Blowing her bangs out of her eyes, Anna cast a sheepish grin towards her companion, whose brown locks were dusted white with snow. "Hey, I got us here eventually."
"Eventually,"
"I mean, you're the one who chose to listen to me." She quipped, sticking her tongue out at him. "If you think about it, this is really on you."
Jack nodded, half-rolling his eyes as he pulled off his gloves and pulled open the door. A wave of warmth washed over them as they stepped inside the cafe, stomping the grey slush from their boots on the worn grey welcome mat. There was a crackle of static as Anna pulled her wool hat from her head and shook the snowflakes from her twin braids. Stuffing her hat and mittens into the sleeve of her coat, she hung it on a hook and together they headed to the counter.
Accepting their offered driver's licenses, the cashier pushed a pair of waivers across the marble countertop towards them, then vanished into the back to get them each a pair of shoes.
Barely even skim-reading the text, they each scribbled their signatures on the line.
Leaning on the counter as they waited for the shop assistant to return, Anna glanced around the business, taking in the dark stained wood tables and dim lighting on the cafe side and the large, multi-coloured climbing wall on the other, the studio's two halves divided by a large marble counter in the middle that served caffeinated beverages and loaned indoor rock climbing equipment.
Catching sight of a flash of bright orange from the gym side, Anna elbowed Jack and pointed to where their two friends waited, chalking up their hands as they prepared for another attempt at the wall.
As Hiccup stepped onto the spongey foam floor, his prosthetic slipped on the vinyl and he reached out wildly as he tried to maintain his balance. Beside him, Merida took his elbow and steadied him almost instinctively.
Her brows knitting together as she watched, Anna didn't even notice the cashier return until they dropped a pair of shoes onto the marble counter next to her. With a start, Anna turned back to the counter and found Jack looking quizzically at her, a pair of shoes already in hand.
"Earth to Anna," Jack teased, raising an eyebrow at her as he gestured towards the locker room. "You coming?"
Grinning back at him, she grabbed her own loaner shoes from the counter and together they made their way into the back of the hybrid gym-cafe.
Flicking her braids over her shoulders, Anna lowered herself onto the bench next to Jack and pulled on her shoes.
"Hey Jack?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think Merida and Hiccup would make a good couple?"
"I dunno." Jack said, shrugging. "Sure, I guess?"
"I mean, think about it," Anna pressed on. "Hiccup hasn't dated anyone since Astrid, and we know he likes girls with strong personalities. And Merida's definitely got a strong personality."
Jack snorted, grinning. "That's a nice way to put it,"
Her blue eyes widened as it dawned on her. "We should set them up."
"Yeah, because that would go over really well," Jack said sarcastically. "You've met Merida, right?"
"I'm being serious, Jack,"
"So am I. I'm pretty sure that Mer would kill both of us if she found out."
"I just think they'd make each other really happy."
"And I think it'd make me really happy to not be murdered in my sleep by the world's angriest redhead."
"You're no fun,"
"Hey, you take that back! I am so fun! I am like the most fun person in our friendgroup – pretty sure that makes me, like, the guardian of fun, the epitome of fun!"
"Whatever you say," Anna said, pouting melodramatically.
"C'mon, I have enough to do just handling my own nonexistent love life, I don't need – more importantly, I don't want – the responsibility of someone else's, too." Jack pleaded, but Anna just shrugged apathetically. "Anna..."
"Okay, Jack,"
Jack threw his head back and groaned. "Fiiiiiiine. But for the record, I think this is a terrible idea."
Her playful pout forgotten in an instant, Anna beamed and clapped her hands together excitedly. "What should we call it?"
"Operation Merida Is Actually Going To Murder Us?"
"Too wordy," Anna said, shaking her head. "Operation... Merida and Hiccup Are Soulmates? No... Mmm-Merry... Oh, I know! Operation Mericcup!"
And as they made their way across the gym to join their friends at the climbing wall, Jack ran a hand through his messy brown hair. "I'm definitely going to regret this."
Pushing open the double doors, Anna stepped into the foyer and dropped five dollars into the large donation jar that was sitting on the desk. One of the two gatekeepers leaned forward and stamped her hand, then gestured for her to continue on down the hallway. Anna stepped to the side, pulling off her coat and hanging it on one of the hooks on the wall as her friends followed her lead, soon joining her with freshly stamped hands.
"I'm so excited!" Anna said, her low heels clicking against the tiled floor as she practically skipped towards the end of the hallway.
"Tha' makes one o' us," Merida said, halfheartedly rolling her eyes.
Rapunzel shot the redhead a look before grinning at Anna. "This was a great idea, Anna,"
Anna nodded enthusiastically, her braids bouncing as she cast a mischievous grin in Jack's direction before pushing open the door and stepping into the dance class to take her place among the large circle of dancers, frantically gesturing to her friends to do the same.
It had taken a lot of convincing to get Merida and Hiccup to show up tonight, but she was certain it was the perfect plan. The only factor she hadn't really accounted for was Rapunzel joining them – although in retrospect, this sort of thing was exactly the sort of thing Rapunzel would like to do. And it was too late to get her in on things now – she was standing in between Merida and Hiccup, so she couldn't well explain it to her now, Merida and Hiccup would get suspicious. If they didn't hear her outright.
Frowning, Anna was trying to think of a plausible excuse for why Merida and Hiccup should be dance partners when the universe fixed the situation for her.
Their dance teacher's date had twisted her ankle, and he was in need of a new dance partner for the evening – so naturally Anna grabbed Rapunzel and volunteered her before the blonde could even raise her own hand - although she had seemed about to volunteer herself.
Casting a bewildered and slightly suspicious glance at her friend, Rapunzel obliged and joined her new dance partner at the centre of the room to assist with the demonstration.
Anna grinned. Swing dancing was the perfect plan.
Dancing was practically the most romantic activity in existence after all, and after spending the whole evening hand-in-hand, looking into one another's eyes as they swayed in time to the music – Anna was certain that there was no way that Merida and Hiccup could ignore the sparks between them after that.
When the call came for all the dancers to partner up, Anna grabbed Jack by the arm and claimed his as her partner before the instructor had even finished speaking.
"Uh, hi there," Jack said, his cheeks flushing pink as he regarded the auburn haired girl clinging to his arm.
"Now they'll have to be partners!" Anna whispered to him, and her partner glanced towards their friends as the realization dawned on him.
"Oooh."
Hiccup stepped forward and awkwardly held out his hand to the redhead, who threw back her head and groaned playfully but accepted his offer nonetheless.
"It's working!" Anna whispered excitedly to Jack, tugging on his sweater sleeve and shaking his arm slightly.
"Erm..." Jack said, his face still flushed slightly as he held out a hand to her. "Did you want to dance?"
"Oh! Right. We should probably do that." Anna said, eyes widening as she released his sweater and, grinning sheepishly, smoothed the fist-sized bunches from his sleeve.
And as their instructor began to lead them through the basic steps of a swing dance, Anna grinned conspiratorially at Jack, certain that her plan was completely infallible as she watched her friends stumble through the dance together.
Until, very suddenly, it wasn't.
"Alright folks, since swing is a social dance, let's change partners!"
And Anna very nearly cursed aloud.
Anna could barely contain herself as they filed down the stairs to their seats, and it took everything to not just start dancing in celebration of her pure genius. Sure, their matchmaking plan had gotten off to a slightly rocky start, but that was to be expected. Merida was, after all, one of the most difficult people she knew.
But Anna was certain she had finally beat this challenge.
She'd cracked the case. Rigged the draw. Matchmade the match-ees.
Sure, she was already out more than a hundred dollars, but it would be worth it.
She was sure of it.
"A think this one's us," She heard Merida say as the redhead gestured towards one of the rows.
Next to her, Hiccup nodded as he checked the tickets, and they filed into the row to take their seats.
Grinning, Anna pulled down the aisle-armrest and stood bolt upright.
"YOU CAN'T SIT THERE!"
"What?" Merida asked incredulously. "Why?"
"Because-" Anna gestured desperately. "Because-"
Her face contorted as she frantically tried to come up with an excuse, but the only thing her brain could come up with was that awful noise a car makes when the engine won't turn over, which felt annoyingly apt for the situation.
"BECAUSE IT'S MY LUCKY SEAT." She practically shouted, prompting the folks in the next row to glance back in alarm. Crossing her arms, she struck a casual pose and blew her bangs out of her eyes. "Yep. It's my lucky seat. You know, because it's my favourite player's number. L26-H-23. Can't wait to see them play today. Bet they'll hit all the strikes and score all the scorepoints."
Merida and Hiccup exchanged a bewildered look, before Merida shrugged, half-rolling her eyes as she surrendered her seat.
Anna hesitated, biting her lip.
The redhead's brows knit together. "What now?"
"So here's the thing. It's only lucky if Jack is sitting on my left."
"'S that so?" Merida asked.
"Yep. Jack's like my good luck charm. For the team." Anna nudged Jack as subtly as she could, and he bolted out of his seat.
Merida rolled her eyes again, but she didn't protest any further.
"I didn't realize you were such a big sports fan, Anna," Hiccup said as he settled into his new seat.
"Oh you know. I just love the whole... sports... thing." Anna shrugged nonchalantly. "I mean, who doesn't love men in uniform. Am I right?"
Merida snorted. "Oh, aye."
And as soon as she thought Merida and Hiccup's attention was elsewhere, she nudged Jack and winked covertly at him.
Now everything was perfect. Her stars were aligned. The tickets were paid for, their butts were now in the correct seats and the KissCam operator had been sufficiently bribed.
Today was the day.
Even if all of her other plans had failed so far, she remained undeterred. This time she was more certain than she'd ever been: the KissCam could not possibly fail.
What she had not accounted for was how impossibly looooooong sports games were. Or how close to the canteen they seemed to be seated – because she could smell every order of mouthwateringly greasy and delicious junk food like it was right next to her. It wasn't long before she was absolutely starving, and when they announced the halftime break, she was so relieved she could have cried.
She darted to her feet. "You stay here. I'll get food!"
And without another word, she sprinted away up the stairs towards her salvation – or in this case, onion rings.
It wasn't until she was standing in the lineup at the snack counter that it even occurred to her that halftime was usually when they did the KissCam.
So naturally, time seemed to slow down the instant she made that realization.
And after taking what felt like hours to prepare her order, she snatched it from the counter and hurried back into the stadium.
Stray popcorn and tortilla chips crunched under her magenta converse, entirely unnoticed as Anna thundered down the bleachers, the contents of her soft drink splashing violently against the lid with each step as she hurried back to her seat, just as the halftime announcer started up the KissCam.
Anna nearly squealed with excitement.
Everything happened so quickly. One minute she was thundering past the little old man with the cane, and then the next thing she knew, her drink and her onion rings were airborne and somehow her feet seemed to be everywhere except where they ought to be.
Her soft drink exploded across the bleachers two rows down, spraying everyone in the vicinity with pop before onion rings began raining down on them. Merida cursed with surprise as several landed in her lap.
"Oof!"
Something soft – or at least, softer than the seat of a bleacher – broke her fall.
"I'm ok!" And then, half a heartbeat later as she realized what, or rather who, she'd landed. "OhmygoshJackI'msososorry-"
"I'm good," Jack said, lifting a hand as she scrambled to her feet. "Who needs - to breathe - anyway?"
Jack propped himself up onto his elbows as Hiccup and Merida appeared in the next row up, both on their feet and ready to give Jack a hand up as he struggled to sit, more than a little winded by how hard he'd hit the empty seats in the next row.
As Anna dusted her hands on her jeans, she realized that the announcer – and what sounded like half the stadium – were laughing, and she turned to the massive four-sided video console in the middle of stadium, where she found her own image staring back at her from the massive screen, wide-eyed and wearing half of her drink.
"Wow, folks. I can't believe we caught that on camera!" The announcer wheezed through laughter. "What a wipeout! Aww man that's definitely gonna leave a mark!"
A reusable travel mug in the cupholder and Rapunzel's road trip playlist playing through the car's bluetooth, Anna leaned on the windowsill, her forehead cold and her breath fogging up the glass as snow-dusted evergreens flashed past. The first few hours of their holiday road trip had been a blast, but eventually they'd grown bored of singing holiday carols and the conversation had eventually died down too. In the passenger seat, Hiccup had pulled out a book. Soon after, Rapunzel had produced what looked like half a sweater from the depths of her purse and seemed determined to finish it, which soon to put Jack to sleep. And Anna had managed to hit her data cap for the month before they'd even left the city, so she was bored.
She'd taken to entertaining herself by watching out the window, watching clouds and trees and eventually, highway signs.
North Pole Mistletoe Farm, next exit.
Blinking sleepily, Anna stared vaguely at the decorative red sign as they approached, her brain not even processing the words until they were nearly on top of it.
A mistletoe farm?
She sat bolt upright. Beside her, Jack snorted as he awoke with a start.
"I have to go to the washroom!"
From the front seat, Merida groaned. "We stopped twenty minutes ago."
"I know," Anna grinned back at her, holding up her empty travel mug so Merida could see it. "That's where I got my hot cocoa."
The redhead rolled her eyes in the rearview mirror.
"There's a rest stop at the next exit."
"Honest ta god, yer bladder must be the size of a pea. Are ye sure ye can't wait?"
"Well, it's your car." Anna shrugged. "At least your seats are waterproof."
"Don't ye dare," Merida growled. "A swear, A'll throw ye out of the car and leave ye on the side of the road."
Anna smiled innocently as the redhead glared at her in the rearview mirror.
Merida didn't complain further and pulled off the highway at the next exit, Anna reciting the directions from every North Pole Mistletoe Farm sign she saw, and glancing down at her phone intermittently as though she was consulting a map.
"Thought ye said this place was 'just off the highway'?" Merida asked, shooting a look back at her friend.
"It is!"
"We must have very different definitions of the phrase 'just off the highway'."
"I mean, who's to say just how long or short a 'just' is?"
Merida snorted. "Yer spendin' too much time with Jack."
Gravel and packed snow crunched under the tires as they drove past the final North Pole Mistletoe Farm sign and at Anna's instruction, pulled off the back road and into an empty parking lot. As Merida shifted the car into park, she leaned forward, glancing around.
"Is this place even open?" Hiccup asked, sliding his bookmark into his page and closing the book.
"Rest stop, huh?" Merida asked. "What kind of rest stop even is this?"
"The normal holiday kind." Anna said, shrugging as she unclipped her seatbelt and practically threw herself out of the car before Merida had a chance to change her mind and drive away.
A fresh layer of snow crunched under her boots as she sprinted across the parking lot towards a cozy-looking wooden cottage with a wooden sign hanging over the door that named it as Wandering Oaken's Trading Post and Gift Shop.
"Five tickets, please!"
Anna slapped forty dollars onto the counter, and the shopkeeper punched it into the register.
All she had to do was get Merida and Hiccup under the mistletoe – then they'd have to kiss. And then sparks would fly and they'd finally realize how perfectly they fit together.
Suddenly, the bell jingled and she turned to see her friends filing into the shop behind her. Panicking slightly, she leaned towards the shopkeeper, whispering. "Oh, and you have a bathroom here, right?"
The shopkeeper nodded and pulled a brochure from a holder on the counter, flipped to a map of the farm and pointed to a small square labelled 'restrooms'. Grinning, Anna grabbed the brochure and the tickets and headed towards her friends.
"So it looks like the restrooms are for paying customers only, so I had to buy a ticket, so I just figured I'd get one for everyone."
And with that, she pushed open the door and headed towards the entrance.
"Thanks Anna, that was really kind of you." Rapunzel said, before glancing at Merida and Hiccup anxiously. "Do you think we'll still make it by four? Mother will be furious if I'm late."
"Don't worry, Punz." Hiccup laid a hand on her shoulder. "If anyone's confident at speeding in the snow, it's Mer."
"Hey! Yer one ta talk, Mono-boot."
Hiccup dramatically put a hand over his heart, trying to look affronted. "How could you bring up such a painful memory?"
Merida gave him a sympathetic pout. "Awww, wee lamb,"
He scrunched up his face and stuck his tongue out at her.
As the group came upon a fork in the path, Anna looked up at a tall wooden directional post, and followed the 'Mistletoe Farm' arrow to the right. The pathway soon turned down a narrow laneway, a pair of split-rail cedar fences on either side of the trail, the only interruption between two large fields of evergreen trees. Somehow, the farm had managed to capture exactly the scenery she imagined when she heard the song Winter Wonderland.
It was the perfect precursor for a romantic kiss under the mistletoe.
"Are ye sure this is the right way to the restrooms?"
"Yeah, I don't see any other buildings – maybe we head back to the lodge?" Hiccup suggested.
Anna's heart skipped a beat. She'd forgotten her entire pretense for stopping here.
Before she could answer, Jack came to her rescue. "This must be the scenic route."
"Yeah! The scenic route." Anna nodded, falling into step beside Jack and mouthing the words 'thank you' at him.
As the rows of evergreens opened up into a massive open paddock, Anna spotted an opening in the fence with a sign indicating 'mistletoe ahead'. Nudging Jack with her elbow, she gestured at the sign and Jack nodded as her plan dawned on him.
Grinning, he quirked an eyebrow at her before reaching down to scoop up a handful of snow, shaping it into a snowball, then tossed it towards their friends.
It hit Merida square between the shoulder blades.
Merida froze in place for half a second, before turning in what seemed like slow motion.
But by the time she turned to face them, Anna had grabbed a handful of snow and made a snowball of her own, which she threw directly at the back of Hiccup's head.
All hell broke loose.
Jack and Anna darted into the mistletoe field, frantically trying to snatch up handfuls of snow as they fled from their friends, who were eager to enact snowy vengeance on them. Merida shouted curses as she ran, every ounce of speed and stamina she'd earned playing on the university soccer team on full display as she sprinted through the snow after them. Rapunzel was close behind, her honey and lavender voice warm enough to melt the snow as she pelted the ground after them with snowballs, and Hiccup wasn't far behind, nimble in spite of his prosthetic.
Anna darted behind a tree just in time.
THUD!
Merida's aim was true and her range was impressive. Her snowball hit Jack square in the chest. It was enough to off-balance him, and he went down, laughing as he rolled in the snow. He hadn't even finished rolling before he was back on his feet, a fresh snowball already in hand.
It wasn't long before all five of them were collapsed in the middle of the field, out of breath and covered in snow.
Anna was splayed out like a snow angel and contemplating remaining as such for the rest of the winter, perhaps longer, when she noticed that they were laying amongst the mistletoe orchard.
And as Merida held out a hand to help Hiccup to his feet, Anna leaped to hers.
"NOW KISS!"
"What?" Merida asked, staring at Anna.
"Mistletoe!" Anna said, pointing to the bushel of green leaves with white berries on the tree above them. "You have to kiss, it's holiday law!"
Merida turned to Hiccup, eyes wide and brow furrowed. And then in an instant, her expression melted into a smile and she shrugged. "Alright, c'mere babe,"
Merida stepped forward, wrapped her arms around Hiccup's shoulders and planted her lips on his.
Anna could not contain her joy. Pumping her fists victoriously, she bounced from one foot to the other, before practically leaping over to Jack to give him a high-five. "WE DID IT!"
Jack tilted his head as though admitting that she'd been right about everything.
Merida cleared her throat.
There was a mischievous glint in her blue eyes, as she exchanged a look with Hiccup and Rapunzel, then gestured towards them.
"Now it's yer turn."
Anna looked up and her heart skipped a beat.
Mistletoe.
Her eyes wide, she met Jack's gaze and found his face had already flushed a deep pink.
Heart pounding, she stepped forward just as Jack did, and they bumped into one another. Anna put her hands out, on Jack's arms, but removed them not even half a second later, laughing awkwardly.
"Sorry," they said in unison. "Sorry."
Nearby, Merida scoffed. "JUST KISS ALREADY!"
Taking a deep breath, Anna stood on her toes and pressed her lips against Jack's.
They were chapped but warm, and somehow his lips still tasted like the peppermint hot cocoa he'd been drinking earlier. And as she wove her arms around his neck, he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer as they breathed in sync, the world falling away around them.
When they finally pulled away from one another, Anna found the corners of her mouth quirking upwards involuntarily, and she bit her lip, until she realized that Jack was grinning too, and gave into her own smile.
Nearby, Merida was standing with a hand on her hip, looking smug. "Alrigh', can we go now?"