The object of the ice harvester's secret affections was truly an enigma. Never had he seen woman so powerful, yet so crippled by her insecurities.
She could conjure up beautiful ice structures in the blink of an eye. Her powers rendered her as an undefeatable opponent, should she encounter an enemy to her kingdom. Elsa hated using force to get what she wanted though. Kristoff could tell by the way the ice queen recoiled, eyes contaminated by guilt as she gave the colossal monster affectionately known now as Marshmallow. She was gentle, but also very dangerous. Elsa's command over ice and snow was a huge reason why he loved her. Ice was his life, and as a direct result, more of his life seemed to centre around Elsa
And then there was the problem of her sister, Anna. Kristoff loved her too. Elsa often puzzled him, and in contrast, Anna was so easy-going and readable. The redheaded princess did not challenge him. He knew her heart well, which was how he instantly knew that tension between the sisters had materialised. Elsa had begun wearing the gloves again.
"I don't get it, everybody and their mother knows about her powers!"
"Don't worry", Kristoff reassured, "she told me that she's only going to wear them for political meetings"
"That still doesn't- wait a minute, you guys talk, I mean without me around?"
"Well" the ice harvester began carefully, "Elsa is my sister-in-law and the queen of my country to boot, so I think I really ought to talk to her every now and then"
"I didn't think you two went beyond pleasantries"
"We have gotten to know each other, a little bit better, over the past couple of months" Kristoff replied, scratching the back of his scalp nervously
Suddenly the outdoorsman found himself engulfed in a tight embrace. When it ended, the redhead glowed with delight, jumping excitedly on the spot, she explained her behaviour. Proceeding the great thaw, Anna's life revolved around two important things – her relationship with her husband and the friendship she shared with her sister. Now those very crucial two parts have come together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, and the redhead loved it. In that moment, Kristoff concluded that he did not deserve her.
Slouching over her desk, the queen was supposed to be doing "queen stuff", as Anna called it, but instead she was mulling over her forbidden relationship with her sister's husband. They had gotten too close. Elsa would have been a liar, had she said that her smiles directed towards the outdoorsman were not genuine, that he did not make her feel special, that her heart did not feel light around him. It was not fair. It was not fair for her to hold the hand of her brother-in-law's hand, to exchange sweet nothings with him. None of this was fair to Anna. Something needed to be done. Her brooding was interrupted by a knock on her door
"Come in!" she exclaimed startled, jolting back in her chair. Kristoff stepped into the room. Her heart sank.
"She knows"
"I figured as much. She's quite observant" the queen replied, smiling sheepishly. She stood up, whilst tugging on the fingers of her gloves.
"Why are you doing this to yourself, Elsa? You said you wouldn't wear them again"
"Well, ugh, Anna has probably told you that, in the past, I was very good at concealing my emotions. I believe it is time for me to do that again, for reasons you are already... aware of"
"It's unhealthy to keep things bottled up"
Something inside the queen of Arendelle snapped.
"So what?! Do you expect me to tell her everything? To tell her about your confession, the way we hugged, the way we held hands, the way we looked at each other? What we're doing is borderline adultery"
The ice queen's eyes fell to the floor. Her grip tightened on the top of her wooden desk chair. When the two locked eyes, her gaze was watery yet firm.
"And I value my relationship with my sister, and her marriage more than the childish crush we have on each other"
Author's note: Hello all! I wrote this while slightly sleep deprived and in one sitting, so I hope it's not complete muck. It has been a while since I've written anything, and I had a sudden hankering to try my hand at fanfiction again, even just as a once off type thing. While writing this, I made a very conscious effort to make the potential romance between Elsa and Kristoff as G-rated as possible, so to not portray one participant as the villain. I also wanted to keep in consideration both character's relationship with Anna. I wanted them to consider her, as sometimes in stories such as these, the person who is being betrayed is often kicked to the curb in favour of lust. Thanks for reading!