Soooo sorry for the long wait :3 hope this chapter makes up for it.
Arendelle University was truly a sight to behold. What once had been Old Arendelle's castle grounds had been transformed into one of the most renowned universities in the Northern hemisphere; right up there with Oxford and Harvard. The grounds had been extended out towards the woods and over a piece of the fjord that used to encircle the island castle. Old and new architecture mingled and complimented each other perfectly on the campus. The castle proper, or admin building as it was now known though still called that, rose out from the midst of more modern lecture halls like the majestic North Mountain itself.
The snow fell lazily, accentuating the steep roofed castle while drifting on the occasional trickle of an icy wind. The people on campus moved about in the sullen weather, bundled up against the chill, clutching steaming cups in gloved hands. The last three week's classes and tests before the Yule break were, for some, the bane of their existence in this cold weather, but not for Kristoff.
The blond man strode down the university's cobbled path, boots crunching the snow, with a smile on his face. A big puff of mist left his mouth in a contented exhale, he fixed the grey beanie his father had always worn on his head and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans.
I knew I shouldn't have left my gloves in the car…
Coffee. Coffee will chase the cold away. He took a left, opting to walk past the piece of the frozen fjord that acted as the campus' boarders to reach his destination: Wandering Oaken's Coffee. The little rustic themed coffee shop sat nestled in a corner that used to be the royal stables close to the old castle building. Kristoff could see some people inside the shop already, standing in a que for the best coffee on campus even though it was just past 7 in the morning. The wind picked up, swirling the snow in a dance which urged the young man to walk faster.
A bell chimed when he entered, heat and coffee slammed into him, and people cast glares at him for allowing the cold to slither in. He closed the door without acknowledging anyone, stuffed his hands underneath his armpits, and waited in the que for his turn. He couldn't see the owner anywhere. The huge man usually liked to serve his customers himself sometimes, but most of the time students worked shifts for him. He recognised the four people behind the coffee counter, his fellow vet students, grinding the beans then pouring liquid gold into cups for their customers.
It was nearing rush hour, so more and more people came in out of the cold. Kristoff glanced outside the glass door and saw that the snow had begun to fall harder. He really should've gone back for his gloves…
The line moved forward. He allowed his gaze to wander through the shop. Booths where to his right and stretched down for a few rows, allowing customers to stay and ride out the cold in comfort. The seats were a mess of interesting patterns that matched the dark wood of the shop. A fire crackled at the very back where more people lounged on sofas with their coffee. Kristoff scanned the few people sitting around idly. He noted their postures, slumped form the early rise and huddled inward despite the warmth around them.
In a corner booth closest to the fire, a lone figure sat with their pink beanie head rested on the table. Papers were strewn across it, and a few coffee cups were placed all around.
Kristoff smiled to himself as he took a step forward in the que. Probably cramming. It was, after all, the beginning of the examination season for some. The person shifted and lifted their head. Kristoff's eyes widened. Is…Is that Anna? The woman rested her pigtailed head back against the wall behind her and closed her eyes. Yes, that's definitely Anna. He hadn't recognised her with the beanie, but he'd never forget her shade of red hair.
His heart rate picked up.
He hadn't seen her for weeks, not since their unintentional date. Oh, he'd heard about her from Elsa when the two of them meeted up for their weekly coffee. He knew she broke up with Hans – thank the gods – but he hadn't had the opportunity to see her again. Not even when he had been on campus. At least he'd be here more often now that his practical session was over.
He took a step forward with the que. He was third in line now. He glanced at the options displayed up and behind the bustling baristas. He knew what he wanted: his usual, but maybe he could get Anna something, too?
He glanced at her table; she was resting her head in one hand while she stared at the paper before her. She reached for a cup closest to her and scowled when she picked it up. It was probably empty. Kristoff averted his eyes when she looked up, but snuck a peek out of the corner of his eye. She had returned her attention to the paper before her. He glanced behind him and grimaced; the place was packed, no one would risk this que if they needed to study.
"Hey Kristoff," a familiar voice said; he faced the voice and realised he was first in line now. "How you doin', my man?"
"Hey Bjorn." He stood before the counter, scanned at his options again. "I'm surviving, how 'bout you?"
"Y'know." the bulky brunet man shrugged with a blithe smile. "Your usual?"
"Yeah," Kristoff glanced at Anna who had returned to resting her head on the table, "but can I have a grande hot chocolate too, please?"
"No prob."
"Oh, and could you add a dash of cinnamon to the cocoa?"
Bjorn raised an eyebrow but nodded nonetheless. Kristoff paid and waited for his drinks. He stood just next to the pick-up counter and drummed his fingers against his bicep. He cast a glance over his shoulder. Anna hadn't moved.
"Oi Kristoff, here ya go."
The blonde turned and took the two cups that his friend was holding out to him. "See ya around, Bjorn."
"See ya. And don't forget the lids. I am not gonna mop your spill, thanks very much."
"Sure you won't" He smirked at his friend who shook his head and left to help his next customer.
Kristoff placed the steaming cups on the counter and covered them with matching lids "See ya in class, right?"
Bjorn waved Kristoff away, focusing solely on what his hands were doing.
The blonde chuckled as he picked the cups up and made his way towards Anna at the back of the store. His heart leapt with every step he took closer to her, until he thought it would burst out of his ribcage.
Calm, Bjorgman.
He stopped next to her table and waited for her to notice him. The table was strewn with papers, some of the text was highlighted, some books lay open, and empty coffee cups were everywhere. He counted four. How long had she been here for? This place only opens at 7, it must be 8 o'clock now…Had she been here all this time? Anna still hadn't noticed him.
He cleared his throat, but got no response.
"Anna?" he asked gently.
She didn't even stir. In fact, her breathing was way too deep to be normal.
Is she sleeping? "Anna?" he asked, louder. She groaned but didn't lift her head; Kristoff supressed a chuckle. "Hey, feisty pants? Wake up would ya? I've got hot chocolate."
"Hmmm, chocolate?" she yawned and lifted her sleepy beanie head, blinking owlishly at him. "Chr-Christopher?"
Kristoff sighed, "It's Kristoff –" he smiled at her as she rubbed her eyes " – can I join you?"
"Hmm?" Anna frowned at him and then at her table, "Uh, if – if you can find a place to sit. Sure. Did you say 'hot chocolate'?"
"I did," he scooted into the boot across form her and held a cup out towards her. "With cinnamon."
Teal eyes widened and all sleepiness fled her, she took the cup from him and sipped from it almost immediately.
"I know I just woke up from a quick nap and everything," she tried to supress a grimace, but failed miserably. "Ugh, but I'm pretty sure hot chocolate doesn't taste like coffee stronger than the North Mountain itself…"
"What?" Kristoff took the lid off his cup. Instead of pitch black liquid and a coffee aroma, murky, chocolaty liquid greeted him. He closed the lid, a sheepish smile on his lips. "Oh, sorry. Here. I gave you mine."
The two of them exchanged cups, fingers brushing ever so slightly. Anna peaked inside before she took a sip and smiled, full of bliss.
"Hmm…thanks. This is great – perfect with the cinnamon – although I could've used something with caffeine in it…" she glanced at his cup. "Not as much caffeine as yours has though, and I'm not complaining about the cocoa. Like at all." She grinned sheepishly, "I kinda needed a break from all the caffeine I was pumping into me anyway."
"You're tellin' me, how many cups did you drink?" he looked at the four empty cups stacked on the table.
"Uh…" Anna rubbed her temple with one hand, resulting in her beanie being skew. "uhm…maybe like six? I dunno."
"Six? But I only see four here."
"Yeh, I drank one at home before I came here, y'know to wake me up so that I could study – by the way –" she leaned forward with a serious face, which was made all the more funny with her lopsided beanie "– waking up at five in the morning, just to have more time to study, is the stupidest idea on earth. Don't do it."
"Noted, thanks" he grinned at her, "But it does help if you're a morning person, I've been up since five and feel just fine. This is even my first coffee."
"You're inhuman." She sat back with a frown.
"Nah," he leaned back, "I just have healthy habits."
She scoffed and took a long, drawn out sip of her cocoa, squinting at him.
"Where's the other cup?"
"What?"
"You had one at home, you said, and I see four here." The two of them scanned the messy, paper logged table top, "You said you had six cups. Where's the other one?"
"Oh, probably on the ground, I think."
"Ah," Kristoff took a slow sip from his cup and exhaled. "So…you've been cramming for a test, since five?"
Anna sighed and slumped forward to rest her elbows on the table, "Technically, no. I showered and ate and walked all the way here, almost freezing to death to get more coffee and be closer to the lecture hall for when I write OPV. It's such a pest, you don't even know."
"OPV?"
"Yeah. Educational studies," Anna sighed again, "like the history of education, and theories on education, and methods of teaching and…and everything. It's like a black hole that – no! It's like a dementor." She looked at him expectantly. Kristoff frowned. "Y'know," she edged him on, "the thing that sucks all the happiness out of you? A dementor? From Harry Potter?"
Kristoff shrugged.
"You honestly mean to tell me that you've never heard of Harry freakin' Potter?"
"I've heard of him, just never wanted to watch the movies or read the books for that matter."
"Well then, there goes my metaphor. Thanks Hermione."
"Wha –?"
"Sorry, couldn't resist throwing in a reference to – nevermind. "She sat back, incredulous. "What do you mean you've never wanted to watch it? Are you even sane?"
He sat back and draped his arm over the backrest. "It just never appealed to me."
"Does Elsa know?"
"I don't think so…why?"
"She'd flip if she knew about this, be glad it's just me you told this to. You're not out of the woods yet though, we have to remedy this. We need to organise a HP Binge watching weekend, pronto." Anna winced and glanced at her papers again, "after this semester, obviously."
"Obviously." Kristoff smiled into his drink. He hadn't realised how much he missed her company.
"So, what are you doing here? Haven't seen you around campus…" Anna took a casual sip of her drink.
"Yeah, my practical session is over for now. I'm here for my last classes before Yule break."
"No tests?"
"Nope." He popped the 'p' with a smug grin. "Perks of being a sixth year."
"Lucky…" Anna muttered, scowling at her papers.
"Think of it this way –" he sat forward and rested his elbows where paper hadn't claimed the area "– you'll be finished with your studies before I am."
"I guess there is that." She regarded him with her head canted to the side.
"What?"
"Nothing."
The two of them just looked at each other for a few moments until Anna started to blush lightly. It was barely noticeable. Kristoff thought he might've imagined it; she was after all sitting close to the fire. She cleared her throat and sat back with her cup held close to her.
"So, how're your studies going?" Anna asked, taking a sip.
"Good actually." He smiled, thinking back. "I just finished my…uh, fifth practical session last week."
"At the vet clinic right?" he nodded, flustered and touched that she remembered, "And how was it?"
"Great." He grinned and Anna had to bite her lip to keep her thoughts for herself. She had broken up with Hans less than three weeks ago. She hadn't seen Kristoff in all that time. Of course she had thought of him, but, if she was honest with herself, she wouldn't want a relationship any time soon. So why does she keep reacting this way?
"I found a little baby reindeer in the forest," he was saying, "one day when I was hiking and took him in. The practical sessions had really equipped me for emergencies. He –"
"Is he alright? The reindeer, I mean." Anna sat forward, cocoa and thoughts forgotten as she stared at Kristoff in concern.
"Y-yeah, he's alright." He scratched the back of his neck and pulled at his collar. "He's a fighter. Almost lost two fingers when he bit me."
Kristoff held his left hand up. The skin below the pinkie and ring fingers where blue in curving lines, like little teeth marks. Anna barely caught her laugh with her hand, but a snort managed to escape.
"H-how?" she giggled, speaking through the fingers before her mouth. "Why did you put your hand in his mouth?"
Kristoff chuckled and lowered his hand to curl around his cup. "When I examine any animal, I've got a specific – " he waved his hand in the air – "thing that I do. Just to remind me of the things I need to check out. That includes checking teeth."
"And he saw an opportunity to strike, did he?" Anna lowered her hand and was clearly amused at the entire situation.
"He did." He sighed dramatically, "I didn't know a baby reindeer could be that strong. I had to be careful because his leg was broken, so I couldn't wrestle and hog-tie the poor guy. He even tried using his little antlers to keep me at bay, I've got bruises on my bruises."
Anna snorted again, imagining the burly man before her wrestling and losing to a baby reindeer.
"Hey," he said, feeling the need to defend himself, "It's not an easy thing to do, y'know. Maybe you should give it a try sometime."
"Okay, sure." Teal eyes glinted at the prospect of a challenge. "After my last exam, I'd like to see the little guy that gave you so much trouble. I even bet that I can do whatever you tried to do."
Oh hell. What just happened? Kristoff had completely forgotten about her love of a good challenge.
"You don't even know what I wanted to do." He sat back and raised an eyebrow at her, "And that's hardly fair, he's way calmer that he was when I found him in that trap."
"He was caught in a trap?" her eyes softened with sympathy, "It's a good thing you saved him then."
A beat of silence passed between them where they both started at their cups.
"I'd still like to see him." Anna said.
"Hmm?" Kristoff looked up; Anna didn't.
"I'd still like to see the little guy…if-if that's okay with you, I mean." She looked up and saw him watching her. And then she began to ramble. "If it's not, then that's really not a problem. I can be quite hasty with what I say. I often say things without thinking. All the time actually. Elsa says I should work on that. And you're right, I don't know what I'd be doing if I had to do what you do, so maybe it'll be better if –"
"Okay. Sure."
"Really?"
She looked so hopeful and vulnerable at the same time; Kristoff couldn't help but wonder how she could be so confident one moment and then practically climb inside her shell the next. One thing was sure though, he really, really wanted to get to know this girl. No matter what happens in the future, Anna is someone he wanted in his life.
"Yeah." He smiled, giving her his most sincere smile. One that he only reserved for family members and close friends. "After you last test, then?"
Anna looked at him for a moment; gaze searching. A soft smile grew on her lips, matching the one he was giving her.
"Sounds good." She nodded and shifted in her seat. "C-can I have your number? Y'know, for when I need to tell you I'm finished – actually, I can tell you now. My last exam is the 25th. But, can I still have your number? To arrange…whatever needs to be arranged?"
"Yeah sure," Kristoff's smile grew as he sat back. Seemingly satisfied with himself. "It's –"
"Hold up," she felt in her pockets, and then started to lift papers around. "I need to find my – aha! Here it is." She closed the book and retrieved her phone form where it was hidden underneath it. "Okay –" she unlocked her phone " – gim'me a sec – holycrap!"
Anna grabbed her bag and started stuffing papers and books into it in a flurry of activity.
"What's wrong?" Kristoff sat up, alarmed at how quickly she was moving. "What happened?"
"My test!" she all but screeched, crumpling her papers as she stuffed everything on the table in her bag. She even got an empty cup in there; Kristoff held his cup away from her flailing limbs. "I'm gonna be late! I didn't realise what time it was until I saw the time on my phone! Crapcrapcrapcrap!"
Kristoff watched as papers ripped and cups flew of the table in a soft clatter. She was drawing bemused stares, but she couldn't care less. She needed to reach her lecture hall in less than 10 minutes!
"Crap!" she hissed when she tipped the cup with her last bit of cold cocoa in it. At least it was almost empty, so it was a small pool of liquid chocolate on the table that didn't travel far.
"I've got it," Kristoff said, "don't worry. Can I help you?"
"Nono, I'm fine." The last of her papers where in her bag, she zipped it closed and flung the bag over onto her back. "I just need to – I'm sorry."
She glanced at the mess she left and grimaced, "I'm sorry." then she started to walk away, walked backwards when she was past Kristoff who rose from his seat slowly.
"I'll get your number from Elsa," She said loud enough that he could hear her as she retreated, "She does have it, right?"
"Of course."
"Yeah, right. Best friend and all that."
He stood and watched her walk backwards; heading straight for the que of people. "Watch out!"
Too late.
Anna bumped into a person who stood in the que for coffee. "Whoops!" she twirled and shot out her hand to keep the man from stumbling, "I'm so sorry!" she said at him, he nodded kindly and turned back to his companion.
She gave the people standing in line a wide berth as she hurried to the door. At least there weren't as many people as there had been when Kristoff had been in the que. Anna reached the door, paused and looked at Kristoff. She bit her lip before she held her hand in the air in a quick farewell.
Just as Kristoff raised his hand, she disappeared out the door into the swirling snow. The bell chimed in her absence. Kristoff sighed and picked up the scattered empty cups around their table. He stacked the empty cups into each other and made his way to the counter where Bjorn worked.
"Dude, I need a cloth or something to mop a spill."
"Dude." Bjorn sighed; his shoulders shimmied as he worked on the huge commercial espresso machine.
"It's small, don't worry. Just gimme a thing and I'll be out of your hair."
A cloth sailed through the air from the girl who stood next to Bjorn; it hit Kristoff square in his face. He spluttered while Bjron and a few customers chuckled.
Kristoff took the cloth in his hand and peered at the blonde who threw it. "Thanks Hilde."
"You're welcome," she bent her knees in a curtsy, while still working on the espresso mashie. "No go clean that up before Oaken skins you alive."
Kristoff hurried away. Nothing scared the blond more than that hulk of a man. Oh, he looked kind and friendly and all that, but he really had a temper on him. Kristoff does not want to be on the receiving end of that temper. He mopped the small spill up and allowed his thoughts to wander to Anna.
It was really good to see her again. He hoped that he'd see her more often in the future.
There's it :D