Notes: Some of the "chapters" will be shorter as they are snippets of time more than actual chapters. This one is one of the smaller scenes.

Disclaimer: I don't own Frozen.

"…and there!" Anna said with a flourish as she signed her finished painting.

She stood up the from the stool she had been perched on for the last several hours and rolled her shoulders, hoping to ease some of the muscle strain from them. Most people wouldn't think of painting as anything strenuous, but Anna knew better. She often sat in the same exact position for hours as she worked on her latest masterpiece. By the time she was done, her muscles would be screaming for a change, so she stretched out as she looked over her newest work.

It wasn't her best by any means, but it had made her happy. She was growing famous for her portraits and character studies of her subjects. She didn't often draw landscapes, but the ocean view with the small lighthouse in the distance had been too pretty a picture to pass up. She doubted she would even try to sell this one. She would keep it for herself as a memory of this vacation, the peaceful part of her vacation. Goodness knew she would need something to remember how relaxing it had all seemed when she arrived. Her "roommate" hadn't exactly been friendly since their talk the afternoon before and she had a feeling that staying out of each others way was going to be a lot more difficult than it had first appeared. Not that she wasn't doing her part in that. She had spent the better part of the past two days on the porch painting, but she couldn't help but feel like an unwanted guest whenever they as much as crossed paths in the house.

She sighed and packed up her painting supplies, opting to the leave the actual easel and canvas on the porch for now. The painting hadn't dried yet and she didn't want to ruin it by trying to move it around. She had made that mistake once and had cried for days over the smeared picture that had taken her a week to finish.

She stepped through the front door and was surprised to catch the scent of grilling steak coming from the kitchen. She dumped her supplies onto the coffee table in the living room and made her way to the kitchen, growing hungrier with every step that she took. It was nearing dinner time and for the life of her she couldn't remember if she had eaten anything yet today. When she stepped into the spacious kitchen space, she found Kristoff grilling steaks in a skillet on the stove, but not only that, he was also whisking together something that looked like mashed potatoes. She couldn't stop her stomach from letting out an ugly growling sound. Nothing she made could even compare to what she was seeing before her.

"I'm making steaks and twice baked potatoes," he said without turning around to look at her. "I was going to go out to the porch and get you when it was done. I noticed you didn't eat anything today."

Tears of gratitude pricked her eyes and she stepped up to the island stools and took a seat. "How did you know I was here?" she asked.

This time he did turn around and she could see the glint of humor in his eyes and mouth as he looked at her. "I heard your stomach growling. It sounded like a wild animal."

She flushed a brilliant shade of red and felt her lips twist up into a smile. "I thought you were ignoring me," she said pointedly.

"You sound like a grizzly bear," he said flatly, "that's pretty hard to ignore."

A laugh bubbled up through her lips and was impossible to contain. "That's not what I meant and you know it. You seemed pretty upset about having to share this cottage with me yesterday, but today you are making dinner and even making extra to share with me. So, what gives?" she asked.

He turned back to the steaks and drizzled them with some kind of sauce before speaking again. "I just thought you might be hungry and since I was making dinner for myself I figured it wouldn't take that much effort to make enough for you too. If you don't want it I'll just stick it in the fridge and have it for lunch tomorrow. It doesn't matter to me."

"It smells good," she admitted, trying to keep the smile off her face and failing. "If you don't mind, I'll join you for dinner."

He grunted. "If I minded, I wouldn't have made extra food, would I?"

"I'll set the table."

It wasn't a friendship exactly, but it was a start.