A/N: this is really weird and sucky and ew but i was having ALL THE KRISTANNA FEELS and i had to do something about it so this happened. i don't know.
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN FROZEN OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS FROM IT I WISH I DID
Anna took one last deep breath before rapping lightly three times against the tall black door before her. She was so, so screwed.
"Come in," she heard faintly from the other side, the voice seeming distracted and vacant.
Gulp. Don't be a coward, Anna hissed to herself mentally. What's the worst that can happen?
Unfortunately, that did not succeed in making her feel any better.
Turning the knob and heaving the heavy door open, Anna had to force herself to remain composed. She always felt slightly dizzy with awe when she saw her boss's decadent office; the high ceiling and panelled windows, the monstrous oak desk and sparkling chandelier. It was a little over-the-top but beautiful, all the same.
"Uh, hello, Miss Elsa," Anna smiled awkwardly as she stepped further into the room, remembering to address her boss as she had been instructed to on the first day she started working at the company.
The blonde woman's head snapped up from the document she was reading on her computer screen, forcing an insincere smile onto her face.
"Oh, it's you," she paused to think. "Annie?"
"It's Anna, actually. Not that it really matters, I mean, my name is hardly important I'm sure you have much more important things to be worrying about. I can't imagine what it's like to run a company so huge, you must be so stressed out, like, all the time –" Anna had to force herself to stop talking.
This always happened when she was nervous – she rambled and rambled without thinking. And she was pretty certain that Elsa already didn't like her without Anna making things worse.
"Is there something you needed, Anna?" Elsa prompted impatiently, glancing at the clock above Anna's head.
"Um, yeah, actually, you see… there's been a bit of a…uh, a misunderstanding with the latest delivery," Anna managed to splutter out.
Working for a fashion company was always going to be stressful but when fabric wasn't shipped in on time, the whole thing could potentially fall to pieces. Unfortunately, Anna had lost the rock-paper-scissors with her workmates and it was her responsibility to report it to their temperamental boss.
"What?" Elsa hissed, getting to her feet at once. "What kind of mistake?"
"Well, the thing is the fabric place didn't actually receive our order because it wasn't sent out in time and now they're saying that they won't have the samples ready until next week but the buyers are expecting their delivery within a few days and I don't know –"
"For goodness sake!" Elsa interrupted furiously. "Why is everyone so incompetent around here?"
"I don't think they're incompetent I think it was an honest mistake –" Anna murmured quietly, avoiding eye contact.
"No! You can't work for me and make a mistake as mindless at that!" Elsa exploded, slamming her fist down on the hard, wooden desk until the whole table shuddered. "This is down to pure stupidity!"
Anna was too frightened to speak. She just bit her tongue and stared at her fuming boss, praying that she wasn't about to lose her job.
"And I suppose the buyers are going to withdraw their order if we can't ship it to them on time?" Elsa demanded.
Anna swallowed hard, wringing her hands anxiously.
"They said they – probably won't be able to take it, no."
Elsa let out a snarl of frustration.
"Must I do everything around here?" she exclaimed, marching over to the door. "Whoever made this idiotic mess is going to be fired, you mark my words."
"No, wait!" Anna called after her desperately. "I don't think you should fire them! It was just a simple mistake nobody meant to mess up the order! People make mistakes all the time –"
"You just don't get it do you?" Elsa snapped, turning back to face Anna's pleading face. "Why would you? You're just a stupid little girl who works for a company she could only dream of owning.
"Hey! That's not –"
"Well let me tell you something, Anna," Elsa continued spitefully, "you're never going to get anywhere in life if you don't stop doing things for other people. You have to live for yourself and screw everyone else who gets in your way."
A few seconds of silence ticked by as Anna swallowed Elsa's cruel words.
"I don't want to live like that," she finally responded.
"Fine," Elsa barked. "Fine. You can get out as well, then."
"W-what?"
"You're fired! I'm firing you. You're clearly too emotionally invested in other people to ever be a successful businesswoman. Clear out your office, I want you gone by the morning."
Anna just stared at her icy boss, her mouth agape and her eyes wide. Before she had time to conjure up a response, Elsa spun around and stormed out the room, not stopping once.
"But –" Anna choked out, her voice shaky. It was useless, though. There was no one around to hear her.
By the time Anna left work, the sun had completely disappeared and it was raining. Of course.
She did as she was told, desolately stuffing all the junk from her cluttered desk into a box and dumping it in the boot of her car. Ambling down the empty streets in the pre-evening darkness, she couldn't help sighing every other step she took.
Anna tried to tell herself that it didn't matter that she lost her job. She could easily find a new job – she was pretty talented at a lot of things. Besides, she never really liked it anyway. Elsa treated her badly, to say the least. She treated everyone badly.
But even Anna couldn't convince herself. She did enjoy her job – most of it, at least. She enjoyed filing away important documents and answering calls and organising deliveries. It made her feel… important.
Either way, it didn't matter anymore. She was jobless and cold and having a pretty miserable day to say the least. As the rain began to patter more heavily onto Anna's head, she decided to duck into a small diner just across the empty road. Maybe some warm food inside her might lift her spirits marginally.
Anna stumbled over the threshold as she entered the small, run-down place. It was surprisingly unoccupied – with no one else inside but herself. Unbuttoning her jacket, Anna walked over to an empty booth at one side of the place and collapsed down into it. The lights were fluorescently bright and the warmth from the fryer was already beginning to thaw her icy fingers.
After taking her coat completely off, Anna allowed herself to relax against the comfortable padded seat. She thought over the events of her day and felt her lip quivering slightly like she might cry. What a mess.
"What do you want?" an irritable voice asked suddenly.
Anna looked up, noticing the man who was standing beside her table, looming over her. He was tall and bulky, a mop of blond hair flopping into his eyes. Not blond like Elsa, though, more… warm. He looked tired.
"Excuse me?" Anna replied, somewhat offended by his blunt question.
"Do you want some food or not?" he huffed, exhaling heavily like he was having to deal with a child. "You can't just sit in here without ordering something, you know."
Anna immediately scowled at him.
"You don't have to be so rude," she commented.
"Could you just answer the question?"
Anna flinched in surprise, hurt by the tone he was using. He almost reminded her of Elsa earlier on.
"I don't know," she answered lowly, glancing at the menu next to her and saying the first thing she read. "Waffles. Get me some waffles."
"What kind?"
"Any kind." Anna looked up at the guy's tiny, dented name badge. "And you know, Kristoff, you're really quite bad-mannered."
Kristoff grabbed the menu and turned to leave.
"I'm not paid to be polite," he muttered as he walked away.
Anna couldn't help herself from frowning. All she wanted was a distraction from her rotten day and it seemed to be impossible. Why was everyone so grumpy? Anna often thought that if the population of the world lightened up a little it would be a much more bearable place.
As she thought about this, picking at her chipped nail polish, the door of the diner creaked in agony as someone entered. Anna flinched at the temporarily cold breeze that swirled in through the gap, noticing begrudgingly that the rain outside had only gotten worse.
The man that had entered the small place took one sweeping gaze of the empty tables and seemed to spot Anna sitting alone immediately, his attention instantly drawn to her. Anna looked away and felt herself blushing scarlet self-consciously. She was sure that she looked like a mess from the horrible weather outside and this man was attractive to say the least.
Within a few moments of arriving, the fairly damp stranger perched himself down in Anna's booth, sitting directly opposite her. Anna looked up and smiled timidly.
"Oh, um, hi."
"Hey," he responded, his voice low and alluring. "I'm Hans," he clarified. "I don't want to seem too forward but you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."
Anna let out a peal of startled giggles, feeling her face heating up.
"Me? What? That's ridiculous – I don't think –"
Hans raised his hand to silence her.
"It's not open for discussion," he told her.
Anna laughed again, coughing awkwardly. Hans was completely gorgeous but she never knew how to act around people she was attracted to. Was she supposed to play it cool and act mysterious? Or go along with everything they said and twirl her hair around her finger like a schoolgirl? Both of those options seemed ridiculous to her.
"What brings you here then, Hans?" she asked, changing the topic.
Anna mentally high-fived herself for successfully altering the subject without making herself look like a mental person. So far, so good.
"I was looking for a little something to spice up my evening… and then I saw you," he answered, almost in a purr. "And yourself?"
Anna felt her face fall.
"I've been having a pretty bad day, actually. I just wanted to get away from the rain outside and distract myself with something else. It probably wasn't the best idea though, because now I'm just spending money on waffles I don't even want and now I don't have a job I should probably be saving my money –"
There it was again. The nervous rambling. Anna sometimes wished she could mute herself.
Luckily, Hans cut her off.
"Do you want to get out of here?" he inquired, arching a suggestive eyebrow.
"Umm…" Anna considered, glancing down at her hands.
"Why the hesitation?" Hans looked at her, seeming almost insulted. He got up from his seat opposite and carefully made his way around the table, sliding into the booth next to her. "I'll show you a great time. I promise." As he spoke, Hans placed his hand down on Anna's thigh under the table, gently stroking down her leg.
Anna gasped in surprise. Suddenly Hans wasn't looking so hot.
"You know I just realised that I actually have somewhere to be –" she began, attempting to get out of her seat but Hans practically had her pressed up against the wall and was blocking her exit.
"Come on, what's the problem?" Hans teased, not seeming to catch onto Anna's tone. "We're both feeling lonely…"
"I'm not feeling lonely at all," Anna squeaked, leaning as far away from him as she could manage.
Hans finally seemed to notice her reluctance and began to glower.
"For God's sake, don't tell me you're one of those girls who thinks she's too good for someone like me?" he teased bitterly. "You'll never get an offer like this again."
Hans snaked his arm around Anna's tiny waist, squeezing closer yet. Anna let out a yelp and tried to bat his arm away.
"Get away from me!"
"Stop pretending like you don't want it," Hans laughed maleficently.
"I don't! Get off!"
Hans grabbed her shoulders and attempted to pull her body towards him. Anna panicked internally, hyperventilating inside her mind and thinking oh my God, oh my God, oh my God in a flustered loop. Then she remembered – how could she have forgotten?! What an idiot! Kristoff the cranky waiter was in the back of the restaurant now, cooking her some waffles.
"Help!" she screamed loudly, causing Hans to wince in irritation. "Help!"
For a terrifying few seconds, nothing happened. Hans just smirked wickedly at her as if she was a pathetic little girl.
But then – yes! Kristoff! Thank God for Kristoff, the cranky waiter!
The bulky blond came jogging round the corner looking concerned.
"Hey, I heard shouting is everything –"
Then he noticed Anna's frightened expression and Hans, practically sitting on top of her.
"Hey!" Kristoff yelled again. "What do you think you're doing to her?"
Hans groaned in exasperation.
"It's really none of your concern."
"Like hell it's not my concern! If you don't leave I'm going to call the police, I'm warning you!" Kristoff pulled a battered looking mobile phone out of the pocket in his apron.
Hans groaned again, much more angrily this time.
"Fine," he growled, getting to his feet, "I'll leave." He shot a frosty at Anna on his way to the door, shaking his head. "I'm not going to wait around for some girl who won't put out. You're not even pretty," he added pettily, stalking out and slamming the door behind him.
Anna just stared after him, feeling her whole body shaking. Kristoff rushed over to her, hovering awkwardly beside her table.
"Uh, are you okay?" he asked, his forehead creased in concern.
Anna nodded, unable to find her voice.
"Man, I'm really sorry," Kristoff said. "I would never have left if I thought someone so disgusting was going to come in –"
"It's not your fault," Anna croaked, rolling her eyes at the ridiculous suggestion. It was only then that she realised she was crying; silent salty tears dribbled down her cheeks.
Kristoff noticed too. He slowly sat down opposite her, where Hans had been sitting just before.
"Tough day at the office, huh?" Kristoff asked with a small laugh, attempting to lighten to mood.
Anna attempted to smile back but it came across as more of a grimace.
"You have no idea." She paused. "I'm Anna, by the way."
"Kristoff."
"I know."
"So… do you want to talk about it?"
Anna shook her head gratefully, tears dripping down onto the scratchy metal table below.
"No, it's okay. You don't want to hear all my problems."
Kristoff shrugged.
"Try me."
Anna took a breath and tried to calm herself down. She wiped at her cheeks, annoyed that she had allowed the day's unfortunate events to get the better of her.
"I got fired this morning," she began.
"Woah," Kristoff raised his eyebrows. "That sucks, I'm sorry. What did you do?"
Anna thought back to this morning and found herself laughing humourlessly.
"Nothing, actually."
"What do you mean?"
"I didn't do anything. My boss – she just hates me. She's always hated me."
"I think there's some kind of law against that, like – you have employees' rights or something."
Anna laughed again, with more feeling this time.
"That's sweet of you but, honestly, I'm not interested in working for her anymore."
Kristoff nodded.
"Fair enough."
"But anyway, you really don't want to hear about me. Besides, there's hardly anything to tell. I'm just moping around feeling sorry for myself. What about you? Why are you so grumpy?"
Anna's questions made him grin sheepishly and turn pink.
"Yeah, uh, sorry about earlier."
Anna waved her hand in dismissal.
"Don't worry about it."
"I didn't realise I was being so rude," Kristoff continued. "I don't know. It's just this job. I spend my days cooking greasy sandwiches and waiting on gross, unemployed people – no offence –"
"None taken."
"And when you do it all day every day it can make you a little… unsociable, I guess."
Anna smiled warmly, blinking the last of her stupid tears away.
"That seems understandable."
Kristoff smiled back, grateful for her understanding.
Anna paused to sniff the air, stopping the conversation for a moment. Kristoff looked at her in confusion.
"Is it just me or do you smell… burning?"
Kristoff gasped.
"Aw, crap, the waffles!"
He leapt up from his seat and dashed behind the counter and through to the out-of-sight kitchen. Anna watched him go, unable to stop herself giggling. It was the fastest she'd seen him move all day.
Kristoff returned a moment later, holding a plate covered in blackened batter.
"I hope you like your waffles well done," he joked.
Anna let out a laugh.
"That's exactly how I like them, actually."
"I'm really sorry about that," Kristoff apologised, setting the plate down. "Although I got the impression that you didn't really want them anyway."
Anna rolled her eyes unintentionally.
"Well you made it pretty clear that I had to order something," she teased.
Kristoff chuckled, looking embarrassed.
"I'm sorry for being such a jerk –"
"Don't be absurd," Anna insisted. "You just saved me from a potential psychopath." She took a bite out of the cindered waffle nearest to her, pulling a face at the foul taste. "And you cheered me up."
"I also singed your dinner, so I guess we're about even."
Anna smiled, looking up at Kristoff. She nearly had to crane her neck he was so tall. Looking at him in the bright yellow overhead light with batter stains on his fingers, she couldn't help noticing that he wasn't too bad looking. His floppy fringe was kind of cute. Also, did she mention his eyes? They were smouldering brown like melting chocolate (which also happened to be one of her favourite things).
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Kristoff asked uneasily.
Anna blinked a few times, clearing her throat awkwardly.
"Like what?"
"Like there's something on my face."
"I wasn't –" Anna had to look away from him before she made herself look like an idiot. She could feel herself blushing. Again. "Sorry."
To her surprise Kristoff just laughed, not seeming offended at all.
"It's alright. I'm just happy to see you smiling. I still can't believe that guy –"
"Hans," Anna informed him.
"I can't believe how he was treating you. How can anyone expect to behave that way and get away with it?"
Anna leant across the table to pat Kristoff's arm as he grew tense.
"It doesn't matter. He's gone now."
"Hmmph," Kristoff grunted, unsatisfied.
With a slow sigh, Anna looked behind Kristoff and out the steamy windows. The rain seemed to have finally drawn to a close.
"I should probably be going," she murmured. "It's late."
"Yeah," Kristoff agreed, following her gaze towards the darkened sky outside. "Do you live far?"
"No, I'll be fine," Anna assured him. "I guess I should go home and start job-hunting."
"I think you're allowed a night to relax," Kristoff pointed out. "Especially after the day you've had."
Anna smiled at him. He smiled back. It was lopsided and bashful. Anna could feel her stomach churning painfully, suddenly nervous for no apparent reason.
She stood up, picking up her coat and throwing it around her shoulders. Kristoff stood too, his arms dangling awkwardly by his sides as if he didn't know what to do with them.
"Oh – how much do I owe you for the waffles?" Anna remembered.
Kristoff just snorted with laughter and shook his head.
"I'm not going to make you pay for them."
"It was my completely my fault they got ruined though!"
"Anna! It's fine!"
She stuck her tongue out which made him laugh harder. When it drew to a close, they both stood in silence for a few seconds.
"Thanks for everything," Anna said.
"Don't mention it."
She took a few slow, deliberate steps towards the door.
"Hey, uh, Anna?" Kristoff called after her hesitantly.
"Yes?" she spun around.
Kristoff coughed and scratched the back of his neck, looking like he was at a loss for words.
"I was just – I mean before you go, I was just, uh, I was wondering if you maybe wanted to go and um, I don't know –"
"See a movie?" Anna suggested, biting her lip. "I'd love to."
"You – would?"
"Absolutely."
Kristoff looked blank for a second but then he was beaming at her uncontrollably.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure," Anna laughed, taking a few more steps towards the door. "How about I swing by at the weekend?"
"That sounds great!" Kristoff nodded eagerly.
Anna opened the door to let herself out, pausing as she did so. Before she left, Anna ran back over to where Kristoff was standing and kissed him on the cheek. She smiled and hurried back over to the door.
"Goodbye, Kristoff," she waved, enjoying his bewildered expression. "I'll see you soon."
And then she was outside.
Even though she had lost her job and been hit on by a total creep and was freezing cold, Anna decided that her day really hadn't turned out to be so bad after all.
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