Anna's breakdown caused an early end to the day's travel. With the extra time, Kristoff told Gareth to do him a favor in hurried whispers, then took Anna to a secluded spot in the woods, far enough for her to have some privacy, but not far enough to be dangerous. There, he held her close as she cried. She cried for close to an hour as the day waned, while he stroked her hair and comforted her the best he could. Eventually, she sat up, breaking out of his embrace, and looked at him through raw, bloodshot eyes.
"Hey," Kristoff said gently. An expression that was half smile, half sob crossed Anna's face.
"Hey." Her voice was scratchy and almost inaudible.
"Are you okay now?" She snorted. "I meant-"
"I know what you meant," Anna sighed, wiping her eyes. Her nose was red, tear tracks stained her cheeks, her face was flushed, and her eyes were bloodshot, but despite all that, Kristoff thought- but couldn't be sure- that he saw a tiny glimmer of the light behind her eyes that used to be ever-present. She drew up her knees to her chest and buried her face in her arms. "I don't know."
"Hey," he said, leaning forward and putting his hands over hers. "I'm here, Anna. I wasn't there for you when you needed me most… but I'm here now, if you want me."
She raised her head. "You weren't there… because I left you behind."
"You left me behind because I lied to you," Kristoff countered. "I never should have. I regret it every day."
Anna was silent, then she whispered, "But I never should have left you."
"You had just lost your kingdom, Anna. We all had. I don't think one of us doesn't regret that night. So much would be different if we had stuck together, as we should have. But we didn't."
"Yes, because of me," Anna insisted.
"Anna, stop," Kristoff said, determined to put a stop to this self-defeating spiral. "Even if that were true, which it isn't, it doesn't matter. The past two years have been the worst of my life, by a huge margin. I'm willing to bet it's the same for you?" She nodded at him, her watery eyes seeming twice as large as normal. "I can tell you with certainty that the same goes for Elsa, and Heins. But none of that matters. Through some magic I don't understand, we're all together again. I love you, more than life itself. I love Elsa. I love Heins. You're all my family. That's all that matters. We can sit here pointing fingers until the world ends, and nothing ever changes. Or we can find these spirits, kill that son of a bitch, and end this fucking nightmare once and for all."
Anna stared at him, unmoving. She sat there, just looking at him, for so long that Kristoff wondered if she'd somehow fallen asleep with her eyes open. Then, without warning or preamble, she launched herself at him. He fell backwards onto the ground, then she was on top of him, their lips meeting for the first time in two years. He ran his hands through her hair, enjoying not only the familiarity of it but the exciting newness of her shoulder-length locks, as her hands wrapped around the back of his neck and around his chest.
"I love you," she whispered when they broke apart, their foreheads touching. "And I've missed you so much." A mischievous grin spread across her face, and her hand crept lower.