Kristoff eased into the apartment as Elsa held the door open for him, his hands shoved down in his pockets. He was nervous as hell. He wanted to know Anna's night had gone with him, but then again, he didn't. Anxiety was twisting in his gut, and it showed as he followed the blonde into the kitchen, running a hand through his longish hair. "So… What's the verdict?" he asked, wasting no time after deducting that Anna was not in the room.
Elsa hopped up on one of the stools at the bar and sighed. "Apparently she enjoyed herself," she relented, resting her chin in her hand as she looked up at him from across the counter. "They, uh… he brought wine."
"He what?"
Elsa winced. "She was pretty buzzed when I got home, but as far as I could tell, he didn't try anything. He's smarter than he looks…" she muttered dryly. "But she was all smiles. Well, until I got her into bed, that is. Then she started crying… I couldn't understand a word she was saying. I just rubbed her back until she fell asleep…" She kept the fact to herself that the only clear word Anna had said was Kristoff's name.
Kristoff groaned, running both hands through his hair now as he turned and paced down the length of the kitchen before turning back towards Elsa. It was then when he noticed the kitchen table behind her.
When Anna was in the hospital, Kristoff brought her a snapdragon every day for 6 months. Naturally, they didn't all survive, but a vase-worth of flowers survived. When they brought Anna home, she asked that they be put on the kitchen table, so she could see and enjoy them every day. That, and the kitchen was her favorite room in the house. But now, a dozen red roses had replaced those flowers.
Elsa followed his crest-fallen gaze, her heart hurting more and more for him every passing second. "He sent those this morning. She, uh… wanted them on the table."
"But… Snapdragons are her favorite. He should know that…" he said, barely above a whisper, eyes still plastered on the blood-red roses.
"Maybe that's something else she forgot?" Elsa tried.
"Yeah. Yeah, I guess so." She hadn't forgotten. She replaced them, because they were from Hans. Nothing else could be said before a streak of red entered the kitchen.
"Elsa! Guess what!" She froze momentarily when she spotted Kristoff. "Oh. Hello, Kristoff."
"Hey there, Feisty," he said quietly.
The nickname stung now. She felt like it was the same as calling her 'kiddo' or 'sport', and it irritated her. "I'm sorry, was I interrupting? I can just come back later," she said, moving backwards a few steps.
Elsa flashed her a confused look. "No, Anna, of course not. There's nothing to interrupt. Kristoff came to see how you were doing!" She took her sister's forearm gently and pulled her towards the center of the kitchen where a very red faced Kristoff stood.
"Oh." Anna blushed, clasping her hands in front of her, looking down at the tiled floor. "So, yeah, I'm fine. Doing great. Walking more."
Kristoff moved his head down a bit, trying to catch her eyes, but failed. "Oh yeah? That's really awesome, Anna," he tried with a smile. Something was off. She was always happy to see him. But now it looked like the only thing in the world she wanted was to leave the room.
"Mhm." She rocked back on her heels, something she used to do when she was nervous, but she stumbled back towards Elsa, forgetting she wasn't quite as spry on her feet anymore, and Kristoff caught her by her elbows, gently. I will always catch you, Anna…
"You okay?" he asked, eyebrows stitched with worry.
Anna gently pulled her arms away, glancing up at him only briefly before crossing her arms loosely across her chest, diverting her eyes again, nodding. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little dizzy spell. Happens periodically."
An awkward silence fell over the room. One confused, one clearly uninterested, and one with their heart breaking for the other two in the room. Krsitoff finally spoke. "So, look, I was wondering if you'd like to join Sven and me at the park today," he said, keeping the smile on, though her attitude towards him cut like a knife. "We'd take your wheelchair of course. Maybe do some therapy exercises… Play sled dog with Sven, have him pull you in the wheelchair down the walking path?" he teased, trying to lighten the atmosphere.
Anna finally looked up at him, her lips in a tight smile. "That sounds very nice, Kristoff, but I have plans with Hans. I'm sure Elsa would love to go with you instead." With that, she turned, slowly to ease the spinning in her head, and walked back out of the kitchen and down the hallway to her room, closing the door just in time to mute the sob that rolled through her chest. She was just going to have to suck it up and make things work with Hans. Something went right the first time, so maybe she just had to give it time. She could never have Kristoff Bjorgman.
Kristoff stood, staring at the kitchen threshold where Anna disappeared from his sight. "Kristoff…" Elsa pleaded, taking a step towards him. But he held his hands up, refusing her gaze, shaking his head before turning towards the door to leave.