they got together. I wanted to keep it a one-shot, so I ended it with a kiss instead. I love the idea of Elsa dominating their relationship; shoving Kristoff against doors or walls, and Kristoff not minding one bit because he loves it. I blame "Let It Go" for these thoughts. I definitely want to write more of these guys, so let me know what you think!