It was all Anna could do to keep down the constant roll of bile rising up in her throat. All she could figure was that Kristoff walked in after the conversation with Hans started, and left before it ended. And she was absolutely sick about it. In less than twenty-four hours, she went from feeling the best she's ever felt to the absolute worst. To add insult to injury, she still had the Gala to attend. Considering she humiliated the reason she even had this job in front of his cast mates, she had a lot of sucking up to do to assure she wouldn't be dismissed from the next show. Though she knew it wouldn't hurt to put a portfolio together so that she could look other places. Because what she had here was ruined.
She was putting in some simple pearl earrings when Elsa walked into her room. "Hey…"
"Hey," she replied, standing straight to smooth out the vintage-style, black lace dress she wore. It hit just above her knees. Her hair was pulled up in an intricate, braided up-do, courtesy of Elsa, and simple black heels graced her feet.
"You look stunning, Anna." She smiled softly.
"Yeah, well, it's not like I've got anyone to enjoy it, now have I?" Kristoff hadn't answered her texts since the day before. She had no idea if he'd show up at the gala or not. She promised Elsa she'd try to talk to him if he was present, but the fact that he wouldn't even send single word texts wasn't a good sign to Anna.
"Just have fun tonight. Promise me you'll try. Schmooze with the important people until you're blue in the face, and then you can come home. Okay?" Anna only nodded. Once Elsa left her alone once more, she took a coat off the back of her chair and lifted it to her face. She inhaled and exhaled with a sigh, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. She slipped into Kristoff's too-big coat, put on her gloves, and headed to the theatre.
—
It didn't take long for the distressed redhead to find herself sitting at the theatre lounge bar. Music filled the air as a man in a tux played the grand piano as people mingled. It was a great turnout, and at first, Anna was really excited. Surly they would raise some good money for the next show. Not that this theatre company was actually hurting for money. No, the moment Anna's morale crashed and burned was when she went to hang Krisoff's coat in the coat closet. An unmistakable ginger head was tangled with some blond chorus girl. She moved quickly from the closet backwards, tripping over her heels and running into a nearby cater-waiter with a tray of champagne flutes. One can only imagine how that turned out.
So here she was. Her ex of 8 hours was already banging some Cosette wannabe, Kristoff hated her guts, and she smelled strongly of champagne. Anna never drank. Maybe a couple of times, socially. So by the time she was on her third vodka-cranberry, she was more than just a little buzzed.
She was waiting on her fourth from a reluctant bartender, when she saw him. Her eyes blew up to the size of saucers. Dressed in a three piece tux, hair slicked back like some debonair James Bond, stood Kristoff. "Oh, fffffffantastic…" she slurred, sliding off her stool. "I'm done." He was talking to one of the prettier chorus girls, and she nearly lost all three drinks plus dinner as her brain plastered their faces on the tangled bodies in the coat closet. "Nope, nope. I'm gone. Leaving.." She slid Kristoff's coat on with a "You're never gettin' this back, suckerrrrr," and instead of walking through the front doors, she exited the lobby into the house of the theatre.
Kristoff forced a laugh at the boring chick beside him, and stopped abruptly when he caught something red stumbling to the house doors. That something looked absolutely stunning…in HIS coat. And that something was also clearly drunk. Walking into a pitch black theatre. He muttered a curse under his breath, rolling his eyes, and excused himself before following. The barricade was still on the stage from rehearsal earlier that day. Luckily, the backstage lights were on, some of it flooding onto the stage, so it wasn't completely dark. Anna had already made her way on top of the barricade, sitting on the topmost wooden keg, hanging upside down, one foot hooked haphazardly under the leg of a broken table, her other propped on a window shutter.
He wanted to ask what she was doing, but he stopped dead in his tracks when he was a few feet from the edge of the stage. Anna may have been short, but right now, she was all leg, her black lace dress bunched up around her upper thighs in her current position.
"Little people know when little people fight…" She did this little wiggle as she sang. "We may be easy pickings, but we got some BITE!" She flicked her free leg up on the last word, her heel flying off, nearly taking Kristoff's eye out as it fell into the audience. It woke him up at any rate, and he made his way on stage.
"Anna, what the hell are you doing?"
"I am NOT outside, am I?" she asked in sudden realization, tilting her head to the side, causing a few more red strands of hair falling from the top of her head. "I thought this bench seemed a bit wonky…"
Kristoff ran a hand down his face. "Jesus, Anna…" he muttered as he began to climb.
She took note of his presence and pulled herself up, rather ungracefully. Her hair was a mess, her dress skirts still hiked up, and missing a shoe. God, she was gorgeous. She pointed down at him, a pout forming on her lips. "No! No, you are NOT allowed to talk to me! I'm mad at you…" Kristoff only sighed, and as he got closer, she moved closer to the Gavroche's top platform. He winced when he heard a nice, long RIP.
"Anna, please sit still. This barricade was not built for safety." He saw her shake her head, and he took that as his cue to pick up the pace. He reached her just as she made it to the small square platform up top, and he picked her up easily before sitting on said platform, pulling the struggling redhead in his lap. She pushed against him, muttering 'let me go', and when he caught sight of her sudden tears, his heart split in two. "Anna, stop… Please, be still, just calm down. Talk to me…" He hugged her tight, secure until she stopped struggling, her little hand moving up to grip his jacket collar. He swallowed hard when he literally felt a sob roll through her tiny body.
"You're an idiot, Kristoff Bjorgman…" she mumbled into his chest.
"Oh yeah?" he asked softly, brushing her wild hair from her face. "Present your argument, please."
"This morning," Sob, "t-that…HE kissed ME! I pushed him away, Kris, something you CONVENIENTLY missed!" She sat up in his lap, one hand placed lightly on his shoulder, the other fiddling with his slicked back hair. "And I told him—you know what I told him?" The tears had stopped abruptly. She turned and pointed as she had that morning to the exact same chair he fell into. "I said, 'YOU do not..own me!" she slurred before shaking her head. Kristoff was grinning at her by now. "No, no, wait, let me start over!" she said, holding her hands up and shaking them. He let a little chuckle slip and she snapped her head to look at him, her deep blue eyes boring straight into his. "I punched him. Like… in the face." She turned back to the chair, several feet below them. "THEN, now this where I said what i said a minute ago, "YOU…do not own m-me! I ammm NOT your property! AndISureAsHellAintYourGirlfriend…!" she hissed the last one rather quick with sass.
She got quiet again and took hold of his jacket collar in both hands, leaning her forehead against his. He was so wrapped up in her now, it wasn't funny. She punched Hans. She actually clocked the guy in the mouth, and he found that ridiculously appealing. "For you…" she whispered. She sighed, vaguely aware of his hands moving across her back, inching her closer. "You moron… you stupid, tall, grumpy, beautiful, kind, gentle, gorgeous teddybear…"
Her eyes fluttered up to his, and that was it. He was done. He pulled her in the rest of the way, her legs to one side of his lap, and pressed his lips hard against hers. Her response was immediate, her hands moving to cup his face, tilting her head to the side to deepen the kiss. She tasted of cranberry and alcohol and Anna… just Anna. She gasped softly against his lips as he pulled away, head for that spot right under her ear, moving down to her neck, his tongue moving over her soft, silky skin. "Kristoff…" she breathed, and he groaned into her neck, sending a flutter deep into her abdomen. She pulled his face back to hers, initiating a second kiss, nibbling at his lower lip as his hand moved from her bare knee up her thigh. It was that second kiss, that taste of alcohol that reminded him how they got where they were in the first place.
"Anna…" he whispered into her lips. "Hey…" When her eyes finally fluttered open to look into his, he grinned. "You're not in the best shape for this right now, ya know?" he said, brushing his nose against hers.
She sighed and pouted. "Yeah… I know…" She looked back up at him. "Can we leave now?"
He smiled and leaned down to place one last, sweet kiss on her lips. "We can leave now," he chuckled.
"You're laughing at me."
He stood up with her, keeping one arm around her waist. "Yeah, I am." She stuck her tongue out at him as he moved a step lower. "Alright, up you go, Princess," he said, gesturing for her to hop a piggy back ride. "Let's get you home."
She didn't hesitate, wrapping her arms around his neck and laying her head on his shoulder. "Not home," she mumbled as Kristoff got them back on the stage. "Elsa…she'd…pissssssssssed. Your place." She nuzzled her nose into his neck, and he felt the heat surge through him.
He leaned down once in the house and grabbed his coat and her rogue shoe, letting out another sigh as he set her down. "Yeah, yeah, okay… I'll take you to my place," he said, kneeling down to put her shoe on. Anna smiled down at him, watching as he stood back up. He met her gaze and smiled lazily, wrapping his coat around her shoulders. "Let's go Feisty."
—
He honestly thought he would have to fight her to get a shower and at least change into a pair of his pajama pants and a t-shirt, but she seemed to be coming around ok. After a few struggles, he finally got her tucked into bed, all nice and clean. She'd appreciate that part in the morning. She immediately closed her eyes and snuggled into the covers as he leaned down to kiss her temple. "Goodnight, Anna."
Her eyes fluttered open, and damn it, there was that pout again. "Where are you going?"
"Uhh…" he stammered, face turning red. "Was gonna go sleep on the couch with Sven."
She shook her head before he even finished his sentence. "Nuh uh. Nope. That's not acceptable." She was having trouble keeping her eyes open. "Come on. Get in. Or I'll…I'll" she slurred.
He smirked, climbing under the covers with her, pulling her close. "Or you'll what?"
She snuggled up to him, his body like a personal heater, and she rested her head on his chest, her arms tucked in between her chest and his side. "Dunno," she yawned. "I'll think… of something…tom—" And it was then that Kristoff learned that his little princess snored like an ancient king.
