Anna didn't know how to be subtle even if it hit her in the face. Elsa listened to her and couldn't help but cringe at the forced nonchalance in her voice. If this had been how she had spoken with Kristoff these last few days then the odds of him wondering what was going on was higher than Elsa thought.

"Hey, Kristoff. Hi. What's up?"

"Anna," he sounded surprised. Elsa could imagine what his face looked like. Eyes wide, a hand probably rubbing the back of his neck as he stuttered, "I…I uh, I – I was just wondering how things were going with Elsa?"

"Oh, good. Great actually, she's not as hot as she used to be. I mean she's pretty hot in general, you know, concerning her looks – what I mean is that her fever is going down."

Elsa rubbed at her forehead in exasperation.

Anna shifted as she opened the door a bit wider, "would you like to see her?"

"Yeah, sure – I mean if that's okay? I heard that no one else could come in besides you, and the guard was pretty hesitant to tell you I was here. Not that I took offence or anything! I just mean that I'll understand if it's better if I don't."

These two set the bar at awkwardness so high, it's not even funny, Elsa thought.

"No, it's okay," Anna glanced at her sister over her shoulder, "Elsa had decided to override my decree."

"Okay…"

Anna stepped aside to allow Kristoff to enter and Elsa had to admit that it was nice to see him again. Although the circumstances could've been better. It was painfully obvious that he wanted to speak to Anna alone, but her sister was having none of it.

"Why's it so dark?" he asked as she closed the door.

"Elsa has headaches. The light makes it worse."

"I could go to the trolls and get her something, maybe? Pabbie has the best remedies and things."

"Yeah, that could work."

The two of them had yet to move from the door. They stood there with Kristoff trying to catch Anna's eye and Anna doing everything she could to avoid it.

"You said that her fever was getting better?" he asked into the growing silence.

"I'm right here, you know." Elsa said, trying to keep the amusement out of her voice.

"Oh! Right," Kristoff rubbed the back of his neck, he made his way over to the foot of her bed with Anna following behind. "Hey, Elsa. How're you doing?"

"A bit tired," she said honestly. The medicine had started to kick in and it always made her drowsy. "But, I'm much better than I used to be. I'm not making snowgies anymore."

"Snowgies?"

"Yeah," Elsa glanced at Anna who was trying to hide her smile, "Anna had decided to call them snowgies. Would you care to tell him why?"

Kristoff turned to Anna expectantly.

"It's a combination of snow and boogies," she said, allowing her smile to show. "you know like a booger? Snowgies."

There was a beat before Kristoff chuckled, "That's actually very clever."

"Don't encourage her," Elsa grumbled and slipped down to get more comfortable. The plates on the tray next to her rattled harshly. All three of them jumped at the sudden noise.

Anna sprang into action. She took the tray with the cold tea and toast off the bed to allow Elsa to pull the blanket up to her chin. Routine kicked in. Anna set to work preparing her sister to get some rest. Elsa watched as she placed the tray on the bedside table and felt her sister's forehead. Was it just Elsa's imagination or was Anna's hand warmer than usual? Maybe her fever was climbing again. She'd definitely need a cool cloth.

Anna seemed to come to the same conclusion, because she made her way over to the basin in the corner of the room and returned to place the still damp cloth on her forehead.

Elsa sighed in relief, sleep already pulling her into his embrace.

"We should go," Anna said, but it sounded like she was being submerged in water. The last thing Elsa was aware off was the blanket being tucked and smoothed over with gentle hands.

Anna closed the door behind her with a soft click. Hopefully Elsa would rest for longer this time around.

Kristoff cleared his throat. The sound was harsh and made her muscles give a small jerk. Anna turned away from the door and looked at Kristoff. Was he nervous? Oh crap. Anna's eyes widened. Oh, crap. Oh, crap, oh, crap he wanted to speak to her about the thing. Oh, crap.

You don't have to speak to him about it now, Anna, she thought as she bit her lip. She looked away, down at her hands fidgeting before her. Just tell him you'll do it later.

Good advice. Yeah. She should just look him dead in the eye and tell him that she'd speak to him when she was ready. Anna looked up, straight into his honeyed eyes, opened her mouth to speak.

"Andreas," she said without breaking eye contact.

Kristoff frowned in confusion. The guard behind Anna snapped to attention, "Yes, ma'am."

"Thank you for your service," Anna said as she turned to face him. Wait, what? That sounded like she was firing him from his duties all together. The guard's eyes grew wide. Yeap, he definitely thought that she was firing him.

"I mean –" Anna cleared her throat, "I meant, thank you for standing guard here," she said, trying to maintain her formal persona. "It won't be necessary anymore. Could you please let Captain Hansen know?"

The relief in his face was obvious. He saluted, turned on his heel and walked down the hall, leaving Anna alone with Kristoff. The silence returned, thick and heavy with words unsaid.

"I –" Kristoff's voice cracked, he cleared it with a fist to his mouth, "I was wondering if you'd like to go for a walk?"

Anna turned to face him, felt her heart shoot up into her throat again. If this kept happening, she swore her heart would come flying out of her mouth before the day ended.

Just tell him you'd speak with him later. She thought, that you need time to think things through. He'll understand.

Anna swallowed her heart down to her chest, opened her mouth, intent on telling him exactly that. "Sure," she said instead.

The urge to smack her forehead was so strong that her arm twitched at her side. Why couldn't she just say it? I can't talk about this yet, Kristoff. I'm sorry. Please give me more time.

"Great," he said, the relief she heard made the guilt that she felt double and drop into her stomach like a led ball. Why was this so hard? And why on Odin's green Earth did she feel so nauseous all of a sudden?

"I was thinking we could go through town?" Kristoff said.

All Anna could do was nod, because clearly her brain was against her. Kristoff smiled and set off down the hall with Anna following a few paces behind him. Thank the gods he never had been one for small talk. It gave her some much-needed time to frantically sort through her feelings. Anna kept her eyes fixed on the back of his feet as they walked. The red carpet soon turned to stone, which turned to cobblestone.

"So…" he said, drawing out the word, "How've you been doing? You look tired."

Anna looked up to see that the were already crossing the bridge. Her traitorous brain had completely spaced out while they had walked and left her reeling and her heart pounding in her chest again.

Was love supposed to make you feel this way?

"I'm alright…" she said and clasped her elbow with her opposite hand. "I am tired. How're you?"

"I'm fine."

Seemed like he did do small talk Anna realised with a grimace. Couldn't they just skip to the part where he wanted to talk to her about the thing?

"I've missed you these past few days," he said softly. Okay nevermind, could he maybe not skip to what he wanted to talk to her about?

Anna glanced up at him only to look down at her feet again. He's hurting. She had hurt him.

"I'm sorry, Elsa's been keeping me busy…" that's a lame excuse Anna and you know it.

"I know..." he said, "I-I was just wondering if that was the only reason why I haven't been seeing you lately?"

Anna bit her lip. Maybe speaking about this in public hadn't been the best idea. She looked up. They had come to a standstill in the square where Arendelle's flag fluttered in the breeze. People were all around them, coming and going like bees buzzing in a hive. The murmur of conversation around her seemed to grow and swell with every breath that stuttered out of her mouth. Why was it so hot outside?

The longer she remained quiet the more resigned Kristoff became.

"Was it because I told you that I loved you?" he asked, voice barely audible.

Panic spiked from her heart straight into her lungs as she widened her eyes.

Kristoff nodded, "I thought it might be..." he sighed, "I'm sorry that I messed this up so badly. I didn't mean for…it to happen like this."

"No," Anna found her voice hoarse in her ears, her throat dry and painful as it pushed her words out "No, I'm supposed to be sorry. I…I just – I don't…I can't…"

Her heart was back where it didn't belong, barricading her throat to keep her words from coming out. Her lungs seized, freezing in her chest. She started to panic. She was back on the fjord, her lungs becoming solid ice. She was back in the library with Hans looming over her with his cruel smile. She was on Kristoff's sled telling him that what she had with Hans was true love.

"Anna?"

The world started to tip, the edges blurred, turned black. She couldn't get air into her lungs. She couldn't breathe! Her stomach flipped, pins and needles broke out on the back of her neck like cold clammy hands gripping her shoulders. A rushing wind filled her ears, made her head light until everything finally went black.

The only thing that she could hear was a question she had been asking herself since Hans' betrayal.

What did she even know about love?

Anna woke up in a bed with her sister sitting next to her wrapped in blankets like a layered little red, blue and green riding hood.

"Elsa?" Why was her head pounding like it did? "What happened?"

"You fainted." Elsa said, eyes flickering down briefly. "How're you feeling?"

"Like I've been hit by an out of control sled driven by Olaf…" Anna grimaced as her head throbbed particularly painfully.

"It's because you have a fever."

"Pfft, yeah right," her voice rose an octave in denial which triggered a tickling in her throat that felt too much like a cough wanting to escape. Anna suppressed it. "No, I'm not."

"Pedersen would beg to differ," Elsa gestured to two familiar bottles of cough medicine on the bedside table.

"Ah, but good ole Pedersen always did like to give out medicine for every occasi –" that pesky cough that Anna had been trying to suppress had finally broken through her defenses. Anna coughed for what felt like an eternity, and when she stopped, she slumped back down into the pillow, completely spent and definitely sick. "Okay…I give."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I knew you'd do what you're doing now." Elsa looked up at this with a question on her face, "you're blaming yourself."

"That's because I am to blame!" her sister's face became a shade redder than normal, but whether or not it was because Elsa was mad or just supressing her own cough, Anna wasn't sure.

"So?" she asked, "I knew what I was getting myself into and if you're honest with yourself, you did too."

Elsa sighed out a rattling breath that turned into a cough of her own.

"Why aren't you in bed?" Anna asked as if in sudden realisation.

"Because a new patient had decided to occupy it."

"There's enough space for us both," Anna patted the side of the bed that Elsa was supposed to be in. "We're gonna be here for a while, might as well get comfy."

"You're impossible…"

"Learnt form the best. Now, get your sickly butt into this bed and bring those blankets with you."

Elsa sighed and shook her head, but did as she was told. The sister's settled themselves down, draping the layers of blankets over them and stared up at the darkness warring with the candle's light.

"So…" Anna dragged the word out, "who brought me here?"

"Who do you think?" Elsa asked with too much sass for Anna's liking.

The redhead sighed and scrubbed at her face, taking some time to rub her temples.

"I take it the talk didn't go well?"

"I sortof fainted just when I was about to explain things to him…"

"I thought you weren't going to speak to him about it yet?"

"Yeah, well" – Anna let her arms drop to her sides – "my body has been betraying me in more ways than one today."

She could feel more than see her sister smile at the comment. They stayed quiet for a while, watching the shadows cast by the candles dance and squiggle above them.

"He was really worried about you, you know." Elsa said gently.

"Hmm…"

"He told me to tell you that he had gone to the trolls to get us some of Pabbie's medicine. Maybe it'll help us get better sooner than Pedersen's remedy can."

"Did…did he say anything else?"

He had said many other things.

Kristoff had barged into Elsa's room, startled her out of sleep with a limp Anna in his hands and a whole host of concerned staff members behind him. Even in her less than efficient state, Elsa had taken complete control of the situation. She had ordered Pendersen be called and Anna placed in her bed. And then Kristoff started talking as if he had been at a confessional.

He had explained how worried he had been about Anna these last few days. How he had been worried about her avoiding him and how selfish he thought himself to be with his confession of love on her birthday, and did she think he did the right thing? And right through it all he kept apologising. For what Elsa still wasn't sure, but one thing she knew was that he was nothing like that disgrace of a Prince of the Southern Isles.

"He said," Elsa began as she remembered the sincerity with which he had spoken. "that you didn't have to worry about anything besides getting better. He said that there wasn't any pressure to finish the conversation you guys had had and that you could take as much time as you needed to work through it."

Elsa turned her head to look at her sister as the silence swallowed the last word she had spoken. Anna had closed her eyes and was biting her lower lip so hard that Elsa was sure that that was the reason a tear had squeezed itself out from beneath her eyelids. But she knew better.

The eldest shifted in the bed, coaxing Anna to come closer to her with gentle hands. She responded instantly and probably too fast for what Elsa expected. Anna kicked her legs out to make the move a bit easier, but Elsa had decided to move down at the same time. Head met chin in a clack of teeth.

"I'm sorry!" Anna fumbled her arms around, seeking her sister's face to quell the pain she most definitely felt after that hit.

"It's okay, Anna…" came the muffled response form fingers pressed against her face, "It sounded worse than it felt."

Anna gave a watery giggle as she sniffed, "This sucks…"

"What sucks?" Elsa asked as her sister lowered her arms and the two of them finally settled. "Being sick? Having relationship problems? Or having just bludgeoned your sister in the chin with your hard head?"

"I said I was sorry…" Anna sniffed again, "And all of the above suck."

"Yes." Elsa rested her cheek against Anna's head, "Yes it does."

Anna was asleep almost instantly and Elsa wasn't far behind her. They stayed that way, wrapped in each other's arms until they woke up again.

Next Anna and Kristoff finally have the dreaded talk.

I hope you guys are enjoying this as much as I am enjoying writing it :)

Reviews are always welcome and thanks so much for those of you who've already dropped some comments :)

k, bye :3