A/N: So, for a flesh-and-blood, non Pixar-animated woman, I've become entirely too fixated on Kristoff from Frozen ever since I finally saw the movie a couple of months ago. There. I said it. So I'm writing this. And while I'm normally an alternate-ending kind of person, I loved the ending of Frozen as is, so instead I'm going to attempt in this Frozen fanfic to fill in some of the time between when Anna and Kristoff stave off the wolves, and when they find Olaf the next morning. I own nothing.
Chapter 1 (Kristoff POV):
As he and Anna continued their trudge up towards the North Mountain, Kristoff stifled a yawn. They must have been walking for an hour or so now, at least- though he had absolutely no idea what time it was. He had spent enough time outdoors that he could almost always accurately tell the time of day by the position of the sun in the mountains, especially in summer. But with the darkness, the storm, the possibility of it being winter again- other than knowing it was well into the night, Kristoff was pretty clueless. Regardless, he had been up since early the previous morning delivering his haul of ice, and fatigue was starting to set in. I wonder when I'm going to get to catch some shuteye, he thought.
Not anytime soon, replied his inner monologue's voice, which sounded eerily similar to the one that he usually reserved for Sven. The last time he saw it, the mountain still seemed so far in the distance it might as well have been a million miles away as far as Kristoff's next night's sleep was concerned. Time seemed to be of the essence so he hadn't yet dared suggest to Anna that they halt their trek and take a break. Besides, what would you sleep on?, the voice interjected pointedly. Your sled just went plummeting over the side of a cliff a little while ago, remember? True, Kristoff thought- the carved wooden back of his sled was where he tended to curl up whenever he needed a place to crash in a pinch. Not to mention, he now no longer had anything of substance to lie on as he slept. Yeah, the voice added, she burned your sleeping bag and almost used it to either take your head off or set you on fire.
But I didn't, a different voice added in reply, her voice from earlier now in his head, and Kristoff smiled, sneaking a quick glance over in Anna's direction. He supposed he shouldn't really be complaining about his lack of stuff considering that she had promised to replace it- and that she had just saved his life (though it was a circular argument, because had they left at dawn when he had initially suggested they might have avoided the wolves altogether). He and Anna had fallen into a sometimes companionable, sometimes slightly awkward silence as they walked, both of them physically and emotionally drained from the evening before. And yet- part of Kristoff felt invigorated, too. Maybe it was all of the adrenaline that was still coursing through his veins following the wolf-chase and their harrowing jump over the ravine.
But part of it was just her, he was sure.
Kristoff hadn't spent a whole lot of time in the company of women, and even less so with ones that were so- vivacious. Charming. Resilient. Spirited. And- beautiful. Oh, sure, Anna seemed flighty and impulsive and clumsy, too. But being so close in proximity to someone of the opposite sex who absolutely radiated so many positive qualities- plus likely possessed many more he had yet to discover- was starting to do some strange things to Kristoff's insides. Things he couldn't really identify or label but were there nonetheless. In the midst of being chased down by the wolves, when he had bundled Anna into his arms preparing to hurl her onto Sven, he still managed to take enough time to register how she smelled. Amazing. Way better than reindeers.
So he still wanted to sleep, but part of him wanted to lie as close as possible to Anna while doing it.
She's engaged to someone else, he quickly interrupted himself, though perhaps a fraction of a second too late. Because in that fraction of a second he allowed himself to think of the two of them lying side-by-side next to a fire, Anna wrapped in his arms again, this time not just out of necessity. Being close enough to be able to smell her again, this time for more than just an instant.
Okay, so maybe he didn't just want to sleep next to her.
She's engaged to someone else, he repeated. And Kristoff wasn't a creep. Really, he could satisfy his curiosity about this girl just by continuing to talk to her. Oh, but a nap sounds so good right now.
"So, you must be starting to get tired," he began before he could think better of it, looking over at Anna again, a little grin beginning to lift up one side of his face. "I mean," he clarified, "meeting and getting engaged to someone, helping to cause the biggest snowstorm of the century- that must be an exhausting day." Though Anna was obviously trying very hard not to react, Kristoff could see her mouth move into just the hint of a little smile. And what a lovely mouth it was.
"Mmmmm-hmmmm," she replied, not looking his way. Kristoff was convinced that she wasn't returning his eye contact for the simple reason that she wouldn't be able to keep a straight face as he teased her. Still, he wished she'd look over. "We don't all know love experts," she finally replied coyly.
"Seriously, though, aren't you tired yet?" He knew he was reflecting his own state of mind, but he didn't care. He paused, coming to a standstill, feeling a little concerned, for her as well as for himself.
But then Anna got serious, stopped and shrugged her shoulders, finally glanced over at him. The beginning of that smile that had started to form stopped abruptly, and Kristoff could see by her expression how exhausted she really was. "I'm all right," she said reassuringly, but her body language betrayed her words and he could tell that she was trying to fool him, or at least fool herself. "I just want to find Elsa. Let's keep going." He knew she'd fall asleep immediately if he picked her up and carried her.
He would have liked to offer it, but he was way too tired for that. He shrugged back at her. "How about a nap first?" He suggested, as casually as he could muster.
Anna glanced around them. Admittedly, it was a preposterous time to propose this. While the storm had stopped, snow was everywhere- covering rock. There wasn't currently anything in their vicinity that could soften or warm their sleep. Kristoff shrugged as he started striding again, picking up the pace. "We'll keep looking."
As they walked, Kristoff didn't want them to fall into an uneasy silence again. He was itching to talk to Anna; ask her questions. Sure, part of the reason was that he needed to stay awake, alert; keeping a conversation going helped with that. But really, he just wanted to know more about her. He found himself blurting out the first question that popped into his mind.
"So, since it'll be a while 'til we get to her- what's your last name?" he asked her suddenly. He knew already; her parents were the rulers of Arendelle for crying out loud. But he was hoping Anna would understand why he was starting there, why he thought of that particular question so quickly.
She smiled, immediately catching on. "This is probably a conversation I should be having with Hans first," she began as Kristoff tried unsuccessfully not to roll his eyes, but then continued, "But since you asked-" She told him what it was. "Yours?"
"Bjorgman," he replied. "Favorite food?"
She smiled wider. "It used to be ice cream. Now, I'm not so sure. You?"
Kristoff laughed heartily. "Steak. Over the fire." Just thinking about eating from a roaring fire with Anna got him feeling all kinds of primal hungers. But it was time to be serious. He knew this next question would be tough- but he felt like he had to ask it, she was expecting it, he knew. Kristoff cleared his throat. "Best friend?" he asked softly, a note of sadness in his voice.
Anna shrugged. "It used to be Elsa," she said quietly. "I don't know if it still is or not." She smiled sadly for a moment, but then shifted her focus, and a note of sympathy entered her tone as she switched gears. "I guess I know who yours is," she added, giving Sven an affectionate pat.
Kristoff nodded stiffly, adamantly. This was what perhaps drew him to Anna the most- she grew up isolated, like him. He'd remembered the passing of the king and queen. Anna understood what it was like to be lonely. And yet she seemed so wide-open, so trusting, so loving, when he had all but closed himself off.
Kristoff felt a lump rise in his throat, but he quickly swallowed it. They were about to get to some better questions. He wasn't going to let himself get emotional now.
"Eye color?" he asked her, a little hoarsely. But she didn't need to answer. He already knew; he'd already looked at them closely enough. He mouthed the word to himself as Anna said it.
"Blue. What about yours?"
Kristoff shrugged. "Hazel, I think. I'm not sure."
In response, Anna reached out gently grabbed his arm; they skidded to a halt as he looked at her in surprise, unnerved by her touch. She stared back into his eyes. There was a little light to draw from- the sky had cleared a bit so the moon and stars were bright, and the pure white snow reflected the light from them nicely. But it was still a ways from daybreak, and they'd lost their lantern. Hand still encircling his forearm for balance (which she so obviously needed), Anna leaned in really close to him, rising to her tiptoes. Her lips were just inches away from his as she examined him closely, moving up and down on her toes a few times to gaze into his eyes from every angle, presumably in an effort to catch the most starlight. As she moved, Kristoff caught a few more whiffs of her better-than-reindeer scent, and it overwhelmed him in the most intoxicating way possible. He inhaled deeply, trying to suck as much of it through his nostrils as he could, while he visibly trembled under her fingertips. "Yup," she proclaimed after her (very thorough) inspection. "They look hazel to me. But I'll have to check again once the sun's up just to be sure."
Kristoff gulped. He'd never wanted to kiss someone so much in his life, and now he was going to have to repeat the same torture tomorrow morning? She's engaged to someone else, he repeated in his mind, his new mantra. He jerked away quickly and started walking again.
The worst part of it all was to see the disappointed and slightly hurt expression on Anna's face as he moved away from her- but he couldn't stand that closely to her for a second longer, her hands and her scent were just incredible. Out of respect for her (and her engagement, as flimsy as it sounded), he had to separate himself. He quickly moved onto the next question as they walked faster. "Shoe size?"
Anna glanced down at her petite feet, covered in her new black boots. "Whatever size these are, for tonight," she said. "But normally a six-and-a-half. You?"
Kristoff looked down at the pear-shaped, square-shaped weirdness of his feet. "Thirteen," he muttered shyly. They were pretty ginormous.
When he looked back up at Anna, even from this distance and in this lighting he could tell that she had a slight blush. "Wow, that's big," she said, somewhat in awe.
He had no idea if she was blushing about what he thought she might be blushing about, but if she was, he was way too embarrassed to significantly address it. Yet way too flattered to ignore it entirely. "Thanks?" was all he could think to reply before adding quickly, "I thought foot size didn't matter."
"It doesn't," she interjected quickly, blush even more furious now, overtaking her face.
Kristoff watched her there a moment with smug satisfaction- she didn't know Hans' shoe size, but she would surely remember his. He definitely wasn't going to tell her whether or not it revealed anything else about him- he was more than content in letting her assume that it did.
He thought back to their conversation in his sled. What was the next part? Oh, yeah, have you had a meal with him yet? Come to think of it, Kristoff was famished- he hadn't eaten in a while, and combined with the exertion, talking about steaks- he could practically eat a whole steer. Of course, he suspected that his hunger extended well beyond that of food. But perhaps eating something could satiate him enough to take the edge off. Of course, most of his food supply was now several hundred feet below them, already flambéed and char-broiled in the back of his sled. But he did remember slipping a couple of foodstuffs into his smaller sack for when he needed to venture farther away. He dug into his bag, after a moment pulling out a couple of knekkebrøds and a cinnamon bolle. He split the cinnamon roll into two, portioning half for Anna, and offered it to her along with one of the flatbreads. It wasn't a full meal, but it would have to do. "Here," he said. He just couldn't shake his desire to take care of this girl. "You hungry?"
Anna accepted gratefully. "Thank you," she said, before biting delicately into the flatbread. After chewing and swallowing, she added, a little shyly, "Am I supposed to watch you eat now? And take notes?"
Kristoff almost choked on his knekkebrød. Suddenly, he realized that Anna might have misinterpreted his actions. God, did she think that I was trying to tell her that I was a better match for her than her own fiancé? Just because I have bigger feet and she'll like the way that I eat?
That's exactly what you're trying to do, dumbass, his inner monologue spoke up again. And considering that she's only known the guy a day, maybe it'll work, too.