He knocked on the door.
"I'll get it!" A little voice cried from inside, and he heard the pitter patter of tiny footsteps.
The door opened, and the child's eyes went wide with delight.
"Kristoff!" She yelled as she held up her arms to be picked up.
Kristoff set his stack of presents down on the table and bent down to pick up the child.
"Chloe! How's my favorite little sister?"
He heard footsteps and turned around.
"Mama, look who it is!" She exclaimed.
"Kristoff's home!" Bulda replied excitedly as he set down the child to give his mother a hug.
"Hi mom," he said.
"You doing alright, sweetie?" she said, letting go of him and holding his face in her hands.
"Yeah mom, I'm okay," he replied.
She smiled a sad smile and proceeded to kiss him on the cheek.
He took off his coat and hung it up as Bulda took his stack of presents into the living room to place them under the tree. He entered the living room to greet aunts, uncles, and cousins, and picked up countless nieces, nephews, and little siblings.
"Kristoff!" A deep voice called to him.
"Hey Grand Pabbie," Kristoff replied as the old man got out of his recliner chair to give him a hug. Kristoff embraced him, and Pabbie gave him a pat on the back. When they let go, Pabbie looked at him with somber eyes and gave a faint smile, patting him on the shoulder. His eyes spoke a thousand words, but all his mouth said was,
"Looking good, Kris"
Kristoff smiled back and began to greet other people.
I don't really look good. Did I even shave today?
He felt his face. There was some stubble, but it wasn't excessive. Kristoff couldn't even remember much of this morning, probably because some bourbon was slipped into his morning cup of coffee. Normally some would have been drunk throughout the day, especially on a day like today, but luckily he had remembered that it would be best if he showed up to Christmas dinner sober.
He knew he really didn't look good, but that's not the message Pabbie was trying to send. That was one of the things he loved about the old man, he spoke through his eyes. His mouth had told him he looked good, but his eyes had told him that he was there for Kristoff and he felt for him. Kristoff smiled, grateful for the wise old man, and then smiled again when his eyes found something that looked a little out of place.
Elsa was sitting on the floor next to Aunt Frida, trying to explain to 5 year old Addison and 7 year old Finnegan that platinum blonde was her natural hair color and she has no idea how it got to be that light. When she saw Kristoff enter, she gave Addison to Aunt Frida and got up to see him. She opened up her arms to her brother-in-law, and he wrapped her in a big bear hug. They stayed there for a moment, and he moved his head so that his mouth was next to her ear.
"You okay?" he said softly.
"Could be better," she said, letting go of their embrace and holding his shoulders. "But I'm glad you're here. Much less lonely than thanksgiving." She gave him a soft smile.
"How could you be lonely in this house?" He replied with a chuckle, and her smile grew wider. She returned to her seat on the floor, and he sat down next to her, grabbing little Everly around the stomach and lifting her over his head, kissing her nose as she giggled.
**Author Note**
Hope you liked this chapter! Chapter 4 coming later this week! All reviews are appreciated!
Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen or any of its characters, they all belong to Walt Disney Animation Studios. :)