A/N: takes place... long enough after the movie for Kristoff to be able to somewhat casually talk with Elsa cause I didn't think about that till after I wrote most of this and I still liked it, and I like their interaction.

I would make this a separate fic, but I like this title too much.

The glittering jet of magic swirls, settles, and hardens into a crystal-clear block. Elsa's bare hand hangs in midair. Pauses. She listens over the howling wind.

"I know you're there."

Kristoff shifts uncomfortably behind his rock. Should he attempt to sneak away, or should he face (what he hoped wasn't going to be the wrath of) the ruler of Arendelle, Anna's big sister, the queen of ice? He reluctantly stands, but with feet still planted behind the rock and only the top half of him exposed. Not that she was going to do anything. But, y'know, just in case.

"Hey Els- erm, Your Majesty." Stiffly, he bows, his head dipping behind the rock and bobbing comically back up again.

In another situation, Elsa might stifle a laugh. "You know you don't have to call me that. What are you doing here?"

"Hi… Elsa, then. Just... uh... out... getting some ice." He winces. Smooth, Kristoff.

"'Out getting some ice'," she repeats, unimpressed. Kristoff pulls his hat off, twisting it for something to focus on other than Elsa's reaction.

"Anna was worried, and she said you were going to practice, so I thought I'd..." he falters for a moment. "Well, check on you, while I was out and... uh... yeah." He jams the hat back on, crooked. Beat. He realizes what he's forgotten to say, adds, "Anna doesn't actually know I'm here."

Elsa fixes him a hard gaze. Kristoff can read Anna like an open book - well, everyone can - but Elsa is much more elusive, much more controlled. Kristoff squirms a bit. He's not the prince consort yet. And even if he were a king, Elsa would still make him nervous. Not because she's queen, not because of the ice, but because she's Anna's big sister.

Well, maybe a bit because she's the queen. But Elsa breaks off her sternness with a sigh. The wind lessens.

"You didn't need to do that." Her hand fills with snow, spiraling around in her palm.

"I wanted to."

"To check on me? Or to see the ice?" She scatters the miniature storm into the wind, drawing patterns of snow.

"Both," he admits, watching the beautiful designs in the air. The harsh winds sting at his back. Kristoff shivers. Elsa notices, holds out a hand, and the storm stops. The snow drifts gently to the ground.

"Do I still need checking on?" Elsa draws herself in, one hand finding the other.

"Ye-well, no, not like that-but you get-Anna just worries-" Elsa waits patiently as he stammers his way through a sentence. "Worries about you, what's going on when you go out by yourself."

His words catch her off-guard and sting her. Magic runs into her fingertips. She fights to keep it there, not to let it out any farther. Ice skates out from under her feet. Even Kristoff can read the hurt expression on her face. He steps out from his boulder, halving the distance between them. Elsa sees the ice growing towards him and it only loosens her control on the magic. Kristoff either doesn't notice or doesn't care that she's so close to freezing his feet.

"No, no, not the ice! Not the… not what you're doing," he amends quickly. "She's worried about the why."

Elsa pauses, suddenly understanding. "Oh."

The ice shrinks back, though still shadows her. The previous day's argument comes to mind. Offended dignitaries and escaped horses and one extremely damaged merchant ship doesn't seem so important anymore here in the mountains with her sister's almost-husband hiding meekly behind a rock and asking if she's okay.

"I'm not angry with her." Not angry, but something else, and the magic pulses in her hands. Elsa crosses her arms now, pressing her palms to her sides, as if she could push the ice back in. Not angry. Anxious. Pressured. Overwhelmed.

"I know that, and Anna knows that."

"I try to keep it in. But it just-" the magic itches under her palm. She raises her hands to the sky, throws a flurry into the air over their heads. "It wants out." It's not Anna that upsets her - it could never be Anna. It's everything else. The wind howls again, slicing through the gently falling snow. Elsa drops her hands, frustrated.

"I'm afraid of it. 'Love will thaw'. But I don't want to have to thaw anything again." Snowflakes hang suspended in midair. Kristoff sees her stiffen, her hands tighten around herself. She's thinking of a sword shattering, her cries echoing across the frozen fjord. Elsa breathes in, out; the snow resumes its descent.

There's a long beat. They will never forget that moment. When they both were useless, and when they both could have stopped it from happening. Kristoff understands. The way Anna jumps into his sled and says 'where are we getting ice today?' and he says 'slow down, feistypants' with a smile, but he thinks of the time she almost died and he wanted to die too and how he won't ever let that happen again. He gets it. Well, not the magic ice powers thing. But the wanting to protect Anna. He puts on his most casual voice, like, you know, he just chats with the queen all the time about how she should use her magic ice powers - don't think about this Kristoff just act cool - no wait, bad joke – arrghh -

"So you're practicing. That sounds like a good idea to me." And his heavily booted foot is back in his mouth. Elsa drops her arms to her sides. Kristoff fumbles to recover himself. "Ah- I mean- not that you can't control it-just-y'know-it's a normal thing."

Elsa deadpans. Normal.

He winces, amends: "A healthy thing. A thing that won't worry Anna if you just tell her."

Elsa should probably be offended that he's giving her advice when he basically came to spy on her, but she's so grateful for anyone that can help her understand her estranged sister that she just nods, hands clasping together.

"You're right."

Kristoff doesn't know any way to reply to her without sounding like a fool. Thanks, your majesty. Your friendly peasant troll-raised ice harvester is always here to advise the sovereign ruler of Arendelle. Yeah, no, he's gonna keep his mouth shut this time. But the silence is a peaceful one. They understand each other. Elsa draws herself up, suddenly composed, and Kristoff wonders if the conversation really just happened. She's going to turn away, but stops and catches his eye.

"What about you?"

"Huh?"

"Were you worried?"

"N—well, not about the ice."

"Then what?"

"Ah- that's okay."

"Kristoff."

"It's too…" he rubs the back of his neck. "Okay, but don't tell Anna."

"What is it?"

"I don't want you guys to worry about each other. You've been through enough. You should just get to be happy now. No more closed doors. You're the only family you have, and that's important and… and... I just want you guys to be okay."

He feels his face growing hot while Elsa just looks. She wants to tell him that's what she wants, too. That's all she's ever wanted but didn't dare to hope. That it means so much for another person to understand something about her, another person that is not her sister. That there is at least one other person in the world who has only known her as she is now and still can accept her and her powers and will come out after her to make sure she's okay.

She wants to tell him that she'll be proud to have him as a brother-in-law. As a brother.

But neither of them is much for words, and Elsa finds herself still staring at Kristoff. She clears her throat, which is suddenly tight with emotion.

"Thank you," she says finally. Kristoff jerks his head in acknowledgement. The moment lingers over them.

And then they both look away, and the moment is over. Elsa raises a hand and snow shoots up from the ground, twisting into a delicate sculpture. Kristoff coughs.

"So I guess… I should…" he can't finish the sentence. Elsa can sense his discomfort.

"You can go."

"Yeah, I know."

"...you should go."

"...I know."

"But," Elsa flicks her finger. The ice springs from the ground, branching and growing roughly in the shape of a tree. Kristoff can't help but let out an admiring whimper. Elsa finds herself smiling. "You don't have to."

Song puns are too much fun, so here, have one that I cut.

"So you come out by yourself to... let it go?"

Something like a smile plays across her face. "You have no idea."