Another book – another look (at her)
A Kristanna fanfic Modern AU setting (one shot)
Words counting: 3410
Mon 10th May, 5 pm
Sven had suggested he should get himself some informative illustrated books from the library. Why not. It´s less expensive borrowing then buying lots of books and having them occupying the shelf´s space.
Kristoff wasn´t much of a reader but getting some inspirational documentation would not harm.
After going through the registration procedure at the reception desk, he made his way up to the 2nd floor, and trough to the outdoor and travel section. The shelfs were overwhelmingly full of books and magazines of all sorts. From photography illustrations only, up to scientific fact-based boulders of books, language lessons, travel reports of all sorts. Goodness how was one supposed to find anything useful in short time. Kristoff had been informed about the possibility of using the online search station. But he was still sort of old school on finding stuff by strolling the rows or then preferably ask someone of the service staff for help. It felt still rather personal.
"May I help you?"
Kristoff turned to look at some auburn-haired woman, slender in figure and with a gentle smile on her face. She must have had the bluest eyes he had ever seen, underlined by a cute set of freckles. He then realised she must be working here, a nametag at her blouse said "Anna".
"Well… may be, thanks. I was looking for some information about mountaineering.
"Ah, I see. Do you have a particular place in mind?"
"Ehm… mountains."
"Yes, of course. What I meant was, like, anywhere specifically? Like the Rockies, Alaska, or maybe some other continent?"
Stupid! Where actually? …
"Sorry. Of course… the Rockies sound great."
Anna would not show any annoyance but help with finding some examples. She seemed pretty skilled in searching within the shelf and soon pulled out up to three options for Kristoff to have a look at.
"You may just as well have a seat here, help yourself with some coffee or another drink and look the books through. Or you borrow the books and bring them back within the scheduled time. It´s up to you. Anyway, if you have another question, don´t hesitate to contact me. I´ll be at the counter-desk right over there."
Anna smiled and then went over to the desk, that was situated just across the section he stood. Kristoff wondered about that hair colour. Depending on the light that shone through the window, her hair would show different shades of red.
He must have stood for a while, like some statue glued to the ground. After a moment, Anna looked up from her work and crooked her head, smiling. She motioned her hand in a sign as for him to make use of those comfy seats in front of him, assuring the gesture with a nod of her head.
Kristoff decided to leave as fast as possible, as not to make any more a fool of himself. He crossed the room and then stood in front of Anna´s desk to check out the books immediately.
"Good choice," she chirped, "are you planning a mountain tour yourself?"
"Um, yes. With a friend of mine. We always wanted to do something like that. "
Anna stamped the last book to complete the filing and nodded in response. "Sounds good. Then I wish you a pleasant study. Please bring it back within a week, okay?"
Mon 17th May, 5 pm
Anna was nearly done with her afternoon shift, when that tall blond man came up the stairs and, on the landing, turned to come to her desk. For some moment Anna wondered why she would be so flustered about this. There were so many visitors coming and going, and she was a professional librarian. There was no difference from one to another…
"Hi Anna. I bring back the books as demanded." Kristoff laid down the items on her desk.
"Hi there, Mr. Bjorgman. Thank you. I hope you got the information you were looking for and enjoyed the literature?"
"Thank you. Yes, it was… quite interesting. But then, well, I thought of getting some more to look at. After all, once you have such a lavish bunch to offer here, it would be a shame not to make use of it."
"Oh, you´re so right. Please feel free to look around, Mr. Bjorgman."
"It´s Kristoff." He shrugged with a little smirk.
"All right, Kristoff. Still… Welcome and enjoy your stay. "Anna smiled and pulled a strand of hair behind her ear. The handsome visitor turned on his heels and made his way to the travel department.
Stop staring... Come on, hundreds of visitors pass your desk every day ... Why getting all flippy because of this one?
Anna shook her head, scolding herself and strolled towards the shelfs where she was supposed to sort back some books. Out of the corner of her eyes she noticed the tall blond to run his fingers along the books in front of him. There was an occasional deep breath, followed by a sigh. Maybe he needed help after all? Surely it would do no harm to ask.
"It´s terrible if there is so much to choose from, isn´t it?" Anna had leisurely walked up and held her hands in front of her chest, fingers intwined.
"Absolutely!" Kristoff smirked and shrugged. "You see, the Rockies are great. Still, we are wondering of maybe even travel to Europe. The Alps must be fascinating, too. Would you have anything about this area?" Surely, she must think him a complete idiot… But then, she was the librarian and here to help lost idiots such as him…
Anna blinked, thought for a moment, then blinked again and turned around to the shelf right behind them.
"This would be the European section". She ran a finger across the books for travelling information, countries of northern Europe, and the Alps which were part of France, Switzerland, and Italy.
"I hope, you find what you´re looking for. Again, if you need any further assistance… you know, don´t hesitate to contact me." Anna had laid a tender hand just vaguely on Kristoff´s arm, smiled and hurried back to her desk.
This time, Kristoff picked some books to sit down in the sitting area and started to flip through the pages. For some reason it felt nice, sitting here, and having the privilege of being helped so kindly. And for some other obscure reason, his left arm felt so warm.
And later that evening and the evenings to come, when he sat down on his sofa to go through the pages again, he felt like it was Anna that read the illustrations in his mind. Like she was the one telling the stories of those mountaineering guys, retelling their experiences.
It was weird in a way. But a good weird.
He felt like a lost idiot…
Mon 24th May, 5 pm
He nearly hoped she wouldn´t be there. That was stupid. He was a grown man and bringing back some books – and to get some others. Another book, another look (at her) … Stop that, you´re no primitive stalker…
Anna was there, talking to some visitor. Kristoff made his way to the desk and waited. When Anna spotted him, she waved with a friendly smile and motioned she wouldn´t be long. The other man still asked questions. She answered politely, occasionally glancing over into his direction. Kristoff didn´t like the way the other one talked to her. But then, of course she had to be of assistance… At some point, Anna nodded to her conversation partner and turned to come back to her helpdesk. She tilted her head and shrugged apologetically.
"I´m so sorry, but today is crazy. I have hardly done any of the stuff I was supposed to do. But anyway, I shouldn´t be bothering you with my chaotic time."
Please bother me anytime… You look so lovely with your glowing cheeks when you´re rushed …
"I´m sorry to hear that. And then here I am bothering you, too. I just hand in the books and make my way over to my favourite place. Luckily, I know the way."
"Oh. I´m sorry, that´s not how I meant it. You don´t bother me at all. Honestly." Anna pulled up her shoulders and smiled at him, tugging some hair behind her ears.
"So, did you get along well with this bunch you borrowed? What shall it be this time?"
"Thanks, yes. Well… I thought, you know, the Alps are interesting… Still, some other part of the world might be horizon widening just as well. What you think?"
Anna´s eyes widened, and she gasped with excitement. Putting her hands to her chest, she exclaimed, "You´re so right! There´s always room for more knowledge and interests. Did you have a specific place in mind?"
"Would you have anything about the Himalayas?"
Thu 28th May, 4 pm
Checking the labels, Anna hesitated and then explained, "Oh, but you´re early this time. You still have a few days left. Was it not the right thing to look at?"
Kristoff glared at her. How considerate and attentive she was!
"No. Not really. I figure the Himalayas are still too far, too high, too expensive to travel to…. "
"Oh, I see. Well, those are important facts to consider. Anything you have in mind that might suit you better?" Anna reordered the books to a neat pile and trailed her fingertips atop of them.
Such a delicate movement… He would choose another book – just to get another look… at her…
Kristoff ran a hand through his hair, thinking of what he wanted to ask. Concentrate man! She´s busy and doesn´t have time just for you… Unfortunately…
"Well, since Sven – my friend – and I always wanted to see the land of our ancestors, I wondered if you have information about Norway, northern Europe, as well.
"Oh! You´re from Norway? That´s awesome. Do you know that there´s a Disney movie – a famous one, you know – that takes place in Norway? Well, actually it´s called some other name, but it´s meant to be there…"
Kristoff stared in disbelief. She knew about Norway!
Anna stopped her chatting and gnawed on her lips. "I´m sorry. You want to look up some information and I strangle you with Disney cheese… Will you find it? It´s near the books about the Alps."
Yes, he would. And no, she was not strangling him. Kristoff assured her it was nice that she knew about Norway in such a glamorous way. A bright smile with sparkling eyes was his reward.
When Kristoff had sorted the books of his interest, he made his way back to Anna. She had just finished with the other visitor and there were not many people around for the moment. Kristoff placed his books on the desk and Anna started to go through them to check the labels for the checkout. She commented some title about it´s interesting background. And then, another one she had looked at beforehand herself.
"How come you know so much about books? I mean, anyone can ask you anything and off you hop to the right shelf to pick out the suitable stuff. It´s pretty impressive, you know."
"Well thank you for complimenting me that way. But you know, well, this is my job, that´s what I´m trained best." She continued with the labelling, though sort of slower than usually. Then, she looked up and tilted her head and asked with earnest interest. "What are you doing for a living?"
"Oh. I´m a physicist."
Anna gnawed on her lips and shrugged slightly, gesturing her unknowing about physics.
"Well, I calculate therapy plans for cancer patients who need radiation treatment."
Anna´s eyes widened, and she inhaled sharply. "Oh, that sounds really complicated. You must be so smart. And isn´t that sad to see the people with such a terrible disease?"
Kristoff chuckled quietly. "Thank you. I´m not that smart, the computer does the hard work. And I don´t see the patients. I just do the calculating. I´m the background man. That´s safe, from the emotional aspect, you know."
"Still. That sounds interesting. Though, good for the patients that you´re doing this. Imagine we would have to swap work."
They looked at each other for a brief instant, and then smiled, understanding.
Mon 1th June, 4 pm
Kristoff would take the stairs up to the 2nd level, once more. For some reason, even if Anna wouldn´t be there, it felt like meeting her by just hanging around that "mountain section". So, when Kristoff arrived at the first landing, he was just about to turn for the next stair flight, when he noticed a familiar voice. He turned his head to spot Anna, crouching next to a little girl before some kids´ books. Of course, this was the kids´ department. There were numerous kids sitting in little sofas and looking at some books or were read a story by their mothers or any other adults.
He took the chance and watched for a while, observing Anna exchanging some lively and most important facts with the girl about unicorns and fairy tales, before she started crawling along the floor to get to the shelf of focused interest. She then picked out some books, that she would show to the girl. The little one nodded vividly and excitingly shrieked up to her mother, who stood just behind.
Anna showed them to the desk. And when Kristoff watched her take the girl by the hand, a fluffy feeling spread beneath his chest. She was so kind-hearted!
By the time Anna returned to the shelf to reorder the dishevelled books, she noticed a tall blond man regarding the books in front of him with a most concentrated expression. An amused smile crossed her lips and for some reason, she felt a tiny swoosh within her belly, just for a jiffy.
How sweet he looked right on this spot. But what was he doing down here at this section?
"Hi Kristoff. May I help you?" Anna asked with a smile within her voice.
Kristoff turned to glance at her with a smirk and shrugged. Luckily, this fantastic idea had popped into his mind, and he would not even have to lie to her.
"Oh, hello Anna. As a matter of fact, yes, that be great. My sister will be visiting and she´ll bring her daughter, too. I thought that I could just as well borrow some nice book for her. You know, kids and adult talks, that´s boring. And I don´t have anything for kids at home. So, some nice book for her. You know. Some nice pictures to look at and stuff…"
"Ah, of course, that´s a fantastic idea! So, how old is she then?"
"Ehm…." Oops, how old was Emily? Ah, he remembered! "She´s 10!"
Anna´s eyes widened for a blink of a moment, and she gnawed on her lips as not to giggle. Her eyes were smiling, though. She laid a soft hand to his arm and with the most professional voice she could manage, she explained.
"Well. This is the toddlers 'section. I don´t think that´s of great interest for a 10-year-old. Would you like to follow me, I think I might just have the thing for you?"
She beckoned him with a friendly gesture, turned and moved gracefully to the other end of the shelf´s line. Kristoff rolled his eyes and pulled an embarrassed face but followed right on her heels.
Anna would stop at some place where they held some cute girls´ books with teenage detective stories, some school adventure fiction and family fun stories. Kristoff would take anything from her advice, just as not to make another fool of himself.
"Would you need anything else? The Arctic, maybe?" Anna beamed up at the man, eager to be of further help, all professionally focused, of course…
Kristoff laughed and shook his head. "No, thank you. I think this is enough for today."
Wedd 3rd June, 5 pm
"Excuse me. Is Anna not here? "
The blond woman lifted her head. She stood, where he would normally find Anna. Kristoff felt disappointment rising within him. He scolded himself for the whole idea of his visit in the first place.
"Hi, I'm Julie, Anna's colleague. On Wednesdays, Anna is busy down at the archive. Can I help you? " Kristoff felt sort of caught in the trap. This was a public place and Anna was by far not the only librarian in the house ... Should he dare to ask for her especially? But then, she was the one who was best informed about his tendencies ... He would give it a try. Running a hand along at the back of his neck while he explained to Julie.
"Well, I really don´t mean to be offending… It´s just that Anna has been an awful good help the last few weeks and she knows best what I was looking for…" So, before he could say anything else, Julie had picked the phone and pushed one button to do an apparent internal call, all the way smiling. After a moment, somebody must have answered, because the woman suddenly looked up at him, nodded and then explained, "Hi Anna, there´s a visitor asking for you explicitly… Hang on!" Julie leaned a bit forward now and required politely after his name. "It´s Kristoff… Hm, yes, thank you."
Julie put down the phone and then smiled up to Kristoff, "Anna will be up in a minute. Would you like to wait here?"
He would and laid the books onto the desk already. Luckily, Anna´s colleague had some work to do on the other side of the room. Good, he would feel less observed that way. And while waiting, he could just as well have an interested look at the advertisements of upcoming events in the house at the wall behind the desk.
"Would you be interested in joining something of these?"
Kristoff had not heard her approaching and the warmth that brought her voice to his chest didn´t fail to intrigue him time and again.
"Uh… looks interesting indeed. May be… why not?" Will you be there, too…?
"Yes, mostly, but not always." Anna had stepped a bit closer and tugged a hair strand behind her ear.
"And how was your visit? I mean not your visit. Your sister´s visit? And especially how did your niece like your efforts with the books?" Anna smiled and winked when mentioning the girl.
Kristoff pulled a face and shrugged. "The visit was nice, you know, how such visits work. But! Emily did like one story especially. I think it was the detective one. So, thank you for your help again and your good taste for girls' interests. And I´ve brought them back, you know." Kristoff pointed to the pile on the desk.
"You´re very welcome. But you know Julie could have taken them back just as well. No need that I have to do this explicitly."
Again, Kristoff ran a hand along at the back of his neck and shrugged. "I know… It´s just… Well, since you were here all the time… I kind of preferred to ask for you. Sorry, if that´s a bother to you."
Anna´s eyes widened, and she gasped with her hands clasping to her chest. "Oh no! This is no bother at all. Really no. I´m just kind of flattered that I got such a call. So, I would wonder why you do this, you know?"
Kristoff took a deep breath, his brown eyes pleading at her, and then he just blurted it out.
"Can I take you out for dinner?"
Now, Anna´s eyes would not only widen but sparkle with joy. She smiled broadly, while her chest began to heave with emotion, and she laid a hand to his arm. This time, more firmly and a slight moment longer than ever before.
"Oh Kristoff! I feared you´d never ask."
Note: So, this fanfic was sort of spinning in my mind quite a while already. The idea is based on the life-story of how my aunt met her husband. She was a librarian (back in the 1950´s) and this young attractive gentleman used to show up time and again and always approaching her with tons of requests. He kind of occupied her with research tasks, so just to have a reason as to come back (to her). Then, one day, she dared to ask why….