With filming in Osaka all wrapped up, Hans was home in Arendelle days later. On the eve of his return, he considered calling up Ariel to tell her about Kris returning from Japan. Better for her to hear it from him than to bump into Kris on the street. Not that there was open animosity between the two of them. In fact, Ariel hadn't even seemed to notice when Kris gradually had less time to spend with her. It was odd how Hans had become the mutual friend between them, considering the history between the three of them. But if there was anything he'd learned about his friend, it was that there was little that could shake their friendship; neither time nor distance, and certainly not a woman.

In the end, he decided to give it a couple of days and just see her in person.

He turned off the ignition of his white convertible and stepped out, removing his sunglasses in the shade of the building before him. He tossed the dark specs onto the console before he shut and locked his vehicle. Then, he took a deep breath and gazed at the silver building ahead. It wasn't actually silver. It just looked that way, its walls comprised of almost all windows. The recording rooms inside the studio were enclosed by solid wall, but the rest of the building felt bright and airy, which was great for keeping singers and musicians in good moods.

Hans entered the automatic doors and stopped at the reception desk to ask which room Miss Waters was in. Then, he took the stairs up to the second level, removing his brown double breasted pea coat as he stepped down the hall. Its white fleece collar was too warm with his black turtleneck beneath.

There were four rooms at Beats Studios in Arendelle. Ariel or her producer had chosen the one with the stone walls and skylight in the northeast corner of the second floor. It had the best ambience out of all the rooms in the building.

He gave a soft knock at the control room door and was let in by the producer's assistant. Inside was Sebastian—Ariel's record producer—and a single sound engineer Hans had worked with himself at the studio. Hans couldn't remember the boy's name.

"…take it all back the night everything I said was an attack. But I can't make myself forget…"

Sebastian greeted him with a single wave which Hans returned. He knew Sebastian was not one to get distracted from work. They'd worked together a few times before Gene connected him with a bigger producer.

"...or do a single thing about my regret."

Goosebumps spread up Hans's arms as Ariel's ethereal voice lilted in from the live room. He eyed her through the window. Her singing bewitched him as much as the first time he'd heard her.

"…now the funny thing's I got what I wanted…"

He knew all her songs by heart as he listened to them often. This one was new.

"…kept my pride. But the cost, how did I not realize that I would lose so much…"

For some reason, these lyrics touched a wound within him. He stared at his ex-girlfriend and watched her with her eyes closed, hands over her chest and singing her heart out as if it were broken. The sound engineer glanced back at Hans and handed him a headset so he could listen in with the accompanying music. Hans settled the headset over his ears and smiled at the accompaniment. Ariel's previous album had merely dipped into electronica, but this new track ventured a bit more of it. She'd started out as more of a folk song artist, but he was happy to see her spreading her wings... even if his favorite memories of her singing were acoustics in his old apartment.

"Your arms, your voice, your heart… all I have left is to be under the same sky. Your sky…"

Kris had moved on, so why couldn't he? Hans thought back to the odd strawberry blonde who had burdened him on his trip to Osaka. She was a far cry from Ariel's level. But maybe Kris's standards had lowered. Why had his friend never mentioned the woman? Then again, maybe he was embarrassed or just hadn't been all that serious about Anna? Casual relationships did not seem like Kris though. But they'd had to have broken up for a reason.

Curiouser and curiouser.

Hans mentally swatted away the thoughts that were as intrusive and irritating as the odd woman. With luck, he'd never have to think of her again once she returned his loan.

"Hans!" The redheaded siren jumped and threw her arms around him as soon as she entered the control room. He chuckled and returned her embrace, no longer surprised by the sting he felt from her platonic affection. "You jerk! You didn't tell me you left the country!"

"Heh, sorry… the filming and press conference schedules were kind of hectic. I meant to call you when I was there."

"Hmph!" She pulled away, glaring up at him adorably. Everyone else in the room seemed to vanish. "See if I let you know the next time I go abroad!"

Hans smirked with a raise of his eyebrow. "Oh? Booked your first international tour, did we?"

She scowled toward Sebastian. "Not yet. He's working on it."

"…'ey, girl, watch the tone! I bust my butt off for you," Sebastian objected, bristling in the corner. Ariel giggled and gave her producer a playful push back in his seat.

"I know, I know. I just want to be world-famous like this guy!"

Hans blushed. "Guess you should have accepted that album offer when you had the chance," he teased. Before Ariel had started to garner some fame, Hans had suggested they make an album together. She'd turned down that offer though. She'd said something about not wanting to use him to make a name for herself. But there was surely more to it than that.

"Oh, you're never going to let that go, are you?"

No, he wasn't.

"Give me a ride home?" she asked, batting her eyes as if she thought she had to. He chuckled as she stuck out her tongue and excused herself to gather her things.

As they walked out together, Hans broke the news about Kris. He couldn't say why he felt he had to be careful. If anything, Ariel seemed ecstatic.

"I haven't seen him in forever! How is he?"

"Great. Really, really great. Japan worked out well for him. But I think he's glad to be coming home."

Like a true gentleman, he opened the front passenger door for her the way he did the entire time they'd dated. Ariel plopped down comfortably and turned the radio on as soon as he started up the car.

"How long was he over there? Feels like ages!"

"A few years, at least. You haven't talked to him at all?"

Ariel shrugged. "We exchanged emails here and there, but he's always so busy! I don't think he even wrote me back the last time! I'll give him hell when I see him."

Hans snorted, knowing full well Kris wouldn't hear the end of it. It would be nice for the three of them to be together again. Maybe enough time had finally passed that things wouldn't be so awkward.

Well, as long as no one brought up Eric.

"I'm still mad you didn't tell me you were going to Japan! I'd have asked for a souvenir!"

Hans turned onto her street, giving her a pointed glance as soon as it was safe to take his eyes off the road. "What, you think I wouldn't bring something back for you?"

Ariel squealed in a way that could only be delightful because it was her. "You did?! What?"

He pulled up to her apartment building and turned toward her with a smug grin. "How about you find out at dinner with me tomorrow?"

She smiled, about to answer when her cellphone rang. Her eyes widened when she saw the caller and fumbled to answer it quickly.

"Kris! We were just talking about you! Aha!"

Hans's ears perked up, a little taken aback that Kris called Ariel before calling him.

"Yes, Hans. Who else?" Ariel snorted, glancing over at Hans with a roll of her eyes as if Kris had asked the world's stupidest question. "Right now? He's dropping me off. Hey, let's all do dinner tomorrow?"

That'd be nice—dinner with the two of them. Even if he'd hoped to spend some time alone with Ariel. But they'd had plenty of lunch and dinner dates during the time Kris was away. It would be great to hang out as a trio again.

"You should both bring your girlfriends!" Ariel suggested with a devious little laugh.

Hans half-smiled and wondered if Kris felt the same irritation at her remark. There was a pause as Kris responded on the other end. Ariel laughed at whatever he'd said.

"Yeah, yeah. It's a date tomorrow, then. I'll text a time and place later. Bye!"

She hung up and squealed that same Ariel-squeal again, leaning over to quickly hug Hans before getting out. He waved her off, smiling up until she turned her back toward him.

A girlfriend, huh?

Anna hadn't spent so long sitting on the floor since the temper tantrums she used to throw when she was eight. Normally those occasions were from when her parents were too busy to drive her to a friend's house. She'd wail about how unfair it was and how Elsa got to do whatever she pleased. She learned pretty quickly that these demonstrations wouldn't work.

Elsa used to take pity on her and offer to play with her. Soon Anna would forget all about not being chauffeured to her friends. Elsa was her best friend, after all.

She still was.

"What would she do…?" she thought aloud, hugging her knees as she groaned at the lingering headache that had been haunting her from the moment she read the note.

But if their places were reversed… if Anna were the one to have died in a car accident, Elsa wouldn't have to worry about all of this. Elsa was the calm, responsible one. Anna thought she'd had her act together. But Elsa's death had proved otherwise; she was a mess.

"What would Elsa do?" she repeated, lightly tapping her knuckles against her aching head.

Call the lawyer! Maybe see about getting the inheritance money sooner, given the situation? Her cellphone rang as she reached for it, startling her. She picked it up and arched her brow at the unknown number.

"Maybe it's those jerks."

She glowered as she answered the call and heard a haughty voice that was vaguely familiar, though she could not quite place it.

"You're in Arendelle, right?" the man asked.

"Yes. Huh?" She smacked herself for answering automatically.

"Corner of Anders and 12th. Vermillion Café, 2nd floor. Meet me in 30 minutes."

"What?" The phone clicked. "HELLO?"

Bewildered, Anna sat there wondering who the hell that was. Her stomach suddenly felt heavy. Could this have something to do with Rapunzel and Eugene missing, or her house being emptied?

She jumped up and figured she might get a free meal at the very least. What else was she going to do?

A/N: Thanks for reading! :)