"If your house was on fire and you had sixty seconds, what would you take?"
"I really missed you. And it got me thinking: why aren't we married? Will you marry me?"
She looks to where he had been standing mere moments ago and sees nothing but the doors swinging shut. She turns back to Hans. "Of course."
Everyone at the party is in awe of both the beautiful apartment and Anna's engagement ring. It's pretty. Flashy. Expensive. And perfect for her.
Right?
Elsa's looking around the apartment in awe. "It's wonderful, Anna," she says. She looks into her sister's eyes, still so very happy for her sister, but there is concern hidden there, breaking through. "And…you're happy?"
Anna's smiling so wide her face is hurting. "Of course I'm happy, Elsa!" She gestures around her to the people, the things. "I have everything I've ever wanted. This beautiful apartment, all my friends, my sister…" Anna nudges her playfully with her hip. "Not to mention my wonderful fiancée."
"If this beautiful apartment of yours was on fire and you only had sixty seconds, what would you grab?"
Anna feels uncomfortable under his questioning gaze and no matter what, she can't think of a single thing that doesn't sound superficial. So she doesn't answer and walks ahead, leaving him behind.
Anna hooks her arm around Elsa's as they mingle with the guests and Anna talks endlessly about square footage and flooring and sconces and everyone nods and agrees because this place is amazing and beautiful.
"In its own way, yes," Anna says almost cryptically while her thoughts are suddenly rushed to places over three thousand miles away. She shakes her head. No, stop that, she scolds herself.
She shows her sister and a few guests the bedroom, large and spacious and all hers and Hans'. The mattress feels like you're floating on a cloud.
"Stay on your side or I'll kick you out."
He jumps on the bed and Anna worries for a second it will buckle; he is not a small man. The light goes out and she drifts to sleep.
In the morning she feels more rested than she has in days and so warm and comfortable. It takes a moment for her to realize that there is a strong arm wrapped around her waist, a nose buried in her hair. She feels him stiffen next to her and slowly, ever so slowly, he takes away his arm and slides quietly out of the bed. Anna pretends to be asleep until he leaves the room.
Hans and one of his many brothers are exiting the office just as Anna and Elsa happen to be walking toward the kitchen. Anna's still learning about her future brothers-in-law and trying her best to fit in with them, but she still feels like they haven't completely welcomed her into their family.
"So tell me about this boyfriend of yours that you flew halfway around the world for."
"Oh, Hans?" How would one describe Hans?
…
Anna couldn't think of what to say.
This was a first.
That expectant look would kill her.
"Well…" she began.
"Sounds like you're trying to describe a stranger."
"Hans is not a stranger. You're the stranger."
She walked ahead in a huff, not letting him see her worrying her bottom lip.
"I think she would have been happy with just the apartment," Hans' brother-Karl, she thinks his name is-laughs. "You didn't have to throw in a ring, too."
Hans chuckles good-naturedly. "It was kind of a package deal, actually," he admits.
Anna's stomach starts to twist into knots and Elsa's smile falters. "What, get an apartment and they throw in a wedding?" she jokes.
Hans shrugs, fakes looking a little bashful. "More like the other way around?"
Anna's smile freezes in place. "Wait, what?"
Hans sighs. "The board kept calling me up and asking all kinds of questions about us and a there were a few questions here and there about our relationship. I was getting the sense that they were a little old fashioned and I got the hint: married, you're in. Unmarried? No apartment. So I told them that we were on our way to getting engaged." He laughs to himself and shakes his head. "It just slipped out and the next thing I know the board is approving us for the apartment and I just thought…why the hell not?"
Hans took Anna's hand in his. She barely registered the action, her smile still frozen.
"After all, it would have happened anyway…eventually, right sweetie?" He smiled sweetly at her as he brought her knuckles to his lips and barely ghosted over them.
"Right." Anna nodded. "Of course. Of course it would have."
Hans turned his attention to Elsa. "Have you seen the balcony yet? The view is spectacular."
"I'll come see it in a minute," Elsa promised. She hooked her arm through Anna's. "We were going to double check on everything in the kitchen first. Make sure there are no impending disasters." Anna could hear the ice creeping into Elsa's voice when she emphasized those last two words. Hans seemed satisfied enough with that excuse and turned back to conversing with his brother.
Elsa led Anna into the kitchen; the smile slowly slipped off of the younger girl's face with every step.
"Are you okay?" Elsa whispered once they were alone. Anna looked around at the party, everyone celebrating the "package deal" that Hans had snagged. She was starting to feel a little sick.
Her eyes fell on the fire alarm on the wall.
Sixty seconds to grab one thing.
"Elsa…" Anna turned to her big sister, wishing that the older girl's eyes weren't so filled with worry. But she supposed they always would be. Big sisters always worried.
"Elsa…if your apartment was on fire and you only had sixty seconds to grab one thing…just one thing and nothing else…what would it be?"
If Elsa was confused by the question she didn't let it show. Instead, she answered surprisingly quick. "You."
Anna blinked in confusion instead. "Me? Elsa…we don't live together anymore."
"Then there's nothing else in my apartment worth saving. So long as I know you're safe, nothing else matters. What's this all about Anna?"
Anna looked back at the fire alarm. "It's something I've been thinking about. But I haven't been able to think of a single thing I'd want to grab. And now I'm starting to wonder…"
Anna breathed in, breathed out.
Sixty seconds would be all she'd need to know for sure. Just sixty seconds.
"Anna? What are you doing? Anna?"
"Starting the countdown."
She pulled the fire alarm.
There were some voices of concern, some of annoyance, and Hans' commanding voice rose above it all, ushering people out of the apartment. Anna walked out into the living room with Elsa, watched as everyone filtered out the door. Hans brushed past them all and into the office. The apartment door closed behind the last guest and Hans was still in the office. He started loading up his laptop, his phone, his camera, all on to his desk.
"Hey, Anna," Hans called. He poked his head out of the office. "Elsa? Could you two look around and check for valuables? Grab everything you can." He disappeared into the office again, she could hear him rifling through the drawers.
And Anna still stood in the living room. For all Hans could know, the whole building could burn down and she'd still be in the same spot. But he was making sure he could save everything important to him: his phone for work, his camera which still had the video of the proposal on it, the laptop which he would be using to upload the video to Facebook. Anna was either not a concern or at the bottom of the list.
Now she knew what was really important to Hans when he only had sixty seconds.
Anna watched the last few seconds tick by on her watch. Her sixty seconds had come and gone. She had everything she ever wanted.
But nothing she needed.
Anna sniffled, hugged herself.
"You think you can come with me to get my stuff later?" she asked in a very small voice. Elsa put her arm around Anna and led her out of the apartment. Now was not the time for questions.
They only stopped so Anna could slip off the ring and leave it on the coffee table.
She had learned in those sixty seconds that she could do without the ring.
So if you haven't seen the movie Leap Year starring Amy Adams, that's what inspired this little oneshot.