A/N: Kristanna-centric flower shop AU! Why? Honestly, I've been watching too much Studio Ghibli lately. This is sort of a slice-of-life piece. Hopefully someone enjoys it!
Chapter One: Welcome to Olaf's Flower Shop and Gifts
A bell chimed as Kristoff passed through the front door of the small, airy shop. He was greeted immediately by the smell of fresh flowers, which came as no surprise. What was surprising was the look of the girl who appeared from the back of the shop. He wondered if he should even have bothered finding a clean white shirt and a tie for this job interview. The girl working there sported two messy reddish braids filled with bits of tiny white flowers and green twigs. Her apron was splashed with what appeared to be a mix of water and baby powder, and her hands were covered in smears of green. It's not that the mess bothered him. She was actually really pretty with the little blur of dirt on her rosy, freckled cheek. He just felt very out of place. And he hated that all-too-familiar feeling.
"Hello!" the young woman called politely. She came forward to greet him properly. "Can I help you?"
"Uh," Kristoff glanced back to the window and jammed his thumb over his shoulder in that general direction. "I saw you have a help wanted sign in the window."
The stranger's eyes brightened even more than they had when he'd walked in.
"Oh! Yeah. This is great," she said earnestly, spinning around and seeking out a chair. She found a foldable metal one and quickly placed it down for him before setting up one of her own. She plopped into it and grinned, motioning for him to sit as well.
Kristoff shifted, trying to get comfortable despite his unease. He had worked for nearly his whole life in a warehouse surrounded by gruff delivery men. He was responsible for lugging heavy boxes and checking that orders were filled. But now, with the warehouse downsizing, he found himself out of work and turning to his last option.
"I've never seen you around before. My name is Anna," she offered her hand, and Kristoff took it to shake it.
"Kristoff," he said. Then, remembering his manners, tried again. "I'm Kristoff Björgman. Uh, nice to meet you."
Anna simply smiled.
"So, why do you want this job?"
To Kristoff, the obvious answer was that he needed it. There was nowhere else hiring, at least not that he was qualified for. A flower shop seemed unrealistic as well, but he reminded himself that he wasn't totally useless.
"Tell her you can sweep. Tell her you can clean windows. Tell her you can do anything she needs you to; you just really need this job!"
But the newness of the place and the closeness of this girl were getting to him.
"I like flowers," he blurted out. He immediately wanted to smack himself.
"You're an idiot."
Anna seemed surprised by the answer.
"Really?" she asked. Keeping up her grin, she plucked a white flower with a pink interior out of a vase and showed it to him. "What kind of flower is this?"
Kristoff froze. He knew he'd seen those before.
"Well, shit," he thought. He guessed his best bet was to choose one of the most popular flower names and hope it was right.
"A daisy," he said, keeping a straight face.
Anna giggled uncontrollably, then got up and turned her back to him. Kristoff shrunk in on himself, loosening his tie. He was angry, mostly at himself, but also at this Anna who was openly mocking him. How was he supposed to know what the flowers were called? They're flowers. They all look the same! This had been a bad idea from the start. He started to get up and head for the door, muttering,
"Thanks."
But Anna spun around, choking back her laughter.
"Wait!" she called out. She presented him now with several small, yellow flowers.
"Where are you going?" she asked. "You have a lot to learn. These are daisies. The first one was a lily."
Kristoff was backing slowly for the door.
"Well. Now I know," he said, trying to hide how upset he was.
"Exactly! It's not that hard. You'll get better as time goes by. And don't worry, it can be a little confusing even to people who have worked with flowers a long time. Some of them have two or three names. Trust me, I forget stuff all the time. But eventually you'll have it down, and when we ask you to get something out of the back you don't have any problem doing it."
Kristoff lifted his eyebrows.
"Does this mean I – are you giving me the job?"
"Yeah, of course. We mainly need someone to lift heavy things. You can lift heavy things, right? I mean, I was just judging by your physique. Pretty impressive, by the way," Anna bit her lip, mostly to get herself to stop her outright gushing in front of him.
"Yeah!" Kristoff found himself grinning, oblivious to Anna's compliment. "Yeah, I'm great at lifting things."
"Perfect. You'd be surprised how many things we have to carry all day. And you'll do little things like cleaning out the cooler and, I don't know, hanging things. But hey, even small things count!" She crossed over to the window and plucked the 'help wanted' sign out of sight before giving him a warm grin.
"Welcome to Olaf's Flower Shop and Gifts, Kristoff."
