#feistypantswrites
Text
Biscuit in the Basket
Rating: T
Words: 2764
Pairing: Kristanna
Summary: Anna doesn't know why she's been so sick, but when she finds out, she has a different problem to worry about. [Set in my Between the Pipes AU] [cw: pregnancy]
Notes: I was missing this AU hahaha. Written to satisfy an itch but I hope you all enjoy! :) YEAH THE TITLE IS ANOTHER HOCKEY JOKE. It's fine. I know who I am.
[AO3]
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
Anna looked up from the toilet to see her husband’s worried features staring down at her. His brows were furrowed, lips twisted to one side as he leaned up against the sink, a glass of water in hand. She nodded only once before deciding it was too much movement and lowering her head back into the opening.
“I’ll be fine,” she mumbled, pressing her forehead against the porcelain. “Just a bug.”
She felt his hand spread out over her back and rub in small, soothing circles as he knelt beside her. “I can see if they can put Nemo in for tonight, join up with them in Buffalo tomorrow…”
“No, no.” Anna sighed with relief as a cool cloth settled against the back of her neck. “It’s really…” She scooted back up onto her knees as she retched again, panting for air as the nausea shook her. “It’s okay.”
“Babe…”
Reaching blinding to pat at his knee, Anna did her best to look up at him for just a moment and reassure him. “Honestly. I promise. I’ll be good as new tomorrow.”
She could feel the hesitation radiating off of him, so she crossed her arms over the toilet and rested her cheek against them. “Kristoff. Seriously. I can handle a bug.” His hand stopped moving against her back. “I’ll call you tonight after the game and I’ll be good, I promise.”
Kristoff sighed and leaned forward to press a kiss against her sweaty forehead and nodded, giving up way quicker than she thought he would. “All right,” he said as he stood up. “But if you need anything, you just call and I’ll be on the first flight home, okay?”
“Okay, honey.”
“You’ll call?”
Anna nodded, and reached over for the glass of water he left beside her. “I promise I’ll call.” She shrugged once. “Also, don’t forget my sister is here. And Honeymaren. If I need something I can bother them, too.”
That seemed to ease his worries enough, and he started backing out of the bathroom. “Please call though.”
“I will.”
“I love you.”
Anna smiled, and swallowed the bile she could feel rising in her throat. “I love you, too.”
—
“It keeps hitting in waves. Like, I’ll be totally fine and then out of nowhere, I’m curled around the toilet again.” Anna pouted as she pulled the blankets up to her chin. “And I can’t do anything, I’m so tired.” She heard Elsa humming on the other side of the line and frowned. “It’s been going on for a few days and I’m trying not to worry Kristoff, but I’m feeling all blegh.”
Her sister was too silent for her liking. “What are you thinking?”
Elsa sighed. “Mom used to get really awful periods like this, when we were little. Remember she had the hysterectomy?”
Anna frowned. “... Yeah…”
“When are you supposed to get it?”
She… honestly didn’t know the answer to that. “Hang on,” she mumbled, pulling her phone down from her ear to pull up a tracker app she had started using.
Except that it said her current cycle was at 57 days.
“That’s… not right…”
“What’s wrong?”
Anna tapped it, trying to remember. “When did I have my last period?”
Her sister let out a chuckle. “We’re plenty close, but I don’t track your cycle, Anna.”
“No, I…” Anna refreshed it as she thought. “I must have missed tracking it last month. It says fifty-seven days. That’s…” She was trying to wrack her brain, trying to remember what happened almost thirty days ago. Did she have it? Did they go somewhere?
Wait. It was Elsa and Honey’s wedding.
She definitely didn’t have it then.
The stress could have delayed it… But Anna honestly couldn’t remember having it at any point between then and now, either…
“Hey, Elsa?”
She made a noise of acknowledgement.
“Can you go to the store for me?”
—
Anna was pacing as she listened for the sound of her sisters’ car. As soon as she told her what she needed, Elsa practically ran out the door, promising to be there within the hour.
This couldn’t be right. It couldn’t be. She was on birth control. Sure, it wasn’t one hundred percent effective, but she did her best to take it consistently.
But with everything going in the fall, it was very likely she had gotten lazy about it, or forgotten altogether once or twice.
There was no sense panicking yet. Nothing was confirmed. She just couldn’t remember her last period. And it was possible she was four weeks late. And she was throwing up for three days. And she was sore. And tired. And shit shit shit shit shit.
Elsa let herself in, and power walked through the house to find Anna in the living room. “All right, I got five different tests.” She dug through the bag and produced them one at a time. “Some digital, some regular, this one is supposed to be very sensitive and can detect it earlier, this one is fast, and this one they said is the most accurate and --”
Anna grabbed the closest one and ran towards the bathroom, hollering “I will take all of them!” as she slammed the door shut, and ripped the box open. As she read the directions, her sister came in with all of the tests back in the bag, and a clean cup for her, offering that maybe dipping would be easier since Anna wanted to do all five.
So she did, box by box, test by test, marking which ones needed how much time, and set a timer before sitting back on the toilet and hugging her knees to her chest.
This wasn’t the plan. This wasn’t what they had decided. Before they took the step into marriage, they had a long and emotional discussion about everything to do with children and family. Kristoff had been working on things with a counselor, doing his best to unpack some of the trauma he had bottled up, but he was still hesitant - still so afraid of being like his father.
Anna had known from the beginning that this was a fear of his, and she had agreed from day one that they would wait until they were both one hundred percent ready to start the family. Together they decided that Kristoff would be the one to open the discussion, as it was mostly his worries that were holding them back.
But he had just signed another four year contract.
The timer blared, snapping her out of her thoughts as Elsa looked at her, lip caught between her teeth.
Anna pressed her forehead against her knees and sighed. “I can’t look.”
She heard Elsa gathering up the tests, taking a moment to look at them, and placing them back down. “They’re all the same.”
Okay, so whichever it was, it was probably right.
“What does it say?”
Elsa hesitated before tapping Anna’s hand, and placing one of the sticks into her now open palm. Anna covered the screen with her thumb, sat up, placed her feet flat on the ground and took a deep breath before removing her finger.
Two lines.
Pregnant.
“They’re all the same?” Anna could hear the tightness in her throat as her free hand rose up to cover her mouth.
Elsa nodded, a smile tugging at her lips. “Yeah, they’re all the same.”
When Anna fully looked up to her sister, with tears welling up her eyes, she saw the same joy she felt reflected in Elsa’s expression.
“I’m pregnant?” This wasn’t real.
“You’re pregnant.”
Oh. Maybe it was.
Anna practically jumped off of the seat and threw her arms around her sisters’ neck, sobs pulling from deep in her chest as Elsa rubbed at her back. She knew Anna’s reasons for not actively trying before, and It was as if Elsa could sense the conflict burning through her veins. “It’s okay, you’re all right.”
“I…” Anna whimpered, letting her whole body slump. “I’m so happy. What if Kristoff isn’t?”
“He will be.”
“But --”
“He will be.”
Anna nodded, letting go and wiping at her face. “I guess I should make a doctor’s appointment.”
—
It was day seven of his roadie, and Anna had been ignoring his calls for three days.
“Hey baby, I hope you’re still feeling okay. I’m sorry I missed you. It’s late so you’re probably asleep. Sven wanted to go out and celebrate. I’ll call tomorrow?”
It’s all right! We’ll talk later!!
“Hi beautiful. I can’t believe I keep missing you. Should we set a time later? I miss you.”
Sorry! Elsa was over and I didn’t hear my phone. I miss you too.
“I’m starting to feel like you’re screening my calls. Is everything okay?”
I’m not! Just bad timing. I never want to just call you though because you’re way busier. I love you. Everything is okay!
“I texted Elsa. She said you’re still feeling kind of sick. Do you need me to come home? Just say the word.”
No babe, don’t worry.
Okay, just… let me know. I love you.
After that, it seemed like he had stopped trying. Anna felt guilty, she did, but this wasn’t over the phone news… and she didn’t think she’d be able to stop herself from telling him if she actually talked to him. Besides, he’d be home in two days and she could tell him then. And… well she wasn’t quite sure how that conversation would go.
She watched his remaining games and made sure to text him about how proud she was and how much she loved him and that she was going to bed before he would be out of the locker room.
He didn’t even bother to reply tonight.
Anna told herself it was because they were mourning the loss and probably on their way to the airport immediately after the game. It would be well past midnight when they landed, and even later when he would finally get home. She would definitely be asleep, and hoped that a night of rest would put him in a better mood for the discussion that they would be facing tomorrow.
But anxiety kept her awake long into the night.
Long enough that she heard him come through the door, drop his keys, throw his gear into their laundry room, and head up the stairs as quietly as possible.
Anna had the lights out, but she pulled the blankets over her shoulder and squeezed her eyes shut, hoping he would believe that she was asleep. Sometimes, if he came back late enough, he would just sleep in the spare room to not disturb her.
Maybe he would do that now.
He opened the door. She heard his steps stop, heard him sigh, and then noticed the light receding behind her eyes as he shut it again. It took a moment for her to decide if he had left or not, but just a few minutes later the door was opening again, and he was making his way quietly to his side of the bed.
Kristoff climbed in, and immediately wrapped his arms around her, pulling Anna flush to his chest.
Oh. She hadn’t realized how much she missed him.
Anna could feel the tears coming as he pressed two soft kisses against the back of her neck.
A small stir, to pretend she was just waking. “Kristoff?” she mumbled, doing her best to fake sleep-slurred speech.
“Hi baby,” he whispered, pressing another kiss behind her ear. “I missed you.”
She swallowed, her throat tight, as she pulled his arms tighter around her. “I missed you, too.”
Kristoff was silent, just breathing softly behind her as she cuddled into his embrace. How did she go five days without talking to him? How had she ever? But then his voice broke through the darkness again, strangled and upset. “Why were you ignoring me?”
“I… I wasn’t…”
“You were.”
Anna started to twist around to face him as he let go of her body. “I was not!”
“Okay.”
He slid away from her and moved to get up, pausing only when her hands tangled into his shirt. “Wait, please, just…”
She could hear the tears in his breathing, could feel all of the agony radiating off of him.
Would he understand?
Would he be angry?
“Can we talk about it tomorrow?” She wanted one night of him holding her close before she had to deal with it.
He shook his head. “I’d rather talk about it now.”
“But we’re both tired, and I missed you and --”
“Okay. I’ll sleep in the guest room.” Kristoff was swinging his legs over the side of the bed, gripping at her hands.
No, no no. She needed him here. “Wait, please, I…”
He froze, giving her a chance. Just one. She had to say something. She had to tell him.
“I’m pregnant.”
This was the longest silence of her life.
“I just…” She sat up, and cupped his jaw with her palms. “I didn’t know how to tell you. I didn’t know if you’d be upset or… I just… I didn’t want to tell you over the phone and I knew I’d blurt it out if we talked and I…” she ran her fingers across the stubble on his cheeks. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I just… I’m really happy but also really nervous and I just didn’t want to talk about it on the phone I… I shouldn’t have ignored you. I’m --”
“You’re pregnant?”
Anna held her breath. “Yes.”
The barely there moonlight was all that illuminated his face. She couldn’t read him, couldn’t see well enough to know what he was thinking. All she had was the silence that was dragging on and on.
“I know this wasn’t the plan. I know that we’re not there yet. I… I know you’ve been working with Yelena, working on it but I…” She hesitated before wrapping her arms around his shoulders and leaning into him, letting out a small sigh of relief when his arms circled around her waist in return. “Babe, please say something.”
His grip tightened around her, his cheek pressing against hers and his breathing erratic before he practically whimpered out an “I’m gonna be a dad?”
“Yeah, honey, you are.” Anna felt him bury his nose into her neck, felt his whole body start to shake. “Is this good crying?” He nodded, and Anna felt her whole body relax, the whole last week of stress melting away as he sat back just enough to look at her, eyes still wet.
Kristoff lifted his hands to her jaw, stroking soft thumbs over her skin before he began peppering kisses across her face; her nose, lips, eyelids, forehead, and Anna felt herself start to cry, too. She couldn’t begin to put into words the immense relief she felt as he kissed her full on the mouth, a small laugh bubbling out of him.
“I…” he let out another breath and pressed his forehead against hers. “I was going to bring it up at the end of the season.”
Anna felt her stomach swoop. “What?”
“I told you, right when we first… started…” another short chuckle. “That I wanted a really big family. I meant it. I could…” His palms slid down the length of her arms before taking her hands in his. “It’s been so hard to wait, Anna. But I knew it was for the best. For me…” He laid gentle kisses against her knuckles. “We’ve been married for three years now, and… I’ve already proven to myself that I can be a pretty good husband.” He paused and kissed her fingers again. “Right?”
“The best,” she agreed, nodding enthusiastically.
“I didn’t think I could be that.” He swallowed and fiddled with her engagement ring. “But if I can be… I think I’ll be able to be a pretty good dad, too.” He shrugged. “Even when playing.”
Anna laughed and laid a palm against his cheek. “You definitely will be.”
A new silence, one filled with hope and love and excitement stretched between them, before Anna darted forward and threw herself into his arms, kissing him wherever her mouth landed.
“I love you so much.”
Kristoff laughed, held her close, and returned her kisses with just as much fervor.
“If you don’t stop,” he mumbled against her, his hands roaming freely, “we’re going to get started on number two right now.”
“I don’t think that’s how it works,” Anna laughed, pulling him closer. “But why don’t we give it a try?”
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#79 “I don’t care what anyone else thinks.”
I was trying to fix the country club angst I left u with. But I’m not sure if this is any better. sorry. love u.
(what started as an excuse to write fluffy pwp whenever i felt like it has turned into... well, this... We love drama baby)
-----
She had been avoiding him for days, and he felt a stabbing pain in his chest every time they locked eyes for a brief moment before she would turn away and pretend he wasn’t there. This wasn’t fair. This had been going on for over a month, and he could have sworn she was feeling the same way.
Sure, it had started as a no strings attached fling, but then she was spending more and more time with him and he thought...
Kristoff supposed in the end, it didn’t really matter what he thought, but he wasn’t going to let this go without at least giving a valiant effort to get it back. He just needed to talk to her and figure out what she was thinking - see if she was willing to give him another chance.
Because if he couldn’t have all of her, he’d take whatever she would give him. He could push his feelings down, pretend he never loved her if that was what she wanted - if that would make her talk to him again. Maybe that made him pathetic, but she was something special that he wasn’t ready to let go of.
The second she was alone, he closed the distance between them. “Miss Arne,” he started, swallowing his nerves as she avoided his eyes. “Would you have a moment to talk?”
“I...” Anna glanced back to where he sister had settled, before chewing at her lip. “I’m not sure I do...”
He needed to drop this stupid front.
“Please, Anna.” He knew the use of her first name in public surprised her, but she actually looked him in the eye for one fleeting moment. “Just a few minutes...” She finally nodded, and he sighed with relief. “My office?”
They escaped the noise of the common area quickly enough, and Anna did her best to hold her head high. He had always wondered if there were more reasons she wanted it to stay secret and casual than just not wanting anything serious. The way she walked into his office made that feeling worse. As if she was ashamed.
He knew her ex-fiancé. Knew what kind of man she would marry.
So...
Taking a deep breath, he shut the door behind her. Kristoff paused for a moment to look at her, hair up in a fancy bun, wearing a cream and gold sundress that fell loosely off of her shoulders, and looking radiant as ever. “You look beautiful,” he sighed, leaning against a low set of shelves as she sat lightly on the edge of his desk.
“Stop it.”
“You do.”
Her eyes were glued to the ground, cheeks red and lip permanently caught between her teeth. “What did you want to discuss?”
He figured there was no reason to beat around the bush. He was either going to lose her or he wasn’t. He supposed it didn’t matter much what he said. “Do you have any feelings for me?” She stayed silent, so he modified his approach. “Even... friendship. Are we friends?”
Anna blinked and nodded slightly. “Yes,” she offered, her fingers twisting in her skirts. “Yes, we’re friends.”
That was good, at least. “But nothing more?”
She swallowed and didn’t answer, instead intensified her glare at the carpet.
“Not even just... a little more?”
Nothing.
“Are you embarrassed that we’re friends?”
That got her attention and she jerked her head up to look at him, frowning deeply. “Of course not.” She seemed offended that he had even thought it.
“So...” He tapped his fingers against the top of the unit. “Why was me having feelings ruining things?”
“I told you that I didn’t want anything serious.” She crossed her arms and his eyes were drawn to the smattering of freckles on her shoulders. His mind wandered dangerously to the last time they were alone in here, and he cursed his stupid head. This was not the time.
A sigh. Get back on track, idiot. “So it has nothing to do with the people in your social circle, huh?”
“No, Kristoff.” She looked defeated for just a moment. “I don’t care what anyone else thinks.”
“Then why won’t you let this just happen?”
“Because.”
She was bordering on petulant as she turned her head away from him with tense shoulders, not offering anything more.
“Because why?” Kristoff felt drawn to her again, couldn’t resist the need to have her under his fingers as he pushed away from his perch and crossed the office. “We’ve been spending so much time together, and I felt... it felt... real, you know? I had been trying to deny it but...” she looked at him for a second as he got close enough to touch her. “I love--”
“You don’t. You can’t.” There was hurt in her voice as she hugged herself, defended herself. “I don’t even know what love is. Every time I thought I did... I...” Her head was shaking rapidly back and forth. “You shouldn’t love someone who can’t love you back.”
Kristoff’s eyes searched her face, panic overwhelming him as he laid a gentle hand on her cheek. “Anna...”
Her eyes clenched shut, but she didn’t pull away. “You should be with someone who isn’t... broken.”
“You’re not -- Anna, look at me,” he urged, his other hand lifting to her face so he could cradle her jaw as he spoke. “You’re not broken.” Her eyes opened just enough to see him, and he felt his heart breaking at the tears pooling in her eyes. “You’re hurt. They’re different.”
She swallowed, closed her eyes, and leaned forward to press her forehead against his chest.
He didn’t know what to say, so he settled on holding her until she felt ready to let go.
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Scene of Sentimentality
Rating: T
Words: 2080
Pairing: Kristanna
Summary: Anna reflects on her ever growing feelings for Kristoff
[AO3]
Notes: Sometimes I get sad about how infrequent Anna’s feelings are shown in canon. So I wanted to write something small about her reflecting on her feelings for her fiancé. It means a lot to meeeeeee.
Enjoy!
Anna stood quietly, tapping her ring against the champagne flute in her hand, a soft smile playing at her lips as she watched her fiancé laughing at the edge of the ballroom. He had come to find his footing in these settings, even if he wasn’t the biggest fan of larger events, and Anna was more and more impressed with him each day.
Her coronation was the worst, Kristoff just standing by awkwardly as she could barely get a moment to say hello to him, much less get to help ease the tension for him. She hated knowing he was uncomfortable, hated knowing it was her fault that he was stuck in this situation. Anna knew that if he had the choice, Kristoff would much prefer to be in the mountains, but he loved her enough that he stayed with her, even if he hated it.
“Your Majesty?”
Her attention turned back to the dignitary from who knows where with whom she was speaking to before she got distracted.
“Oh, goodness, I’m sorry.” Anna lifted the glass to her lips, sipping lightly before covering her mouth with her hand. “You were saying?”
More than once, she was distracted by Kristoff. Something about him just fascinated her from day one, and when his gaze found hers through the large room of people, Anna felt her smile grow.
She remembered the first time it happened, after they fell two hundred feet off a cliff’s edge. After he lifted her out of the snow like she was nothing, after he looked at her and asked her what now? His deep honey eyes locked onto hers, and suddenly she was imagining his broad body hoisting her up and her whole face flushed as she remembered this is not the time, Anna!
And it happened again a couple of days later after he kissed her on the docks and turned her knees to jelly. She watched with pure adoration as he ran towards the sled, admiring all of its upgraded features. It was then that she knew she would do whatever it took to keep that big smile on his face.
Then he looked up at her, practically skipped back to where she was glued to the spot, and grabbed her hands.
Wanna go for a ride?
It was almost a childish glee that had taken over him, and Anna knew that the little flutter in her heart was real this time, not just desperation, and after their week together, she knew she could trust him not to break her.
She bit her lip before nodding enthusiastically, watching with interest as Kristoff hooked up Sven, and climbed up into the carriage as soon as he waved her on, his hands outstretched to help pull her up.
Where do you want to go?
Anna scooted a little closer, pretending to ignore the pink that had spread across both their cheeks. Anywhere, she smiled, before correcting herself. Everywhere. Then she grabbed his hand, lacing their fingers together. As long as you come with me.
He had let out a huff of a laugh before grabbing the reins with one hand and squeezing her fingers with the other.
Alright, Sven. Let’s take her highness anywhere and everywhere.
It became an everyday thing, her being distracted. She’d look at him across the table, across the room, across the courtyard, and her face would warm, a dopey smile pulling at her lips as he continued to do whatever he was doing. He didn’t even need to be doing anything special, really. Once she caught him just fixing his boots, sewing up a hole in the side, and just the pure reliability of it all made her fall even harder.
Maybe she knew how to be a royal, but it wasn’t until Kristoff was in her life that she learned more practical things - how to sew, how to start a fire, how to find her direction without a compass - and she was forever grateful for it.
Especially when…
Anna shook her head, not wanting to relive that.
She couldn’t bear being apart from him now, so she politely excused herself before crossing the floor with less grace than was expected of her, and practically threw herself at her fiancé, who, as always, was ready to catch her.
“Hi, baby,” he smiled, pressing his forehead against hers as her arms wrapped around his neck.
I love you, baby! Anna had felt the fondness spread across her features again, as he slid up to her, his bashfulness taking over. I do…
She loved him, too. So much, from day one. More each day, for always.
She lifted her hands to his cheeks, nuzzling her nose softly against his. “Hi, honey. I missed you.”
A woman beside them coughed loudly, rolling her eyes before walking away with a smile. They parted only slightly, his hands resting on her hips. “It’s barely been an hour,” he teased, placing on kiss against her palm as she stroked a gentle hand down his cheek.
“Yes but it’s our engagement announcement.” Anna clasped her hands together behind his neck. “I shouldn’t have to be away from you for even a minute.”
Kristoff rolled his eyes, but tightened his grip on her. “And her majesty should have whatever she so pleases, right?”
“As should my prince consort,” she hemmed, turning her nose up slightly in mock snobbery.
The first time they talked about their future, Anna had been so nervous that nervous was an understatement. They had been together for about eight months, and while everything was going so, so well, she knew that her lifestyle could be stifling, to put it mildly. Things had been better since the gates were opened, but for someone who lived a free life on the mountains…
Anna walked with him slowly up the stairs of the palace, their fingers interlaced as they climbed to their favorite spot on the roof. The way his hand squeezed hers gently, Anna knew he knew that this conversation might be a rough one, but they both held steady.
They sat, her curled up against his side, his fingers playing in her hair.
You know I love you, right? She had asked, her fingers playing with the hem of her skirts. I love you so, so much, and I can’t believe how lucky I am… and…
He had quieted her with a soft kiss, one arm pulling her closer to his side. I know, he had replied, kissing her again and again and again until tears started to fall down her cheeks. She just wanted him to be happy. She just wanted to be with him.
She was afraid those things wouldn’t align.
But he had tucked her up under his chin and told her that wherever she was, that’s where he wanted to be. Whether it was in a castle or in an abandoned barn… She was his home now.
Anna had cried more, kissed him again, and immediately commissioned them a cabin up in the secluded woods of the mountains. One that they spent many many days hiding in alone, showing one another just how in love they were.
Her cheeks reddened as his eyes tracked over her exposed skin, her low neckline exposing more of her than was usual for a royal, and she pressed an accusatory finger to the bottom of his chin. “Don’t look at me like that,” she protested, guiding his gaze elsewhere. “We have to stay until the end of this party.”
It wasn’t usually Kristoff who made them leave early, though, and his arched eyebrow told her that he was thinking exactly this.
She couldn’t help herself, though.
He always got dressed up for her, and that sacrifice alone was enough to make her want to get him undressed and comfortable again as quickly as possible. But he never had any objections anyway.
Dropping her hands to his lapels, Anna busied herself with straightening them as his arms tightened around her waist. “Thank you,” she sighed, finger scratching at a speck on the metal button of his coat, the same as the first time he had done this for her.
One hour, he had firmly stated, his expression smug. You get this for one hour.
Six hours, fifteen minutes, it was all the same to her. Kristoff had talked to the tailors to make him a suit that matched her gown, he had taken it into his own hands to do something so thoughtful, and Anna loved him even more that day, even if she hadn’t thought it possible.
He reluctantly agreed when the palace staff insisted he have a few more made, because the townspeople were truly head over heels for the complementary wardrobe, and Anna had made sure to properly thank him for it.
Kristoff never wanted this life, but he wanted her. If Anna had the choice, she’d probably leave it too, if he asked it of her. But he never would, because he knew she loved it - loved the camaraderie, the parties, the ability to help those who needed it - but she loved him more than all of that.
That frightened her, once.
A tap on her shoulder brought her back to reality. Kristoff’s hands had moved to rest protectively on her waist as another young prince from some other kingdom came to congratulate them.
He asked for a dance, and Anna graciously agreed even if she was rather annoyed to have to leave her fiancé again.
But the prince was kind. He enthusiastically congratulated her. Told her he had heard about what had happened with that prince from the Southern Isles - his reputation still not enough for other kingdoms to learn his name - and that he was happy she had found something real.
Anna smiled softly, looking over the prince’s shoulder to Kristoff, who was now leaning against the wall and watching her, a small flicker of jealousy in his eyes.
When they returned home and the highs and lows of their most recent adventure had worn back down to level ground, Kristoff had sat her down anxiously, rubbing his fingers over hers as he struggled to find his words.
I think, he stammered, twisting his mouth from side to side, that there’s probably someone else out there… more deserving of you and everything you have to offer…
Anna had immediately tightened her grip on his shaking hands.
And I understand that I’m just… some commoner who you happened to like and who really, really liked you.
She scooted closer, her knees brushing his as he did his best to get the rest of the words out.
I love you, more than anything. I always have, and I always will. And I think that’s important, right? His eyes had welled up, as had hers, as she crawled into his lap, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.
I just… I want to be right for you. I want to be everything you need me to be.
Anna had pressed a firm but chaste kiss to his lips, sighing through her nose as his arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer.
You already are, Kristoff, she mumbled against his mouth. You’re more than that.
He had kissed her senseless, then, more and more giving each time she whispered a soft I love you into his skin, burying herself even deeper into his heart.
With a small curtsey from her and a lower bow from the prince, Anna was determined to spend the rest of the night right by her fiancés side. Ignoring everyone else, she stepped up to his side, sighing with relief as his arm came around her shoulders and held her closer as he finished his conversation with someone she didn’t quite recognize.
When they left with another bow, Anna turned, wrapped her arms around Kristoff’s waist, and pressed her nose into his shoulder. “Hey,” she muttered, smiling as he waved off a concerned Kai. “I love you.”
The way he held her now, the way his fingers dug into her, she knew he wasn’t letting her leave his side even once more this evening.
She was completely fine with that.
Looking up at him, her eyes glimmered as he smiled down at her. “I can’t wait to marry you,” she whispered, meant only for them.
Kristoff kissed her forehead gently, and Anna knew, right here in his arms, was where she was meant to be for the rest of her life.
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Between The Pipes [Chapter 33]
Rating: M
Words: 2860
Pairing: Kristanna
Summary: When a new owner takes over the Arendelle Ice Breakers, Kristoff isn’t sure about his future with the team. That is, until a PR nightmare throws the newest member of the media team, who also just so happens to be the daughter of the new owner, right into his arms. Kristoff and Anna can’t even stand the interviews they have to do together… how on earth are they going to fix this mess? Hockey!AU.
[Chapter Index]
Where To Read:
[AO3]
Notes: 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
Enjoy!
It was about ten days before Kristoff felt all of his symptoms had fully subsided. He had started going for jogs a couple of days ago, but anything more than that tended to bring the headache roaring back. So he continued to take it easy, go for a short jog in the morning, and only watch an hour of tapes per day. Anything longer than that hurt his head, too.
Anna had… not so slowly started moving her things in. She didn’t have much, but he told her to put her stuff wherever she wanted, that she could make this place as much hers as she wanted. And he genuinely meant it. His house had just been a house. He hadn’t put much thought into it beyond the comfort of his couch and bed. Decor was minimal, and everything was very much brown.
Maybe she could help him make it a home.
Her just being there already made it closer.
—
After four weeks, they broke her lease and she had officially moved in. They figured it would help her save some more in the long run, help her skate by for just a little longer, even if he told her over and over that she didn’t need to worry about money.
But Anna hadn’t wanted to start things out that way. She had some savings, and she could pay for things here and there, and she didn’t want him to feel like she was taking advantage. Kristoff assured her that he could never think that she was. But still, she insisted, and he told her that that was something he absolutely loved about her.
He had been able to start doing more normal exercises again. Working with the trainers was annoying, but there weren’t any headaches returning when he pushed himself like he used to. They told him if he could do this for a week without any symptoms popping up, he could get back on the ice.
—
That week went by like a breeze, and Kristoff relished in the feel of crisp ice under his skates. There was no feeling better than being on the ice. He sighed with defeat as they told him they wanted to wait another week before they started firing pucks at him, but he grudgingly agreed. At least he was skating.
And then, even better, he got to come home and see Anna, her hair wrapped into a bun on top of her head as she sat with her knee to her chest, drawing in an almost full sketchbook, her tongue caught between her teeth. “Hi baby,” he smiled, his heart warming as she looked up at him and used the back of her hand to push hair from her eyes. He kissed her softly as he walked past, enjoying the pure domesticity of it all. “Have a good day?”
“Oh yes! I went to that cafe downtown that we like - you know, Oaken’s Mochas and Teas?”
He always laughed at the name. So on the nose.
“And well, I noticed that they didn’t have any sort of logo or anything so… I don’t know. I just…” she blushed and spun around on the chair, dangling her legs off the side. “They know me and I figured what was the harm in asking - so I’m designing something for them now!”
His eyes widened and he took three steps forward to clear the gap between them, placing an enthusiastic kiss on her lips. “Anna, that’s so great.”
“They’re paying me, too!” She was giggling against his mouth, and he couldn’t help but smile. “Remember how the last place wouldn’t pay? I took it because, you know, portfolio, but I offered for free, but they insisted.”
“I’m so proud of you, baby.”
Then her arms were around his neck and not letting go and she hummed low and slow, “how about you? Good day? Worn out?”
Oh. He was never too worn out for that.
He hoisted her up onto his hips, grinning like a madman as they moved backwards to his bedroom. Well, their bedroom. She never did sleep in the spare room.
—
He was growing slightly frustrated at the week-by-week status, but he knew this was his second head injury, and they wanted to be more careful this time around. But only progressing to the next step after a whole week was growing agonizing. At least he was doing non-contact now, grinning from ear to ear as he slapped each puck out of midair.
God it felt so fucking good to be back like this.
Anna had come with him today to spend some time with Honeymaren while they practiced, and he could hear her whooping from the stands. Every time he made a save, “that’s my baby!” Every time someone scored on him, “you’ll get it next time honey!”
It was the most endearing thing ever, as she jumped up and waved her hands in the air, as if it were an actual game. As if it weren’t just her in the stands, cheering him on during a practice.
God he loved her so much.
—
Finally they were letting him practice back in a regular jersey. No more no-contact. He was fortunate that goalies rarely got touched anyway, but now they guys weren’t holding back anymore. Slapshots and more risky wraparounds and pucks fired in a way that made him dive were becoming the norm again, and he felt so damn good with every puck he saved.
Shot by shot, the rust was shaking off, and Kristoff felt ready to get back in a game. It was almost April, and he needed to be playoff ready. They had promised him he’d be back in by March 20th, which gave him a little under three weeks of in-game play before the playoffs started. They were so close to a playoff spot, and he knew that he could help them win it.
But he wouldn’t rush, and he was going to trust the physicians on staff, and take it slow.
If for no other reason than Anna.
He knew she was worried about him getting back in. But they weren’t playing the Stallions yet - they had at least until the Eastern Conference, and by then he would undoubtedly be a one hundred percent. Plus, the guys had his back, and, he couldn’t help but laugh about it, Warren had been scratched for the rest of the season. Coach’s decision.
—
Right on the promised date, Kristoff was starting in net against Tampa, and the literal electricity in the arena had him amped up beyond belief. Their whole team was working together like a well oiled machine, and he hadn’t realized what a vital cog he was to the whole operation until he had been gone. Even if it had just been in practice, he already felt the connection, and he knew this game would be easily won.
Anna had threatened him with an indefinite withhold if he didn’t let her come on the roadie, so she was up in their box, undoubtedly screaming along to every play, and just knowing she was in the arena made his game that much better.
They won, 5-2, and dog-piled in the middle of the arena as they clinched their playoff spot.
Fuck. This was still the best feeling in the world.
—
The rest of the season went by in a flash, and before they knew it, the Ice Breakers were facing New York in round one. It felt so easy now as they swept the round, and had extra days for recovery.
The Stallions lost against Boston.
It had been a weird moment, celebrating someone else’s loss, but Anna had come home with two bottles of champagne and they popped bottles and got a little drunk and Anna had taken him to bed and all right, he might be okay with celebrating another’s loss if it meant he got this. Plus, it was the team that almost took him out for the end of the season.
Yeah, he was okay with celebrating.
Philadelphia was a harder won match. They liked to play dirty. It went to game seven before they finally secured the win, and they all felt the tiring ache of it. Kristoff hated going to game seven - it meant they only had two days to recuperate before the next match started.
But Anna had drawn him a hot bath, had snuck in to lay on his chest while he relaxed, and scratched her fingers against his chin as she waxed poetic about playoff beards and how maybe he should just keep it and then her hands sunk a little lower, and he was suddenly feeling a lot more prepared for the Conference finals.
He genuinely thought they might lose to Toronto. They lost the first two. Won the third. Lost the fourth, and if they didn’t win all three of the remaining games, they were out.
It was close. God it was so fucking close.
Game seven. They were 3-3. Sudden death overtime. It looked like it might head into double overtime, with only eighteen seconds on the clock, but then --
Pederson scores! Ice Breakers win!!!!
Thank fuck.
—
Anna was there for every game. Every win, every loss, she was there. And he knew he wasn’t being a good boyfriend right now, he knew that he was too focused on his career right now and this was what he had been so fucking concerned about from the beginning.
But after game two against Nashville, which they lost miserably, Kristoff was sulking on the couch watching tapes to figure out where they kept scoring on him, and Anna wrapped soft arms around his neck.
“Hey,” she hummed, not even reacting to his short, irritated reply. “I just want you to know… How proud I am of you.”
That got his attention.
“You had a really traumatic thing happen, and you bounced right back from it, and you’ve been playing so hard, and so well, and… There’s no fear, and that’s amazing.” He let one hand raise to her arm, stroking his thumb across her skin.
“I love you so much,” he muttered, tilting his head back to look up at her. “I’m sorry if I’ve been a bad boyfriend.”
“I know,” she smiled, placing one quick kiss against his lips. “And you haven’t. I can deal with your job being most important for two months of the year.”
“You love me still?”
“More every day.”
He felt more confident in game three. And four. And then they were up three to one, and only needed one more fucking win to win the whole damn thing.
—
They were in Nashville and Anna was lamenting the fact that they didn’t have the time to actually see the city this week, and Kristoff pulled her close and told her if they won tonight they could stay here as long as she wanted and see everything she could possibly think of. She blushed and kissed him and told him that he better bring his A game, because she was holding him to it and would be horribly disappointed if they had to fly back home tonight.
That was an extra motivation.
They arrived at the arena early, amazed at the crowd already forming and the insane energy just surrounding the building. Playoff hockey was a whole other world, and he was so ecstatic that Anna was getting to experience it by his side. He kissed her deeply before she had to head up to the box and him to the locker room, with a quick squeeze of her bottom and a laugh.
“Hey!”
“It’s for luck!!”
Anna swatted at him but grinned as she followed Jelissa up the stairs to the visiting team’s box, laughing with the blonde about their stupid men and how on earth do we put up with them and Kristoff tuned out the rest before he heard something he didn’t want to. Then he turned his focus to the game.
“Men!” Sven hollered, his voice booming through the locker room. “This game is do or die. We’re ahead, but you better not let that cockiness mess with your game.”
Kristoff couldn’t help but smile. His best friend had perfectly honed his skill of making a speech lighthearted but also motivating. The team followed him into fire, and Kristoff had always admired him for it. When Sven wrapped it up and hopped down from his perch, Kristoff held out a hand, gripped his best friends’ and knocked their helmets together.
“Captain.”
“We win together or we die together, brother.”
Kristoff almost laughed at the drama of it all. “Calm down, Aragorn.”
Sven was silent for a moment. “When the fuck did you watch Lord of the Rings?”
“... Concussion recovery was rough.” He dropped Sven’s hand and smirked. “But it was actually pretty good.”
“Haven’t I been telling you for years that you would like it?” He smacked Kristoff upside the head and grinned. “Never listen to me, but the second you get a girlfriend…”
They heard the announcements starting, and moved out towards the runway. As always, they were last onto the ice, and as always, they fist bumped before they stepped out. He was as ready as he’d ever be. The timer counted down, they got into position.
Three.
Two.
One.
The puck hit the ice.
Period one had a rough start. 2-0 Nashville. But he was recalibrating, remembering what it was he kept missing. They got him on his glove side. They knew he was a little weaker, a little more hesitant with it after the injury.
But he could fix it.
Period two, nothing got by him, and the guys scored three times. 2-3 Ice Breakers. Thank god.
Period three, and the pressure is on. Nashville doesn’t want to lose, and the Ice Breakers don’t want to drag it out. They’ve played three long matches already.
Nashville scores.
Ice Breakers score.
3-4.
4-4.
5-4.
5-5.
And then.
Carruthers, the kid they just brought up from the minors to fill in a gap from another injury, fucking scores with three seconds on the clock. His third game. His first NHL goal.
The fucking Stanley Cup game winning goal.
The whole team runs to center ice. The whole team dog piles on top of the kid, still silent and slack-jawed with shock, still not believing what just happened.
“Fuck yeah!”
“God damn it Ruthy!”
“How the fuck, kid!”
The incoherent screaming from the team didn’t drown out the booing from the crowd, but nothing would bring them down right now. Nothing could.
After their celebration, both teams basically let the three seconds run. Nashville knew nothing could be done, and the Ice Breakers weren’t about to let anything past them anyway. The buzzer rang and they all cheered again, whooping and hollering as they received the cup, went through the motions in the arena that wasn’t welcoming them. Then they ran down the runway, back to the locker room to find their family and friends waiting with enough champagne for every person in that room to have their own bottle.
Captain Sven Pederson had the pleasure of carrying the cup back with him.
Music was blasting, everyone was screaming, champagne was already flying through the air and as the team started stripping some of their bulkier gear off, Mattias took to the stage.
“I’ve never been more fucking proud of you boys. You rallied together and in just a few years, we’ve already risen so far beyond what people expected of this new little team in the middle of nowhere. I’m not going to make some big long speech,” Kristoff could see the tears in his eyes as he sniffled, and he let out a booming laugh as he looked around the room. “But you’ve all just… you’ve made me feel like a proud father.” He waved his hands in front of his face and shrugged. “But fuck my speech, let’s celebrate!”
And celebrate they did.
Bottles popped, beers were distributed, everyone drank way more than they should as Sven emptied at least 8 bottles of champagne directly into the cup and lifted it to pour into every players’ mouth. The man of the hour, Scotty Carruthers, was herded to the middle of the pack and drenched in champagne and beer before he had even fully finished processing what was happening.
After far too long, Kristoff found Anna, and she leapt immediately into his arms, placing sloppy peppered kisses all over his face. “I’m” kiss “so” kiss “fucking” kiss kiss “proud of you.” And then a hearty one on the mouth, as her hands pressed firm to either side of his jaw.
Kristoff smiled with his fingers spread wide over her back as she threw her arms in the air to add more beer to the rain in the room. She laughed brightly, lowered her hands back to his shoulders, and gave him the best smile he had ever seen. “I love you so much.”
And then he thought that somehow that was worth more than the fucking Stanley Cup.
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Between The Pipes [Chapter 30]
Rating: M
Words: 2376
Pairing: Kristanna
Summary: When a new owner takes over the Arendelle Ice Breakers, Kristoff isn’t sure about his future with the team. That is, until a PR nightmare throws the newest member of the media team, who also just so happens to be the daughter of the new owner, right into his arms. Kristoff and Anna can’t even stand the interviews they have to do together… how on earth are they going to fix this mess? Hockey!AU.
[Chapter Index]
Where To Read:
[AO3]
Notes: Something less amazing happens.
this is the inspo for the end of the chapter, if you’re having trouble picturing it. but it’s a spoiler so don’t click it until ur done reading. :^)
Enjoy!
Anna tried to ignore her knuckles turning white as she gripped the steering wheel so tightly that she thought she might’ve been able to break it. This was it - her last game working for the Ice Breakers, and her last time getting to joke around with the boys she had grown so fond of. It wasn’t fair, but she knew better than to fight. Her father would just treat her like a petulant child and it wouldn’t change his mind anyway.
You’re never going to grow up, are you?
She had grown up. But she was starting to think no matter what she made of herself, she would never be able to be exactly what he wanted her to be. Anna didn’t know what he wanted from her anymore. Nothing she ever did would be good enough for him.
But she was starting to be okay with that.
You cooked up this whole scheme so you could sleep around again, just like in LA.
No. She had agreed to someone else’s plan to help out someone who didn’t deserve her fathers’ wrath. She had agreed to help because it was the right thing to do. The rest had simply happened.
And now… look where she had ended up.
Because of the scheme, Anna was finally with a man she knew loved her. Even if he didn’t say it. Even if nothing was official.
He had come over the second she asked, knew she was trying to escape her own worries, stopped it, and then actually managed to make her feel better. He had caressed her and worshipped her and whispered about how special and amazing she was as he satisfied her every need. He had stayed with her all night, comforted her and made her laugh and ran to the store to get her her favorite snacks and they had just spent hours upon hours just… talking, and joking, and watching dumb movies that he let her pick out.
And in the end, he held her close and tucked her messy hair behind her ears and told her - assured her - that everything was going to be fine as they curled together on her too-small bed.
And then he kissed her, for the millionth time that night, and she knew he was right.
This hadn’t been what she wanted to do with her life. This hadn’t been her dream. She had been dragged away from everything she knew and thrown into a small town and given a job because her daddy was the owner. She had felt obligated to be grateful, to be so, so overjoyed that her father had trusted her enough to give her this opportunity.
But, in the end, it wasn’t a job that meant very much, and it wasn’t a job that he had worried much about her screwing up. It was a throwaway, much like she had always been to him. Just a way to keep her busy and out of what he considered to be trouble, she supposed.
You’ve always been such a pain to restrain, you know that? I’ve cleaned up more of your messes than I can count.
Then Anna had begun to remember the messes he had cleaned up. Like the time her second grade teacher had physically disciplined her because she kept walking around the room, unable to focus. Or the time she punched a boy when she was fourteen because he grabbed her breast even after she had told him no. Even when she was seventeen and a professor had promised her a good grade in exchange for something special, and threatened to fail her if she hadn’t complied.
And he had thrown money at them, and told her she needed to stop being so provocative.
She hadn’t realized the implications at the time. Looking back and realizing what he had been implying, Anna could feel anger starting to bubble up in her stomach.
A short knock on her window startled her and she swung her head around so fast she could’ve sworn she had given herself whiplash, but she let out an audible sigh of relief when it was just Kristoff, hunched over and smiling softly at her through the glass.
“You okay?”
He was muffled, but she could still hear the concern lacing his words.
You’re going to go out there tomorrow, and you’re going to show your idiot father exactly what he’s giving up.
Anna unbuckled herself and got out quickly, practically throwing her body into his waiting arms. He had left early this morning - not because he wanted to, but because he really had needed to go to morning skate and get home for a solid nap to make sure he was up for playing tonight. They were playing the Stallions again, and he knew it would be a tough fight. Luckily, the second she was back in his embrace, Anna could feel all the day’s tension draining from her body.
“Hey,” Kristoff mumbled into her hair, dropping his duffel as he wrapped his arms around her waist. “How’re you feeling?”
She pulled back just enough to catch his gaze. “A lot better, actually. I…” Her hands came from behind his neck to lay gently on his cheeks. “Thank you. I can’t… I’m not even sure how to express how much last night meant.”
There was a hemming sound from beside them that sounded enough like her father to catch her off guard, but Anna knew he didn’t care enough to be here for her last night. Looking behind Kristoff, she physically relaxed when she saw Sven laughing and winking as he walked by. “Shut up, Pederson!”
“Stop being nasty, Arne!” He spun on his heel to keep looking at them as he walked towards the arena. “Bjorgman, don’t tire yourself out - there’s still plenty of hockey to be played in there.” He threw his thumb over his shoulder. “Even if it’s less fun than the hockey you’re playing out here.”
Anna couldn’t help the snort that blew through her nose and looked up just in time to see Kristoff rolling his eyes as he turned his head back to face her. “He’s fucking annoying. Don’t know why I put up with him.” The smile teasing at his lips was enough to make her heart beat harder behind her ribs.
She loved him, so much.
And she wasn’t sure what was going to happen if she had to leave.
—
It had thrown her off when her father had actually shown his face at this game. She was coming back from getting mic’d to listen to Coach Mattias’ pep talk, when she heard his voice call her name. “Anna.”
It was so empty. When she turned to face him and saw the lack of empathy on his features, she felt herself growing angry all over again.
“Yes?”
He rolled his eyes. “I trust that you won’t be doing anything… drastic tonight?”
Crossing her arms over her chest, Anna felt her frown deepen. “Like what? Tell everyone how you’ve fired me unfairly? Explain that you’re taking the word of a - frankly, quite horrid - person over mine? Or do you think I’d just strip naked and fuck my boyfriend in the middle of the rink.”
“Anna.” His voice was barely a hiss.
“Well you seem to think pretty lowly of me, father.” His eyes were narrowed as he stared her down, as if daring her to make a wrong move. “Well,” she breathed, straightening her back and dropping her hands back to her sides. “Lucky for you, here I am a professional, and I’d never risk ruining anyone’s livelihood.”
She heard his voice again in the back of her head.
You’re coming back home, where I can keep an eye on you.
“And…” She felt herself stutter slightly as she tried to keep her composure. “I’m not coming back home. I… I like living on my own. I like living here. And…” She kept her eyes locked onto his, channeling her strongest will to dare him to challenge her. “That’s final.”
He hardly scoffed. As if he didn’t want to make a scene. “We’ll see.”
And she stood there, waiting, shaking slightly in her skin as he walked away, not letting herself deflate until he was out of sight. Anna could feel panic rising in her throat, threatening to boil over into a full-blown attack. She had made it so concrete. She hadn’t given herself an ounce of wiggle room. If she didn’t have a job, she wouldn’t even be able to afford her tiny box of an apartment. What was she going to --
“Anna?”
Oh, she adored that voice.
“You said you were coming down for --” She turned to face him and he paused, his eyebrows knitting together. “What’s wrong?”
There was a sad smile pulling on her lips. “My father is here.”
“I thought --”
“Yeah, me too.” Kristoff clambered forward, his full gear clearly hindering him off the ice, and wrapped her into a warm hug, only made slightly awkward by the stiff blocker digging into her back. “I guess he wanted to make sure I left peacefully.”
“What an asshole. Want me to fire a puck at his face?”
She snorted as she nodded into his chest, leaning into his warmth. “Yeah, honey. Knock his teeth out.”
He leaned back just enough to look at her. Anna could see small tears brimming on his bottom lashes, and she had never felt more cared for. “Hey, just go out there, and do what you do. We’ll figure out the rest tomorrow.”
Anna lifted herself to her tippy toes, not even close to tall enough to reach him when he had skates on, as she puckered her lips just slightly to let him know exactly what it was she wanted. He met her halfway with a grin, and she relished the tenderness of this kiss. “You’re amazing,” he mumbled against her as they parted.
For the first time, she was starting to believe it.
—
Kristoff was playing erratically tonight.
There was a ferocity in his game that Anna was unfamiliar with as he dove and hit and bodily put himself between other players and the net. He was absolutely on fire, and Anna couldn’t help but gush about him to every single person she was speaking to that night. But it was far from his usual play style, and when it didn’t let up, she found herself growing a little further to the worried side of the meter.
It didn’t help that they were playing Hans’ team, and that Warren was being a little weasel.
During warm-ups, Kristoff had come over towards her to say something, and suddenly a puck was ricocheting off of the glass right next to them. She had jumped, startled, and when Kristoff’s head snapped around, he caught the last glimpse of Warren making some sort of gesture towards Hans.
Mattias was screaming at him for not being more careful, and he simply apologized and said it wouldn’t happen again.
Anna heard him mutter something under his breath, something she could have sworn was along the lines of wanting that asshole off the team, but she couldn’t be sure. Kristoff lowered his head to meet her, his gloves pressing into her shoulders. “You good?”
She nodded, trying her best to ignore the new prickle of anxiety on the back of her neck. “You?”
“Want to strangle him, but that’s nothing new.”
Anna had laughed, but now as she watched him play, she wasn’t so sure he had been kidding.
Not a single puck had gotten by him in the last two periods and you could see the tension growing between the two teams. Westergaard had broken two sticks so far trying to land a slapshot as fast as possible, hoping just sheer force would get one past the brick wall that was Kristoff Bjorgman. He continued to have no luck.
It wasn’t until the third period that things started getting dirty.
There were more unnecessary hits, more high sticks and elbows and roughing and penalties being called left and right. Anna had stayed on the edge of her seat the whole time, grimacing everytime a puck came close to hitting Kristoff’s mask.
With eleven minutes to spare, Anna noticed something strange happening in the Stallions’ huddle. Something venomous spread across the face of their forwards, and Anna tapped nervously on the arm of Sven. “Hey - um… I’ve just got a really bad feeling --”
“Huh?”
He looked at her for about half a second before both of their eyes turned back to the ice, the Stallions racing to their goal with ease. The positioning seemed normal enough, but Kristoff’s eyes were locked on the men passing the puck back and forth in front of him. There were players behind him, players he didn’t see, and Anna gripped at the boards with tense fingers, watching as Westergaard started speeding up the wing.
In a flash, the puck was shot, rebounding to the side, and Kristoff was looking for it for just a second as Hans came forward, scored, and didn’t stop. He crashed into the goalie, full force as he jumped into the air, stick up in celebration, and practically tackled Kristoff to the ground.
There was a thud as his head hit the ice.
Kristoff did not move.
Sven was out there in a flash, grabbing fistfuls of jersey, and landing one clean punch against Hans’ jaw as other teammates followed, and medical ran out more carefully behind them.
Kristoff still wasn’t moving.
The refs were blowing whistles, always nervous to get between angry hockey players throwing fists, and eventually Anna could see his mask off to the side, his legs moving just slightly as the medical team moved him onto his side. Sven abandoned the fight, his gloves long forgotten, as he knelt down behind Kristoff, gently helping them turn him.
It was dead silent in the rink.
She begged, her fingers clenching the edge of the boards even tighter, for him to just get up. If he could skate himself off the ice, it wasn’t that bad. If he would just get the hell up, she wouldn’t be so worried…
Get up, god damn it, get up.
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Between The Pipes [Chapter 32]
Rating: M
Words: 2650
Pairing: Kristanna
Summary: When a new owner takes over the Arendelle Ice Breakers, Kristoff isn’t sure about his future with the team. That is, until a PR nightmare throws the newest member of the media team, who also just so happens to be the daughter of the new owner, right into his arms. Kristoff and Anna can’t even stand the interviews they have to do together… how on earth are they going to fix this mess? Hockey!AU.
[Chapter Index]
Where To Read:
[AO3]
Notes: I think you've all waited long enough for this chapter, and I'm so, so grateful to all of u for sticking around through all the nonsense.
We're almost to the end here, lads. Thank u for coming along this journey with me :')
Enjoy!
It had been two days and no other symptoms had arisen, so Kristoff felt pretty safe to start doing some light activities. He set a silent alarm, got up at the crack of dawn, did his best not to wake Anna, and then headed out for a short, slow walk around the neighborhood. The brisk air was doing wonders for him, and he felt a sigh of relief wash over his whole body as he took in a deep breath.
He was so, so grateful for Anna, but she had become just a little bit on the side of unbearable over the last few days. At first it had been cute - a little tease and a little game. If the list said no, she said no. He’d pout and she’d kiss him and he’d let her win the disagreement, then she’d kiss him again and say thank you and he’d let it go. But then he told her he had been feeling a lot better - his headache was easing, there was no more dizziness, and he was able to stay awake for much longer intervals. But she was still insistent.
The thing was, he’s had worse injuries than this, and he always worked through them alone. It wasn’t that he didn’t like having this wonderful woman doting on him, but he felt… guilty. There was no need for it, he was fine, and Anna had her own things to worry about. There wasn’t any reason she should be focusing so much of her attention on him.
He had even tried yesterday, to ask how she was feeling - what she wanted to do, if she wanted to talk about it. But she had shut him down saying there would be time to talk about it later, really, and he should just worry about getting better. Kristoff dropped it because he wasn’t sure if it might lead to an argument, but she seemed relieved so he supposed he had made the right choice.
After about an hour, the sun was fully risen and his neighbors were starting to emerge, so Kristoff figured it was just about time to make his way back home. He hadn’t taken two steps through the doorway before he heard her feet running on the wood floor. “Hey ba-- Anna?”
She had tears in her eyes and her hands were on his face and she was frantic as she scanned her eyes up and down his body.
“Anna, baby, what’s wrong?”
“I… I didn’t know where you were.” She swallowed and locked her eyes onto him, panic evident. “I woke up and you were gone I… I was so worried. Are you okay?”
He felt his hackles raise. This was bordering on ridiculous. “Come on, I just went for a walk.” He grabbed her wrists and pulled her hands to rest between them. “You’ve got to calm down. I’m not going to die.”
Her brows furrowed as she looked at anything but him and he felt a small hint of guilt seep into his irritation. “I…” she pulled her hands from his grip and crossed them across her chest. “I know, I… I just…” More tears welled up in her eyes as she tried her best to subtly wipe at them. “You were so motionless. You didn’t move. I thought… I didn’t know…”
Ah, fuck.
Immediately moving forward, Kristoff pulled her into a tight hug. “I’m sorry.” He knew how it looked, how it felt, to watch someone you cared about get hurt like that. He should have known she had some reason to react the way she had been. He should have been more aware. He sighed with relief when her arms tightened around his waist. “I’m sorry, baby.”
Over breakfast that morning, after they had talked through her worries a little more, Kristoff simply grinned and said “you know, they recommend light exercise. Nothing strenuous, but as long as it isn’t making things worse, doctors think it helps concussion recovery.” Her eyes narrowed and he shrugged. “You should come with me. Then you’ll know I’m good.”
Anna had twisted her lips to the side as if to stop from smiling, and nodded. “I’d like that.” Then, after a moment of hesitation, “you’re okay with me coming along? I know… I know I’ve been a lot… I’d understand if you wanted some time alone.”
Kristoff felt something in his chest, felt an absolute warmth spread through his veins as he realized that, fuck, he never wanted alone time. Not anymore. Not from Anna. Everything was better by miles when she was with him.
“No, Anna. I always want you around.”
Her eyelashes fluttered as her cheeks darkened and a soft smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. “... Okay.”
It hit him then, as she popped a forkful of pancake between her lips, still smiling up at him with a new glimmer in her eye, that he was ready. He was so fucking ready because any more time spent with Anna not knowing how much he loved her was time wasted.
But he needed it to be perfect. He needed the day, just the rest of the day, to figure out what he wanted to say. Then he’d tell her tonight over dinner and…
He just hoped she’d say it back.
—
Kristoff had been feeling a little run-down so he had settled in for a quick nap after their late lunch. He knew the both of them and knew very well that they wouldn’t actually go to bed until after midnight, so he figured a short little power nap at three wouldn’t hinder his ability to sleep tonight too badly. But he couldn't sleep anyway. His mind was going too quick and it was too frazzled to even attempt to settle down.
Maybe the focus and stress weren’t exactly good for him, but he could only imagine how much better he’d feel once she knew. He had been hiding it for months, locking it away somewhere he only knew, and it was about time he let her in on the not-so-little secret.
The problem was, how on earth was he supposed to tell her?
He couldn’t be casual about it, not now. The three little words were so important to both of them, and he knew he couldn’t just drop a nonchalant I love you. It wouldn’t be enough.
No, he had to tell her how much she changed his life. How much he admired her. How much she truly meant to him. And he had to do it in a way that didn’t make him sound so fucking stupid.
Kristoff dragged a pillow over his face and groaned. He had never been the best with words, not even when it really mattered, and he hated how much he knew he was going to fuck this up. How hard was it to formulate a coherent sentence letting someone know how truly special they were? How hard was it to just fucking tell a girl you loved her?
He could say, Anna, I know we’ve been dancing this line for months, but I need you to know that I love you.
No.
He could try, Baby, you’ve changed my life, and I’ve loved every minute of our time together.
Fucking no!
Anna, you’re the most beautiful, brilliant, amazing woman that has ever graced this earth.
Too much.
Anna, you’re the most spectacular person I know.
Better
I can’t imagine my life without you.
Close.
I’m in love with you.
Simple.
Good.
Throwing the pillow to the floor, Kristoff stretched just a little before he got out of the bed. He had a couple more hours to really nail it down, and he knew, deep down, that it didn’t matter what he said… It was the heart behind it that mattered most. With a sigh, he stepped back out into the hallway and padded down to the living room as quietly as possible. He was honestly surprised that he didn’t hear the television on. He was surprised that he didn’t hear much of anything, actually. Anna usually hated silence.
He peered around the corner, not wanting to risk waking her if she had fallen asleep, and was almost hurt by what he saw in front of him. She was sitting on his laptop at the table, red eyed and puffy cheeked, tearstained and sniffling as she scrolled downwards, wiping an irritated fist at her face. “Seriously?” she let out a heavy breath and rolled her neck back, jumping when she saw him.
“Oh, hi!” Her demeanor changed instantly. “You feel all right? How was the nap?”
“Anna.”
She pushed the chair out and turned her back to him as she wiped at her face. “Want some tea? I was just about to make some.”
“Anna.”
She darted into the kitchen, ignoring him completely. “Two sugar? Any milk? I like mine sweet but I know you’re not a sweets guy I just can’t remember if you want milk…”
Kristoff stepped forward and came up behind her in the kitchen, bracing one arm on either side of her petite frame. He was almost grateful she had stopped talking. He hated when she got avoidant and would do anything for her to just talk to him about what was going on. He leaned down just enough to rest his chin on her shoulder and press his cheek against hers. “Baby,” he sighed, wrapping his arms around her as she settled back into his embrace. “What’s going on?”
“I…” He closed his eyes when her fingers started scratching lightly against his forearms. “I’m worried that I won’t find a job, and if I can’t find a job, then I can’t afford my apartment, and if I can’t afford my apartment, then I have to move back home. And If I have to move back there, then my father was just right about me and about everything and then I’ll be far away from here and what if you only like me because I’m just here and if I leave what if everything changes and I lose all of you and --”
A hiccupping sob cut her off.
“Ah, jeez, Anna…” He started walking them towards the couch, smiling at her small laugh as he rocked her whole body back and forth as they walked. “All right, let’s…” They sat together, her immediately drawing her legs up to lay over his lap as she pressed her forehead into his neck. “Let’s talk this out.”
“Okay…”
Kristoff began tracing his fingers up and down her bare leg, every so often squeezing gently at her skin. “So… job.”
Anna sniffled.
“You didn’t really wanna do the whole television personality thing, right?”
She nodded.
“You’ve got a degree in… Graphic design, yeah?”
She nodded again, laughing. “I can’t believe you remembered that.”
“Well,” he pressed a soft kiss against her hairline. “Things about you are hard to forget.” He smiled when she laughed, grateful for the positive reaction. “Right so… Is that something you wanted to do?”
She nodded. “I always thought I’d enjoy doing marketing and stuff like that. Or… like, concept work. I don’t know.”
“All right, well, why don’t you take some time then? Figure it out? You…” His arm wrapped around her back squeezed a little tighter. “You deserve to take time to figure out what you want, you know that right?”
A moment of silence and a nod.
“But… money… and my apartment…”
Kristoff shrugged, words tumbling from his lips before he even knew what he was saying. “I mean, I’ve got a spare room. You can just move in here for a bit if you want to. You…” Then it hit him, and he felt his whole face scrunch up. Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck.
Anna was sitting up, her brows raised as she looked over his face, but he immediately turned his eyes to stare at the carpet. Fuck he was so fucking stupid.
“That… Do you mean that?”
He felt his cheeks grow hotter. “I mean. Yeah. If you want. And like, I’ve got the spare room so you’d have your own space. And you’re here most nights anyway?” Oh stop talking you idiot. “It’s, I mean, obviously,” a laugh, “up to you? But yeah I mean, it wouldn’t… put me out or anything and it would give you some flexibility? And… I don’t know. I just… yeah.”
Kristoff risked one glance up at her from the corner of his eye and felt like he was going to have a heart attack. He couldn’t read her, couldn’t even come close to figuring out what she was thinking.
“Can you say something now?”
Her palm was on his cheek and she was turning him gently to face her. “I’m…” She swallowed and let out a wet laugh before she smiled. “I’m going to say something and… And you don’t have to say it back, okay?”
Wait. Hang on. He was supposed to do this first. He wanted to be the first to say it, wanted to fucking say it before he asked her to fucking move in and shit, he was the worst at this.
He nodded anyway.
“I… am so in love with you… and I… shit.”
Kristoff let out a heavy sigh as he smiled. God, that was genuinely the most amazing thing he had ever heard in his entire life. He wanted to hear it over and over and fucking over again.
“I want to be with you all --”
“Wait.” He clapped his hand over her mouth before immediately removing it and apologizing at her shocked eyes. “Sorry. Okay, wait. I’ve… I messed this up.”
Her smile faltered just slightly. “... Do you not want me to move in? Because… that’s okay.”
“Oh, jesus, god, no.” He was shaking his head rapidly before realizing how dumb that was and that his headache had just slightly worsened from the movement. “No, I want that so much.”
Anna nodded, her eyes growing a little worried. “Okay. So…”
“I’ve… literally been trying to figure out how to tell you the same thing all day.” He pushed his hair out of his face and turned to look at her, the blush on her cheeks glowing under her freckles.
“... What?”
“You beat me to it. And I went out of order.” His hand lifted to scratch at the back of his neck. “I probably should have told you I loved you before I asked you to move in -- wait, god damn it.” He’d never get this right, would he?
“You love me?” That sparkle in her eyes was breathtaking.
“Fuck, wait. Of course I do. But I… was planning this whole… speech. Hang on.” He shifted them then, lifting one leg onto the couch so he could properly face her, and took both of her hands into his. “You’re… You’re genuinely the most extraordinary person I’ve ever met. Anna, you’re kind, and beautiful, and brave, and funny, and you… Well you put up with me which makes you patient as hell. And I… I never, ever thought I’d ever find this. But… it’s you. It’s only you. You’re perfect, and I don’t want to wait anymore. I’m… I’m not scared anymore, Anna. I am so, so in love with you I almost can’t bear it.”
He decided he had to be okay with how it happened. He wasn’t ever going to be perfect, but he knew he’d never meant anything more in his life.
And then her whole face contorted, and large tears started falling from her eyes, and fuck, he did it wrong, because now she was crying and sobbing and “Anna baby, Anna… What did I do wrong?”
She practically leapt off the couch, into his arms, and pressed her nose into his neck. “Nothing, god, you’re… you’re perfect. I love you so much.”
Fuck, he’d never get tired of that.
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well this one just got away from me. and I def got lazy at the end hahahahah.... might go touch it up and post it as an actual fic eventually who knows i’m also lazy.
anyway. canon divergent. after f2, Kristoff couldn’t handle the change from princess to queen, and thought it best for everyone if he left. okay.
here u go liv hope I succeeded. @ahtohallan-calling @seeknewerworlds
He heard her before he saw her. That laugh - he would never, ever forget that laugh. It haunted him in his dreams, so warm and soft and bright, never for him, never again. It had been six years since it was for him, and he had done a very good job of avoiding it until now. But he had been taking on odd jobs ever since he left her, ever since her sister had decided there was no more need for an Ice Master, and this was the only job available - but it had dropped him right in the middle of the royal gardens.
Right in the middle of so many memories.
Right in the middle of her whole life.
He was frozen solid, her footsteps growing closer. He couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, clenched tighter at the shovel in his hands, and locked his eyes on the stone pathway in front of them. The man overseeing the project whacked him upside the head, said something about slacking, and scoffed furiously about a deduction in pay. But Kristoff didn’t care, if it meant she would pass without seeing him.
But he had never been a lucky man.
“Your Majesty,” another man next to him bowed. “Such an honor.”
The queen sighed and waved a hand in front of her face. “Please! Just Anna is fine.”
Kristoff kept his head down, eyes trained on the second set of feet beside hers. Definitely a man, definitely a royal.
“Darling,” his voice was smooth and proud, and Kristoff felt an overwhelming urge to punch him right in the mouth. “We have to head back up, your sister is waiting.” The way he spoke reminded him of… No. Anna wouldn’t wind up with someone like him. She just wouldn’t.
“Oh, Filip, I know, but --” He heard the anxiety in her voice - He could pick it out from a single word - and couldn’t stop his head from jerking up to look at her as his heart thudded against his ribs. He had to see if he was mistaken.
He was.
She was smiling, and so was Filip, as he teased her with a poke of his finger on the tip of her nose and she straightened the lapels of his jacket, the enormous diamond on her finger glistening in the sunlight. She seemed so happy. Even as she shook her head when he pulled her closer, loose curls bouncing around her shoulders.
She looked so beautiful, as if time hadn’t touched her, while he had let his hair and beard grow long and had generally let himself go as he wallowed in his cabin waiting for the next job. He had taken for granted how much good manual labor had done for his physique, and knew he was softer around the middle now.
A memory of her pinching at a small roll that had formed over the waist of his pants as she teased him about getting too comfortable in the castle steamrolled over him as he tightened his grip on his shovel and turned to move. He couldn’t handle what came after, her reassuring words and hands and ‘I’ll love you no matter what you look like’s twisted the knife already embedded in his chest.
This was the worst decision he had made since he walked out of the palace six years ago, and he needed to leave. Now.
“Bjorgman, don’t be rude.”
A hand clapped over his shoulder as he was spun back to face the royal couple.
Her eyes grew wide as her gaze met his, and he did his best to bite back the red flush he knew was tinting his cheeks.
“Your Majesty,” he started, his eyes dropping back to the stone. “Your Grace.”
A hissed whisper came beside him, and Kristoff knew he would be facing yet another deduction of wages. “You look royals in the eyes, boy.”
“Oh, dear no,” Filip started, taking a step forward. “Please, that’s unnecessary, sir.” He held out a hand in front of Kristoff’s face, offering a shake. “We’re not ones for formalities.”
He nodded once before taking a step back. “Thank you, your Grace.”
“Filip --” Now there was anxiety in her voice, this time he was certain. “I think I need to lie down…”
He couldn’t stop his eyes. He had to look, had to make sure she was okay.
Even if it wasn’t his responsibility anymore.
“Oh, of course, my love.” His hand settled low on her stomach as he pressed a kiss against her forehead. “You both should get some rest.”
Both.
So, when we’re married, we’re going to have lots of children, right?
Kristoff felt his throat tightening as he struggled to swallow.
As many as you want.
At least three -- no, four. Four means they’ll each always have someone, right?
He felt dizzy. He felt darkness seeping into the edge of his vision. He heard her gasp, heard her take two steps towards him, heard a muffled “Sir? Are you all right?” and felt firm hands easing him onto a bench. A far away “stay with him, Anna,” and a quick glimpse of red hair and blue eyes kneeling before him. Multiple sets of footsteps retreating. Tears clinging to eyelashes. Soft hands cupping his cheeks, resting softly against his forehead.
“Kristoff,” whispered, urgent and scared. “Look at me.”
He could never deny her anything.
“Hi,” she sighed, a smile pulling at her lips as he cracked open his eyes. “Welcome back.”
To consciousness, or to her?
He felt her thumbs stroke his cheeks and could have cried at the tenderness of it. Like nothing had changed. Like he hadn’t left. He couldn’t help but lean into her touch, years of tension draining from his shoulders just like that. “Are you --”
“Anna, is he awake?”
She pulled away from him as if he had scorched her. “Y-yes.” She stood quickly. “He’s coming around.”
Filip practically skidded to a halt beside her, offering a glass of water to Kristoff. “Here… I imagine the sun got to him.”
Anna wouldn’t look at him again.
“Probably,” he mumbled, his throat sore from a distinct lack of usage. “I’m sorry for any trouble --”
“Please, sir, no trouble at all.” Filip knelt before him, offering up a silk rag. “I’ve set up a room for you inside the palace.”
“No,” Kristoff snapped, shaking his head. “I’ll be fine.”
“I insist.”
He clenched his jaw, turned his gaze up to Anna, waiting for her answer.
“Please,” she smiled, her eyes soft. “Come inside.”
He tried to pretend like he didn’t know exactly where they were headed. Like he didn’t know the exact layout of the palace, and of all the hidden passageways. Like he didn’t know that they were settling him into his own bedroom. He saw the concern about it on Anna’s features, too, as they rounded the corner.
“I’ll have someone send up some food and some tea.” Filip gave a squeeze to Anna’s hand, smiling. “Anna, if you need me, just call.”
She nodded, squeezed him back, and watched him leave.
Leave them alone.
Together.
Here.
The door shut behind him, and they were left swimming in a tension that was thick enough to cut.
“Anna --”
“Don’t speak.”
His heart was hammering in his chest as his eyes lingered on the back of her head. He knew her too well, knew where freckles lay under her thick hair, knew that she was chewing on her lip as she decided what to say, knew exactly how her brows were furrowed together.
He wanted to touch her. Wanted to pull her into his lap as they had for so many nights on this exact bed, wanted to tell her that he was here and he was sorry and if he could do it all over again he never would have left.
But he couldn’t do any of that.
She squared her shoulders, rolling them back and down as she straightened her spine, and Kristoff knew exactly what expression she would turn around with. Knew that if he grinned and called her baby, she’d scrunch up her nose to fight back a smile, but would wind up with her arms around his neck as he kissed her tenderly.
There it was.
Frustration mixed with worry. A line he would smooth down with a stroke of his thumb between her eyebrows. A tension he would help her ease.
But he couldn’t, he couldn’t, he couldn’t.
“Are you okay to stand?”
He was confused, but he nodded and stood, still towering over her.
“Come here.”
He would always do as he was told. It barely took three strides to meet her, anyway.
His eyes scanned her face, clearly worried and unsure as she lifted her hands hesitantly. Palms rested on his chest, and he could feel her shaking.
“Anna--”
Arms were wrapping around his neck, then, as she pulled and pulled and he found himself hunched over just enough for her to hug him with her cheek pressed against his. It took no time for his arms to snake around her waist, too, holding her as close as he could as he breathed in familiar scents of honeysuckle.
“I…” her voice was weak, whispered, scared beside him. “I hated you so much.”
He nodded, his grip only tightening. “I know.”
“I never wanted to see you again.”
“I know.”
“I…” He felt her sob, felt the movement as it rolled through her.
His hand rose to the back of her head, dirty fingers digging into her scalp. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t say that.” Her voice cracked, and he felt her grip loosening. No. No, no. He wasn’t ready to let go yet. But he’d never made her do something she didn’t want to, and he wasn’t about to start now. “If you say that…” Her fingers slid to rest on his shoulders. “If you’re sorry…”
He was suddenly distracted by the bob of her throat as she swallowed.
“Then you left for nothing.”
He did leave for nothing.
“Just stand by your decision, Kristoff.”
Almost seven years as queen had changed her. She was more sure of herself than he had ever seen her before. He nodded.
“Thank you.”
They stood in silence for longer than he would have liked. He felt it was up to him to break it, this time. “Anna…” She looked up at him and he felt small under her gaze. “Are you… happy?”
Would you be happier with me?
“I…” He saw her straighten just so, like the first night he met her, like she was trying to convince him she was something she wasn’t. “I am.”
“You hesitated.”
Her cheeks flushed, and he lifted a hand to cup hers still pressed against his chest.
“I did not.”
“Are you happy?”
Her eyelashes fluttered as she clenched her jaw and tensed her shoulders. “I already said I am. I…”
Kristoff felt a selfish twinge of hope in his chest. She could be happier. She could be happier with him. “You can tell me the truth.” He felt an exhilaration rushing through his veins. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
Just like he couldn’t say no to her, she couldn’t lie to him about anything.
“I tried to move on, you know.” Her eyes dropped to the floor, burning a hole in the carpet. “Filip is… he’s wonderful. Truly.”
“But…”
“But…” She sighed, and pulled away from him, her fingers clenching at her sides. “But nobody is you, Kristoff.”
He wanted her back, he wanted this life back. He wasn’t complete without her and, and --
“But that doesn’t matter.”
He felt his heart shatter again.
“We’re… getting married in a month and… We have a baby on the way…”
“I love you.”
That was the worst thing he could have said, as her face contorted in a way he was familiar with, but had never been the cause of. “But you left.”
And then, so did she.
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Between The Pipes [Chapter 27]
Rating: M
Words: 2025
Pairing: Kristanna
Summary: When a new owner takes over the Arendelle Ice Breakers, Kristoff isn’t sure about his future with the team. That is, until a PR nightmare throws the newest member of the media team, who also just so happens to be the daughter of the new owner, right into his arms. Kristoff and Anna can’t even stand the interviews they have to do together… how on earth are they going to fix this mess? Hockey!AU.
[Chapter Index]
Where To Read:
[AO3]
Notes: morning after :’)
Enjoy!
Kristoff woke with an unfamiliar but not unwelcome weight on his chest. Taking one deep breath in before opening his eyes, he flexed his half asleep arm and turned to face the still soundly sleeping redhead beside him. Her little snores were fucking adorable and Kristoff felt his heart soften under her palm as he focused on the feel of her breath warming his throat. “Anna,” he whispered, pressing his nose against her forehead. A little louder, “hey, Anna.”
She let out one loud snort and a snuffle before nuzzling deeper against his skin. He couldn’t help the breath of laughter that passed his lips. “Baby,” he tried, the word still foreign in his mouth, stroking his free hand down her cheek. “Wake up.”
“Mmmno,” she hummed, her arm wrapping around his neck as her ankle hooked around his calf. “Comfy.”
His thumb kept moving against her skin, stroking over the mess of freckles he had grown to be so fond of. He wouldn’t move if he didn’t have to… but it was kind of bordering on urgent. “I have to pee.”
Anna let out an annoyed groan before she let go of him, scooting just a little away as she tugged blankets tighter around her shoulders. “Come back soon,” she slurred, already drifting back off. He lifted his hand up to her skin, fingers brushing lightly against her as he pushed her messy fringe away from her eyes. A small smile tugged at her lips, and Kristoff found himself unable to look away.
She was beautiful, laying there so peacefully as her little snores started up again. Kristoff was realizing that he had never quite seen her this relaxed. There was something about it - about how sure she seemed that he would be cuddling up beside her again in no time - that made his heart soar.
He didn’t know what was holding him back.
He loved her, he knew he wanted to be with her, and he knew she felt the same. She understood his fears and baggage and accepted him anyway, and was willing to wait for him to deal with it. Every moment with her felt like a step in the right direction, and every part of him longed for her when she wasn’t around. He didn’t even like going on away games anymore, because video chat wasn’t enough.
So what was holding him back?
Cupping her jaw, he ran a tentative thumb over her bottom lip. She breathed a heavy sigh through her nose and he couldn’t help but smile.
He supposed if you believed something for so long, it took more effort to change it in the end. He wasn’t magically going to get over these hangups and be ready just like that, but Anna was worth the work. Anna was worth all the time and effort and mental challenges he would face to get to a point where he was ready.
And maybe she’d even be willing to help him along the way.
Where she could.
Pressing chapped lips to her forehead, Kristoff moved to get up. He jostled the bed as he practically fell out of it, wishing there was slightly more grace in his bones - but it didn’t seem to wake her in the slightest as she pulled a pillow down to her chest to get back to something she deemed comfortable. He didn’t bother putting on any clothes as he made his way to her small bathroom.
He did his business, splashed his face with some water, and stroked wet hands through his still stiff hair, grimacing as it practically crackled under his touch. He needed a shower, bad. He knew where she kept her towels, knew she had not-so-secretly gone out and bought some of his preferred products, and knew she wouldn’t mind it in the slightest… So Kristoff flicked on the hot water, stepped into her small square of a standing shower, and washed away the remainder of the evening.
Judging by the levels of light in the apartment, it was barely 7.
Kristoff supposed he could go back to bed - they had been up awfully late...
Or he could whip something together by the time she woke up.
—
-
—
Anna was cold when she woke up. She was cold, and she was alone.
Her hand stretched out in front of her to see if there was any remaining warmth where Kristoff had been sleeping, hoping that he had just gotten up a little bit earlier. It would be okay if he had just gotten up.
But there wasn’t.
Swallowing hard, Anna curled her fingers into the fabric of the pillow. Had he really left? She vaguely remembered him getting up some hours earlier, but she had assumed he would still be tired and come back to bed. Had he seen it as an opportunity to leave? Had he taken one look at her - all knotted hair and smeared makeup and probably some drool crusted on her chin - and decided that it was too much?
Had it been too good to be true?
She sat up just enough to notice his wallet and keys were gone from the nightstand, and his clothes were no longer scattered around the room, and she felt her heart clench under her ribs. There was no trace of him left.
Oh.
Anna had thought - hoped - that their short conversation the night before was a step in the right direction. She had thought it meant he was going to stick around for a while. She thought he meant that he wanted her, that she was going to be his choice when he was ready, thought that the promise of my place next time meant that he was going to start letting go of old baggage… But clearly it had just been the soft encouragement of liquor loosening his lips.
This wasn’t the first time she had been wrong.
It just never hurt quite this much before.
She was just about to settle in for a day of not leaving the bed and moping when a loud crash from somewhere else in the apartment startled her. “Ah, fuck --” It was louder than a whisper, but clearly hushed as if not to wake her.
Her whole body tensed as she clambered out of the sheets, grabbing at her small shorts and large tee that she kept thrown over the back of a chair, and padded as quietly as she could out of the bedroom. It was probably just Elsa… or…
Peeking her head around the corner, Anna felt her pulse quicken.
Kristoff was standing in the middle of the kitchenette, shirtless and cursing as grease popped up from the stove, his suit pants slung low on his hips without the belt secured, and he looked freshly showered and downright glowy as the warm morning sun filtered in through the small window over the sink. Anna swallowed around the lump in her throat.
He was still here.
Barely controlling herself as she moved across the cool wood floor, Anna did her best not to leap on him as she threw her arms around his neck and buried her nose into his shoulder. He jumped just slightly, clearly not noticing her before she collided with him, and let out a short laugh as she tightened her grip.
“Good morning,” he grinned, his voice just a little raspy from disuse and the strain of the night before. “You -- Oh, okay--”
Anna had practically started climbing up him, her legs wrapping around his waist as he lowered one hand to support her bottom. He turned her away from the stove, doing his best to protect her from the splashing bacon while also not letting it burn. “Anna, this --”
“You’re here,” she mumbled against his skin, pressing her mouth and nose into the crook of his neck. The relief she felt coursing through her was almost unbearable.
“What?” Kristoff pulled his head back just enough to look at her. “Of course I am…” His grip tightened on her, and she squeezed his hips with her thighs. “Did you think I left?”
Frowning and pressing her nose back up against his neck, Anna didn’t answer right away. She had, and now she felt ridiculous about it. “Well… all your stuff was gone.”
“Baby,” he laughed and reached back to the pan to flip the now crisping bacon. “I went to the store.” His mouth lowered to rest beside her ear, and his voice dropped to an almost whisper. “How do you live like this? All your fridge had in it was a carton of expired milk and half a jar of pickles.”
Her mood immediately lifted, his teasing brightening everything about the day. “Excuse me,” she snorted, leaning back and straightening her back. She quirked one eyebrow as she stared down at him, practically turning her nose up. “There is a pizza in the freezer.”
He laughed, a full belly laugh, his cheeks stretching with the width of this smile, and Anna was enamoured with him all over again. She had to kiss him. Had to. Her hands rose to his jaw, and she planted a chaste, wide grinned kiss to the corner of his mouth.
Kristoff’s laugh cut off, but he continued to look at her with adoration in his eyes and a softer smile playing at his lips. She continued stroking her thumbs over his cheeks as he swallowed, flushed pink, and then turned his attention back to the stove.
“Shit…”
Smile dropping, she looked down at the pan of burnt meat and laughed. Bacon did burn awful quick if you failed to give it your full attention. “That’s okay.” Her fingers found their way to the hair at the bottom of his skull again and scratched gently at his scalp, her cheeks flushing when a soft moan left his throat at the contact. “I like my bacon extra crispy anyway.”
“Sure, sure, sure,” he chuckled, bouncing her higher on his hips before taking the hot pan off of the stove. “I’m positive you’re not just saying that.” He reached up to flick off the gas range, slid a spatula under the extra crispy bacon and dropped it down onto a waiting paper towel.
Anna couldn’t help her own giggle from bubbling up behind her lips. “I promise!” And then she lowered his head to kiss him again, both of their toothy grins prohibiting the kisses from being anything but innocent. “I love burnt bacon.”
“Well,” he sighed, his newly freed other hand pressing firmly against her mid-back as he savored her small, peppering kisses. “I’ll burn your bacon every morning, if you’d like.”
“Ooh,” she hummed against him, as if seriously contemplating it. “Tempting.”
Kristoff’s tongue teased her lips then, breakfast quickly forgotten as a heat rose between the two of them. Unspoken promises of many future mornings whispered in the back of her mind, pressing her desire to the forefront as his hands roamed over her body, mapping every inch of her.
She wanted so much, but groaned at the feeling of hairspray still stiff in her hair, makeup still caked on her face, and sweat dried slightly sticky against her skin. She needed to be clean before anything else could happen.
“Ah,” she sighed, pushing regrettably away from him. “It’s my turn to shower.” Anna almost laughed at the clear frustration in his eyes as she wiggled out of his grasp. “Are you willing to burn some eggs for me, too?”
Watching with delight as his tongue pressed against one cheek then ran across his bottom teeth under his lips - a sign she had learned meant he was wound up and annoyed that he had to tamp it down - Anna touched her feet back down to the cool floor.
“... Maybe pancakes?”
“Am I your personal chef now?” His teasing irritation made her smile.
With a laugh and a quick hop up to place one more soft kiss against his cheek, Anna grinned. She practically sang “only on the weekends, I suppose,” before skipping off to the bathroom and shutting the door quickly behind her, cutting off any protests he may have had.
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https://archiveofourown.org/works/25696957
I’ll probably cross post this to tumblr later but right now I just got my phone and I’m not fighting to post a whole fic on tumblr mobile hahaha.
Here’s my zine fic if u wanted to read it outside of the zine setting!!
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Between The Pipes [Chapter 26]
Rating: M
Words: 2613
Pairing: Kristanna
Summary: When a new owner takes over the Arendelle Ice Breakers, Kristoff isn’t sure about his future with the team. That is, until a PR nightmare throws the newest member of the media team, who also just so happens to be the daughter of the new owner, right into his arms. Kristoff and Anna can’t even stand the interviews they have to do together… how on earth are they going to fix this mess? Hockey!AU.
[Chapter Index]
Where To Read:
[AO3]
Notes: smut. just... smutty smutty smut. with a little feeling at the end and a little humor at the beginning.
Enjoy!
“All right big boy, we just have to - yep, one foot…” Kristoff laughed as Sven slurred drunken nonsense into his ear, something about reindeer and facing a winter storm… “Yeah, you would be a good reindeer, buddy.” Taking one glance behind him to make sure Jelissa and Anna were fine - they were making their way up the stairs slowly but surely - he reached down to dig through Sven’s pocket and find his house keys.
“I love you s’much, have I toldja that?” Sven reached up to pat at his cheek as he fumbled with the lock, and Kristoff nodded against his hand.
“Yep, buddy, you have. Every day you tell me.”
“Is it enough?” He gasped then, pulling Kristoff’s head to face him. “Is it too much? Omigod you hate it dontchu, you hate me.”
He heard Anna snort behind him and rolled his eyes. “No, Sven, I don’t hate you. I…” Sighing and resigning himself to the teasing he was sure he would get when they were alone, Kristoff didn’t bother lowering his voice. “I love you very much.” He was grateful when the damn door finally swung open.
Sven then threw his arms around Kristoff, practically sobbing into his shoulder. “Oh thank god.”
Leading him into the house and immediately into the bedroom in the back, Kristoff may or may not have intentionally dropped his friend into the king sized bed. He rubbed at the back of his neck as Jelissa and Anna followed him in, Jelissa immediately kicking her high heels into the corner. “You can handle it from here?”
He moved to gesture to Sven, and found him already sound asleep. “Or, you know, he’ll just sleep like that.”
“Yeah,” Jelissa sighed, flopping facedown onto the comforter beside him. “We’ll probably just sleep like this.”
“Well then I guess my work here is done.”
Kristoff nodded, a smirk on his lips as Jelissa raised up a dismissive hand before turning to face the doorway. Anna was still there, abnormally quiet as she observed the room before her. He could almost see the gears turning in her head, as if she was still trying to piece together the whole Sven-has-a-fiancée thing.
“Hey,” he hummed, smiling a little wider as she jumped slightly. “Ready to go home?” Feeling a small flush rise to his cheeks as she nodded and stuck out a hand, begging him to grab it with just a pulse of her fingers, Kristoff stepped closer to her, lacing her fingers with his. Her warmth spread through his veins as they made their way back down to the waiting limousine.
There was no more pretending, no more denial. There was nothing fake left about it. He hadn’t planned for this - for her - but her patience and understanding was more than he deserved and only served to convince him further that she was everything he wanted and needed.
He locked the door behind them and took the key, certain that there were at least six more keys floating around Sven’s home, before they headed back down to the parked car before apologizing about the wait. He waved them off with a sly smile before closing the door behind them. After a moment of shuffling, the driver dropped down the partition and Kristoff could hear mischief in his voice. “So sorry, Mr. Bjorgman… I believe there is some construction blocking the normal route to Miss Arne’s home… so I will be taking a slightly longer route.”
“That’s…” He glanced over to Anna, a pink tinge on her cheeks. “That’s fine, thank you.”
Then the car started moving and the sound-proof partition was back up and Anna was grinning at him from across the way. “So,” she hummed, shimmying her jacket down her shoulders. “What do you wanna do?”
It only took about forty-five seconds for her to wind up in his lap, straddling him with her knees resting on either side of his hips - and, if he was being totally honest, most of that time had been spent rearranging her skirts around them. The slit in her dress was exposing all of her soft, creamy skin, and Kristoff could practically feel his mouth going dry at her lack of stockings. There was no barrier for him to fight with as he scratched blunt nails up from her knee to the apex of her hip and thigh, and he let out an audible groan as she shifted against him.
“Do you like this dress?” Her mouth was barely an inch away from his as she mumbled, her breath ghosting over his lips. “I thought maybe the slit was too much…” His fingers involuntarily squeezed tighter at her thigh. “But maybe not.”
“Definitely not,” he practically growled as his free hand rose to the back of her head, bringing her lips crashing onto his. He was grateful for her quick response as she nipped at his bottom lip before sliding her tongue against his mouth, begging for entrance. She was fiery tonight as her fingers tangled into his hair and forced him to lean further back for her.
He knew they wouldn’t get exactly where they were desperate to be in the back of this limo, but he would do everything in his power to make sure she was ready and willing. Fingers stretched to pull at the soft swell of her behind, and he felt her let out a quiet moan against him.
Lips were moving slowly and deeply, as if they were both waiting rather impatiently to move forward.
“Kris,” she breathed, biting gently at him again. “I…”
“What, baby?” Kristoff lowered himself to lock onto her throat, leaving a trail of wet kisses against her skin. “Tell me what you want.”
She ground herself down against him and Kristoff could feel his cock growing impossibly harder as her hot center slid over him. He bit at the delicate skin of her throat in response, grinning as she whimpered above him. “What do you want?”
”Wanna be home,” she whined as he kissed down between her breasts. “Want you.”
“Soon, baby.”
He brought his mouth back up to hers, sighing contentedly as she licked into his mouth and continued the dry rocking of her hips against his. He needed to be inside her, was desperate for it… but even if he knew this driver and appreciated how discreet he had always been for Sven, Kristoff didn’t want tonight to be fast and dirty. He wanted the chance to take his time and worship her and make her feel as beautiful as he thought she was.
The car was rolling to a stop, and Kristoff breathed a sigh of relief. “I think —“ She kept kissing him between his words. “We’re here —“
Anna practically leapt off of his lap when there were two sharp knocks against the door. He couldn’t help the small laugh that bubbled up from his throat at the sight of her, flushed from her forehead to her fingertips, chest heaving as she tried her best to compose herself before they slid out the door. She coughed once - twice - before reaching for her coat and slipping it back over her arms. “Sh-shall we?”
Kristoff moved to leave first, grateful that their driver had enough tact to not just swing the door open, and stepped out into the cool December air, biting his tongue when he realized just how steamed up the windows had become. He helped Anna out of the backseat, closed the door behind her, and slipped their driver a fat tip before following her up the stairs, taking them two at a time.
He barely gave her time to close the door before he was on her again, his hands sliding up the whole of her back as he pushed her coat off of her arms again and scratched against her smooth skin. “Now,” he grumbled, leading her with his body to her tiny bedroom. Before he realized what was happening, she was falling backwards onto the bed, her hands tangled in his suit jacket as she brought him with her. Kristoff braced for impact, but absolutely relished the way her body fit against his as she cupped her hands over his cheeks.
They weren’t strangers to half-dressed desperate fucking, but Kristoff wanted her bare, wanted to be able to touch every part of her tonight. Things were changing, and he was prepared to change with them.
A groan of loss was quickly replaced by a soft mewl as he kissed his way down her chest and stomach before he knelt on the ground and swung one of her legs up. Kissed trailed down the pale skin of her thigh, her shin, until he settled on her ankle, kissing the inside before unbuckling her strappy heels. He repeated the actions in reverse on her other leg - shoe off, ankle kiss, and a trail of more all the way up to her mouth again. “Want to get out of that dress?” He sighed against her, smiling when she nodded feverishly, and helped her stand up off of the bed.
It was an easy enough dress for her to slide out of, and before he was even free of his vest she was naked, flushed and beautiful, waiting patiently for him to meet her. “Jesus,” he sighed, stepping forward to reach out for her, only to be deterred as she giggled and stopped his hands from coming any closer.
“Hurry up. While I’ll wait... I’ll just…” She sat back on the bed, trailing her own fingers deliciously down from her lips to rest between her thighs. “... Get started.”
“Fuck.”
Kristoff thought it was possible that he set a record with how quickly he stripped off his own layers, and soon enough he was in the bed again with her, skin on skin as their thighs tangled together in a desperate grind. She was slick and dripping against his toned muscles and he couldn’t wait a minute longer.
“Please,” he begged, not even minding how whiny he sounded. “I need you.” He wrapped arms around her waist and twisted them so she was laying on top of him. “Like this. Please.”
Anna got the hint and he had never been more grateful as she maneuvered on top of him, propping herself up on his chest as she positioned her wet center over his aching cock. A slow stroke of her hand up his length almost pissed him off until he felt the tip of him teasing at her before she slowly lowered herself onto him.
She felt so good and it took everything in him not to give in to the urge just to fuck into her with reckless abandon.
“Move.”
It wasn’t a request.
She did, slowly at first, little rolls of her hips against him as she took a few moments to readjust to him, but they quickly devolved into more erratic bouncing that echoed the delicious sound of skin on skin through the room. He lifted one hand to her breasts, playing with one pebbled nipple as he admired the motion of the other, moving in time with her thrusts. The other couldn’t decide where it needed to be, moving rapidly from squeezing the soft flesh of her ass to caressing her cheek to tangling in her hair before she irritatedly grabbed his wrist and shoved it between her thighs.
“Touch me,” she begged, her fingers pressing his against her as she encouraged the movement.
He would do whatever she asked of him.
But he needed her closer.
Abandoning the focus on her breasts, Kristoff pressed his fingernails into her hair, urging her to meet him in the middle before pressing hot, open mouthed kisses against her lips. He wanted to tell her everything he was feeling - wanted to make sure she knew how beautiful and amazing she was, and could only hope that his ministrations would convince her of everything he knew.
Soon enough he could feel her clenching, piercing her nails into his chest as her kisses grew sloppier, and he knew she was teetering at the edge.
He wanted to see her come undone.
“Baby.”
She moaned at the name.
“I wanna see you…”
She nodded, but he wanted to see her.
“Look at me.”
Kristoff could see the tremendous effort she put forth to open her eyes, blown out and hazy, before locking them onto his. She was so good, so beautiful, so giving.
“Atta girl.”
She came then, her brows furrowing with the exertion of keeping her eyes locked onto his as he took charge and thrusted into her, fucking her through her climax before he followed suit, burying himself deeper inside as he was drained for all he was worth.
Heavy breaths, a gentle touch of her forehead against his, and a tender kiss eased them out of their passion - but there was an unspoken agreement of refusal to separate as he tucked her under his chin, cuddling closer while he waited for her soft snores to come.
—
The next time he opened his eyes, they had shifted. His cock had slipped out of her, and Anna had her nose pressed against his jaw with her arm wrapped tightly around his neck.
Fuck.
He fell asleep.
On the rare occasions that she fell asleep right after, he would give her a kiss and hope she didn’t wake up, get dressed and then leave. Because there was a line he wasn’t sure if they should cross - and that line was sleeping over. It punched him in the gut every time he left her, but he couldn’t admit that, so he continued just… leaving afterwards.
But he fell asleep and now it was three in the morning and she looked so comfortable… but…
“Hey,” he whispered, pressing a kiss against her wrist. “Anna.”
She mumbled something against his skin but stayed mostly out. “Anna.” More force this time. “I gotta go…”
“No…” Her voice was muffled against him but there was no mistaking it.
“It’s late.”
She moved against him, freeing him from her vice grip around his neck, and shifted back enough to press her face into the pillow instead of his jaw. Kristoff let out a sigh, half relieved and half regretful, before he moved to sit up in the bed.
“You know…” her voice was quiet, barely a whisper in the dark. “You can stay.” As if she maybe wasn’t sure she wanted him to hear.
“Anna…”
Her shoulders shrugged just a little against the blankets. “You don’t have to be anywhere… and it’s already late.” She kept her nose buried in the fluffy pillow. “Just once won’t hurt.”
He reached down to push some hair off her face, cringing slightly at the feel of dried hairspray. “If I stay once I’m going to keep staying.”
Turning her head to look up at him, he could see a sadness in her eyes. “Then keep staying.”
Kristoff’s heart leapt into his throat when he smiled and nodded, giving up on the protest easily before he threw the covers back over his shoulders and pulled her closer. “Okay.” And then, to break the slight tension, “but at my place next time. Your bed is tiny.”
And, as she cuddled into his embrace, “you’re just a giant.”
“Okay,” he laughed, closing his eyes as she pressed one kiss against his collarbone.
“Glad we agree.”
“Of course,” he sighed softly against her as he settled in for the night. “Whatever you say.”
“That’s right.”
With a chuckle, he pressed one more kiss against her hair before he felt a new kind of deep sleep creeping in at the edge of his vision.
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Between The Pipes [Chapter 25]
Rating: M
Words: 2008
Pairing: Kristanna
Summary: When a new owner takes over the Arendelle Ice Breakers, Kristoff isn’t sure about his future with the team. That is, until a PR nightmare throws the newest member of the media team, who also just so happens to be the daughter of the new owner, right into his arms. Kristoff and Anna can’t even stand the interviews they have to do together… how on earth are they going to fix this mess? Hockey!AU.
[Chapter Index]
Where To Read:
[AO3]
Notes: even slow progress is progress right? This might be a big step for them :)
Enjoy!
Kristoff was struggling to find Sven in the crowd of people, but sighed with relief when he heard his name being hollered from behind him. He clenched the three drinks just a little tighter in his hands before turning to face his captain.
“Hey baby!” Sven hollered, slinking across the floor with his fiancée under his arm. Kristoff couldn’t help but chuckle at the pink flush across both of their cheeks. Clearly they had wasted no time in finding the bar and downing more than one drink. “More?”
Handing off something pink and sweet to Jelissa with a smile, Kristoff held up two beers in between his other fingers. He hoped it would help slow Sven down just enough that he wouldn’t have to carry him home, but still let his best friend keep his buzz going. “Drink this for now, I think Anna is going to come join us in a little bit -”
“Oh man, okay,” Sven grabbed the beer before grinning as he spun his cane haphazardly up to rest on his shoulder. “So… wait hang on.” He turned to whisper something in Jelissa’s ear before she rolled her eyes and turned to find some of the ladies who were here with their hockey playing significant others that she knew. “Okay, boy talk.”
“Boy…?” Kristoff felt his face scrunch up just a little in confusion before he felt the sting of a three foot long metal pole colliding with his upper arm. “What the fuck!”
“Will you just,” he did it again, and Kristoff winced as he stepped back. “Tell her how you feel?” Sven was winding up for another whack when Kristoff reached up to place a firm hand on the stick.
“I don’t think hitting me is helping!”
Sven’s eyebrows furrowed as he threw his hands up in defeat, spilling a little of the beer onto the floor. “Well it can’t be hurting! Clearly I need to actually smack some sense into you, you moron!” Tearing the can from Kristoff’s grip, Sven slammed it back on the ground. “You’re in love with her, man. We can all see it. Why can’t you?”
Letting a heavy sigh pass over his lips, Kristoff couldn’t help but avert his gaze. He knew Sven was right, and that made his heart speed up under his ribs. He thought about her bright, loving eyes and her glowing smile and her warm laugh that made him feel safe and shit shit shit.
He fucking loved her, didn’t he.
“Fuck.”
A knowing smile stretched over Svens lips as he reached over with the cane again, tapping it lightly against Kristoff’s cheek. “You’re so dumb. But I still love you.”
What the hell was he supposed to do now?
—
-
—
Anna loved the time she spent with her sister, but it was almost mortifying to learn of everything she had missed while living by herself these last few months. Apparently their father had somehow gotten worse - she supposed due to the stress of actually having to make decisions - and their mother wasn’t handling it well. In fact, Anna had seen her at the bar, three drinks in, and when she tried to say hello she had been dismissed, almost as if she hadn’t even been recognized.
Elsa said she was doing her best to help, but their mother refused to admit she had a problem. There really wasn’t much that could be done right now.
“Anna, this isn’t something you need to worry about, I promise. I’ve got it handled. I want you…” She squeezed at her shoulders lovingly, a smile growing on her face. “I want you to live your life, all right? You seem so happy here. You were never happy in LA.”
Nodding and biting at her lip, Anna sighed. “All right, if you’re sure.”
“I am.”
“Then,” she said with a grin, shrugging her shoulders. “You should probably let loose a little tonight, huh? Why don’t we…” Her eyes landed on Honeymaren, laughing alongside another member of the media team. “Meet my friends.”
Grabbing her sisters’ hand and pulling her eagerly over towards her coworker, Anna practically leapt to stand between them. “Honey!” Her eyes turned up to face them.
“Wait, what --”
“Honey this is my sister, the one I’ve mentioned…” She winked and snickered, the cosmo clearly already loosening her up. “You know.
“Anna.” Elsa’s voice was heavy with warning.
“Elsa,” she smiled, blowing one huff of air out. “This is Honeymaren -- Honey -- and I think you guys might get along great.”
Anna couldn’t help how toothy her grin got as the two women looked at one another and laughed, as if they both knew exactly what Anna was up to.
That was fine.
Because now she really wanted to find Kristoff.
After giving them just a few minutes to introduce themselves to one another, Anna could feel herself starting to get anxious to move, her heels tapping on the ground repeatedly as she bounced up on her toes. “Okay!” she practically exploded, reaching for both of their hands. “How about a round of shots and then we go find Kristoff and Sven?”
Anna missed the way their eyes connected with laughter before she skipped off towards the bar, dragging them behind her. She ordered her favorite shot - the pink starburst - and grinned as she held them out for the other two women. “I think we all deserve this.” Elsa rolled her eyes with a smile and Anna bounced happily before throwing her own back and immediately ordering six simple kamikaze shots before leading the way out to the dance floor where she assumed the three would still be.
It didn’t take long for her wandering eyes to find him, tall and broad and hovering over most of the other attendees. He had lost his hat and his hair was falling out from the slick do, and Anna couldn’t help but love the way small bits of his fringe fell into his eyes as he smiled and laughed along with his best friend. And as if he could sense her, his head turned her way, his eyes locked onto hers, and his grin widened. He practically pushed people aside to come meet her halfway, offering his hands to help with the six drinks they had been carrying.
“I brought shots.” Why was she so nervous right now? Obviously she brought shots!
“I see that.” But his smile was genuine.
She heard Sven and Jelissa’s vocalizing for them to come closer over the jazzy decade-appropriate music and laughed, gesturing their way. “I suppose they’ll start a riot if I don’t bring these to them, huh?”
Kristoff shrugged but kept smiling. “They’re already pretty drunk. They’ll probably forget you even have them in a minute.” His free hand reached for her, settling on the bare skin of her lower back before applying just enough pressure to encourage her to move forward.
“We’ve got some catching up to do, I think,” Anna sighed, glancing at the measly shot in her hand.
“Or,” he rolled his neck, leaning back towards Honey and Elsa. “The four of us can just stay semi-sober and enjoy the show they’re bound to give us.”
Anna enjoyed the laughter from her sister and her friend that bubbled up behind them, sneaking a glance at the two girls before tugging gently on Kristoff’s jacket to make him lean closer. “I’m setting them up,” she whispered, a glint in her eye. “I think they’ll be so good together, you know?”
She hummed happily as he risked one glance back at two women, and Anna noticed a recognition in his eyes she wasn’t wholly familiar with. “Oh, yeah, I think… I think that’ll go well.”
They reached Sven and Jelissa who hollered at a probably obnoxious level before they grabbed two shots from their hands, throwing them back without question.
“Oh boy.” Anna looked up at Kristoff who was practically grimacing as he watched the couple, who were now dancing in a manner that was definitely bordering on inappropriate. “That’s not what you want.”
Anna felt her whole face flush as four hands reached out to pull her and Kristoff into their rambunctious dance circle.
—
The night was finally starting to wind down, and Anna felt the exhaustion in her bones. As fun as dancing and singing and letting loose with her friends and sister was, she was absolutely on her last leg. She loved parties, and loved how they wore her out but energized her at the same time, but she was also just about ready to take her very handsome, very tipsy, fake boyfriend home and enjoy some much needed alone time with him.
Most people had left by now with the exception of a few stragglers who were looking to buy whatever was remaining, and some others who clearly wanted to milk the event for all it was worth. Sven and Jelissa had settled onto a couch in the corner, curled up together and practically sleeping while they waited for the night to end, while Elsa and Honey were sitting in the dining area, knees brushing as they talked and ignored the mostly untouched glasses of wine resting on the table between them.
Most surprising of all to Anna was that Kristoff was still out on the dance floor with her, holding her close as slow music played to cool off the rest of the attendees. She relished in the way he held her now, his hand settled low on her back while fingers stroked softly at her skin, as his other one grasped hers, their intertwined fingers partially wedged between their chests. Anna couldn’t help but use her other hand to play with the hair at the base of his skull as they swayed back and forth, his eyes rarely leaving hers.
“So…” she hummed, at the same time as he blurted out “I need to confess something.”
“O-oh?” She wasn’t sure what he was going to say, but she thanked the soft encouragement of alcohol as he smiled through the light flush on his cheeks. Anna tried not to let her imagination run too wild - for all she knew he was going to tell her that he didn’t like cats. This could mean nothing. But…
He laughed, just a little one, and spun her slowly to the beat of the music. “You’ve ruined me, you know that? For good.”
Anna felt her smile drop just a little, but she did her best to play it off. “What do you mean?”
“I…” he shook his head, breathing out a heavy sigh. “I mean… No one is ever…” He blinked and his face dropped and she felt him stiffen beneath her. “Don’t take this the wrong way, all right?”
He seemed to relax just slightly when she let out a breathy laugh and shook her head. “I won’t.”
Nodding, Kristoff continued. “I will never be able to date anyone else. Even if I wanted to.”
His hand tightened around her waist, pulling her impossibly closer as he pressed his cheek against hers. “I’m… I’m still not ready. I’m sorry. But when I am…”
“Kristoff…” She let go of his fingers clasped between hers before wrapping her arms around his neck, smiling when his now free hand pressed comfortingly against the back of her head. “I’m…” her heart was hammering beneath her ribs and she could almost see her blood pulsing behind her eyes. “You’re it for me.”
He squeezed just a little tighter.
“I will never… I will never feel this way again.”
She heard the soft exhale of breath through his nose as he turned to bury it behind her ear.
“I’ll wait as long as you need me to.”
It didn’t take long for him to pull back just enough to look into her eyes and decide if she was telling the truth. Then faster still, he pressed his lips to hers and kissed her deeper than he ever had before.
She loved him.
She would wait forever if she had to.
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Between The Pipes [Chapter 31]
Rating: M
Words: 2511
Pairing: Kristanna
Summary: When a new owner takes over the Arendelle Ice Breakers, Kristoff isn’t sure about his future with the team. That is, until a PR nightmare throws the newest member of the media team, who also just so happens to be the daughter of the new owner, right into his arms. Kristoff and Anna can’t even stand the interviews they have to do together… how on earth are they going to fix this mess? Hockey!AU.
[Chapter Index]
Where To Read:
[AO3]
Notes: They’re soft n smushy and cuddlebugs, apparently.
Also I've never had a concussion so I did some research but don't come at me if I've gotten something wrong hhahahah.
Enjoy!
Anna was sprinting down the hall, faster than she had ever thought imaginable in heels. They had counted the goal as good even though they gave Westergaard a minor penalty, and the whole arena had booed at the decision. It only took Honeymaren a few minutes to get down to the ice, and she immediately waved Anna off with a look of remorse.
In the end, he had gotten up, but only with the assistance of Sven and two medics, and skated himself off of the ice very slowly, but at least he was moving. Sven had only managed to come back for the last few minutes, but the rest of the team put their best foot forward to play even harder and shut down the Stallions. When she left, she could’ve sworn she heard a screaming match starting between the coaches.
The arena was going wild as she ran into the locker room, and she could only assume the Ice Breakers had scored again, almost guaranteeing the win. Good. The Stallions would not have deserved this game.
“Kristoff?” Anna called, making her way back to the training room. She peered around the corner, knocking lightly on the opened door. He smiled the second he saw her, but she could tell something wasn’t right.
“Hi baby,” he hummed, but his words were just a touch slurred. “Did we win?”
She shook her head and looked up at the medic who was frowning just slightly as he examined Kristoff for other injuries. Anna tried her best to ignore the bandages on his eyebrow and cheek. “Game’s not over yet, honey.”
“Oh, I should probably get back out --”
The medic sighed, rolling his shoulders. “No, Bjorgman, you’ve got a concussion. You’re not going back out there.”
“I have a what?”
Anna frowned deeper and stepped into the room. “Is this normal?” She watched Kristoff’s nose scrunch as he looked around for a moment, as if trying to make sense of what was going on around him.
“I wouldn’t say normal.” He definitely had no interest in humoring her. “But standard for a concussion. It’s fresh so the disorientation is… not too concerning, at least.” He finished scribbling some notes and turned to face her. “I’m assuming you’re his girlfriend?”
“Um, yes,” she nodded, her attention spacing for a moment as Kristoff grabbed her hand gently and squeezed at her fingers. “Is it… should we go to the hospital?”
“Ah, I wouldn’t…” He tapped his pen against his chin. “It doesn’t seem that bad. He said he has a headache and he’s definitely a little confused about what happened…” The medic moved to scratch at the back of his head and shrugged. “But his recall otherwise is fine, and he’s not nauseated and he’s conscious so…”
He handed her a notepad and explained everything on it. “These are the things I did and his scores, if you want to run through it with him again every four to six hours or so for the first twenty-four, make sure it’s not getting worse… If it does, then yeah, go to the hospital.”
“Can… can he sleep? Or… I’ve heard you shouldn’t sleep right away --”
“That’s been debunked, luckily.” He dropped the clipboard he had been holding on the table and turned to face her. “Look, ah, just… monitor him. Don’t let him sleep if it’s getting worse, and if you’re really concerned, wake him up every three hours or so to check in. Before you let him sleep, make sure his pupils aren’t dilated, that he can walk and talk fine, and you should be okay.”
Anna felt her heart finally starting to calm.
“But, honestly, it doesn’t seem too bad. I know Bjorgman’s had a concussion before worse than this so, just monitor it.”
Anna nodded and thanked him, waiting for the man to leave before she turned to face Kristoff. A small smile stretched at her lips as he gazed down at her from the exam table.
“Hi, baby,” he tried again, clearly a little annoyed that he hadn’t been getting her undivided attention as he lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. “You okay?”
“Are you okay?” She reached up to stroke his face, avoiding the cut on his cheekbone. “You got hit pretty bad.”
He nodded. “Feels like it.”
“Do you remember?” She watched his eyes dart back and forth, doing his best to recall the actual event, but his furrowed brows gave him away. “That’s okay, sweetheart.” She leaned up to place a small kiss on the side of his mouth. “You’ll remember after some sleep.”
The medics had managed to remove most of his gear, but they still took a moment to carefully get him into sweats and a t-shirt before heading out. Anna left his stuff in his cubby, figuring she could enlist Sven to help her come get it tomorrow, and led Kristoff out towards the car.
His voice came from above her, weak and sad and clearly still a little confused. “Can you stay with me?”
“Of course, honey,” she sighed, pressing her forehead against his arm that had been draped across her shoulders. “As long as you want me to.”
He nodded and she helped him into the passenger seat of her car, doing their best not to jostle him around too much. She knew the drive to his house was smooth, and had never been more grateful to drive down more private roads.
—
When they got to his house, Anna had drawn him a warm bath, told him to relax, and ordered some food in case he came out hungry. He hadn’t said anything about nausea, so she had her fingers crossed and was hoping for the best as she set the hefty burrito bowls down on the kitchen counter.
“Babe?” She asked, thirty minutes later when he still hadn’t emerged. “Are you okay?”
She opened the door and sighed with relief. He had just fallen asleep, his cheek resting against his arm propped up over the side of the tub. But she knew this wouldn’t be comfortable for long.
Anna stepped into the bathroom slowly, knelt down beside the tub, and stroked gently at his damp hair. “Kristoff,” she tried, softly as his eyebrows twitched below her fingers. “Baby…” A little louder, and one of his eyes cracked open just slightly. “Hello, honey,” she hummed, laying her palm against his cheek as he lifted his head. “Did the nap help?”
He rolled his shoulders and sighed, but nodded his head just a little. “Concussions suck.” His voice was hardly a whisper, and Anna pressed a kiss against his bare shoulder.
“I can imagine.” Then, a twisting of her lips. “Can you remember anything?”
A small shrug. “A little, I think.”
“That’s okay, that’s good.” Anna let her hand drop from his cheek to rest flat on his chest, feeling the steady rhythm of his heart. “I got some food if you’re hungry.”
Kristoff nodded and moved to stand, wincing just a little as he moved. Anna could see a large bruise forming on his ribs, no doubt where Hans’s knees had hit, and felt ready to strangle the asshole herself. “What’d you get?”
His eyes were soft and exhausted as he looked down at her, smiling when she offered him a hand to step out of the tub. “Burrito bowls. I figured they keep pretty well if you weren’t --” His stomach let out a large growl, and Anna chuckled. “Guess I got the right thing.”
“Hey,” his hand holding hers squeezed just a little and she looked back up at him, smiling as he brought his arms up around her neck for a hug. She pressed her cheek against his chest, not even concerned about his still-wet skin soaking her clothing as she wrapped her arms around his waist, and just took a moment to be grateful things weren’t worse. “Thank you.”
She wanted to tell him. God she wanted to tell him.
But it didn’t feel right. Not yet. Not when there was a chance he might forget.
“Of course,” Anna smiled, pulling back just a little. “Now get dressed and come get some food.”
Kristoff nodded and moved to grab his towel, grinning. “Yes ma’am.”
When he came out of the bathroom, Kristoff had realized how much the short hug had soaked her clothing, and immediately offered her something more comfortable. So he was in clean sweatpants and a loose t-shirt, and she was in a pair of shorts she had happened to leave here, and one of his smaller tees that still managed to hang well past her hips.
The paperwork she had been given had a whole list of things to avoid, and it included all electronics. So they sat in relative silence as they ate, and Anna promised to run out and get some games that didn’t involve screens in the morning. Kristoff complained that he’d normally be reading, but Anna pointed to the list and sighed, telling him it was on the what not to do list.
He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “I did it last time and it was fine.”
“Well, I’m saying no. Because the doctor says no.”
Anna was smiling though, even as he put up a front of annoyance, because with every passing hour she could see more clarity in him, as if just having someone to talk to was enough to help things start to come together for him. “But, if you want, I can read to you?”
Kristoff looked like he was holding back a smile. “I guess.”
But he hopped up quickly, insisting she leave the plates for tomorrow, and picked out a clearly well-loved copy of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Somehow, him being a fan of the great detective surprised her. “Really?”
He snorted and led her to the couch, sitting on one end, waiting patiently for her to settle beside him. “It was my dad’s - not that one, my adoptive one - favorite and he read these stories to us every night. So…” He smiled and leaned forward, an almost childish glee on his face as he laid his head into her lap. “They’re comforting.”
Anna smiled and began to stroke her fingers through his hair, smiling as he closed his eyes and clasped his hands together on his chest. “I like them all,” he mumbled, shrugging. “Pick whichever one you’d like.”
She flipped delicately through the pages and couldn’t help but chuckle. “Ah, how about…” She propped the book up on the armchair to make sure her one hand stayed free to continue their path across his scalp. “The Red-Headed League.”
Kristoff didn’t quite find her little joke funny, but rolled his eyes and let a smile stretch his lips. “Sure, perfect.”
A soft throat-clear and she began.
“I had called upon my friend, Mr Sherlock Holmes, one day in the autumn of last year…”
—
Anna woke up to a soft ringing by her head. She slid her hand around the armrest in a quiet attempt to find the offending device without jostling the man sleeping on her top of her too much. Finally getting it between her fingers, she silenced it before even looking at the caller ID.
She sighed with relief. “Hi, Sven,” she whispered, letting her free hand fall back to scratch lightly at Kristoff’s skull.
“Hey. How’s he doing?”
A sense of guilt suddenly filled her throat at not even having thought to reach out to Sven earlier. “Oh, god I’m sorry. He’s…” she looked down and couldn’t help but smile. He had turned to his stomach, his whole body wrapped around hers as his cheek rested right right over her heart. “He’s sleeping. Seems all right.”
“Not too much disorientation? Memory okay?”
Anna chuckled, and decided it best to help lighten the weight on his shoulders. “He still remembers all the love and adoration he has for you, don’t you worry.”
Sven sighed, a small laugh echoing hers. “Well, good. I wouldn’t even let amnesia make him forget me.” There was a short lull, and he let out another heavy breath. “Hey, Anna… Thank you for taking care of him.”
She hadn’t even considered not taking care of him. “I… it’s really nothing I --”
“I don’t just mean right now… I mean…” He laughed, as if he was hesitating for a moment. “I’ve never seen him so happy. You…” He sighed, and Anna’s hand stilled in Kristoff’s hair. “You’re perfect for him, and I’m so happy you’ve come into our lives. And like,” he groaned, and she tried to ignore the tears she felt brimming her eyelashes. “I love you, and I know… how he feels. Even if he hasn’t said it yet.”
Anna’s mouth was contorted as she tried to hold back the sob she felt in her throat. “Well what the hell, Pederson. I’ve done so well at not crying today.”
“Well now it’s time, baby girl!”
They laughed together, and Anna couldn’t help but hum out a soft “Love you, too, Reindeer boy.”
“Ah, I’m never going to live that one down am I?”
“No way.” Kristoff started to move, his fingers flexing against her ribs. “Ah, sorry, I gotta go, he’s waking up --”
“Yeah, of course. Tell him I love him.”
“Absolutely.”
Before Anna had even finished hanging up, she felt Kristoff’s head lift from her chest, felt his whole body slide across hers, and felt his breath ghosting over her lips. “Who was that?” he hummed, his eyes slowly coming back into focus.
“Oh, just Sven. Making sure you still loved him.”
Kristoff chuckled and leaned forward, pressing a chaste kiss to her mouth. Well, at least it started out innocently enough. With a heavy sigh and deep regret, Anna pushed his shoulders back just slightly. “I think all of that would qualify as unnecessary physical exertion. And that’s --”
“Not allowed, I know,” he groaned, dropping his head into the crook of her neck.
She laughed and careded her fingers through his hair. “Just for forty eight hours. Then we can give it a go.” When he let out a noise of annoyance against her, Anna tsked and rolled her eyes. “Didn’t you go without for like… years? Don’t be such a baby about two days.”
“Well, It wasn’t on the table for those years.”
“Please.” She knew he had women throwing themselves at him. She’d heard plenty of stories.
“Fine. I didn’t have you on the table. Or the bed. Or the truck.”
Anna snorted. “Let’s go to bed, yeah?” She probably shouldn’t humor this because she was not confident she’d be able to say no for too long. “You clearly need some rest.”
Kristoff sighed and gave up the fight before climbing off of her and moving back towards the bedroom, immediately lowering himself onto the plush mattress. Anna followed, gave him a quick kiss, and promised she would join him after she cleaned up the kitchen.
He was out before she even shut off the light.
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Between The Pipes [Chapter 24]
Rating: M
Words: 2390
Pairing: Kristanna
Summary: When a new owner takes over the Arendelle Ice Breakers, Kristoff isn’t sure about his future with the team. That is, until a PR nightmare throws the newest member of the media team, who also just so happens to be the daughter of the new owner, right into his arms. Kristoff and Anna can’t even stand the interviews they have to do together… how on earth are they going to fix this mess? Hockey!AU.
[Chapter Index]
Where To Read:
[AO3]
Notes: when the gala that was only supposed to be one chapter including smut is now going to span three not including the smut.... hoo hooooo. Hope no one minds lol.
Enjoy!
The ride over had been quick, which Kristoff had been relatively thankful for. The way Anna had shifted had revealed a long, high slit in the skirts of her dress, stopping only inches below the apex of her leg and pelvis, her pale skin a glaring contrast against her dark dress. It wasn’t enough to say that it was a major distraction.
She had kept adjusting it as she leaned across the car to continue a conversation with Jelissa, but Sven clearly hadn’t missed how Kristoff’s eyes kept darting down to the freckles dotting her thigh. The shit-eating grin that had stretched on his lips only served to piss Kristoff off. He knew he wasn’t going to stop hearing about this tonight.
But fuck he couldn’t stop thinking about slipping his hand under all the layers of skirts and touching her gently, savoring the feel of her soft skin before finding her center and bringing her over the edge with his fingers. It would be so easy…
He sighed as the limo pulled up outside the arena, waiting in line behind other cars to let their riders out on a red carpet, rolled out long and decorated with thousands of lights. A marquee was secured above the entrance, blocking out the usual signage, reading simply The Roaring Twenties.
He supposed they used all their creativity up in designing the theme.
But he couldn’t lie that he felt himself getting just slightly more excited now that they were here. He watched through the window as some attendees and players walked up the carpet, their photos being taken as they headed inside, and couldn’t wait to escort Anna down the walkway. He knew all eyes would be on her, glowing and beautiful as her dress sparkled while she walked, and he didn’t mind one bit that he was simply an arm to show her off. She deserved to feel like a princess, and he was happy to be her escort.
When they were next in line, Anna and Jelissa made an effort to check one another over, making sure there were no makeup or hair mishaps, and then both turned to face their respective partners. Kristoff couldn’t help but smile as Anna’s knees bumped into his.
She lifted her hands to straighten Kristoff’s bow tie and he felt his whole face flush. “Hey,” she smiled, resting flat palms on his chest, just like she had on their first night out, and Kristoff prayed she couldn’t feel his heart racing beneath them. “I know I’m probably not going to see too much of you once we’re in there…” Her palm came up to his cheek, pressing gently against it. “I didn’t want to forget to tell you how handsome you look. Like…seriously, you should wear more bold suits more often.”
He couldn’t stop the toothy smile that took over his face.
His hands found her wrists, and lowered her hand before cupping them between his, and placed a tender kiss against her fingers. “Come find me whenever. I can leave for a bit. Sven won’t mind, I’m sure.”
Sven rolled his eyes but agreed as their driver stopped the car and stepped out to come around and open their door. He stepped out first, giving his hand to Jelissa as she adjusted the long train of her gown around her legs. His suit was white with blush pink accents and she wore pinks and golds to complement, and even Kristoff couldn’t deny that they looked perfect together. His fedora sat perfectly atop his curls and she had her hair done in a way that it fell over her shoulder in a waterfall of waves.
The driver peeked in and gestured for them to exit too.
Kristoff did his best to exit the car in a seemingly effortless way, but his large size always seemed to complicate it. Holding his hat to his head as he stepped out, Kristoff tried to ignore the flashing lights as he reached a hand back down for Anna.
She twisted perfectly, the slit of her dress showing off her skin and heels as they touched the ground with more grace than he could ever hope to have. It only took a moment for him to remember that she was from a wealthy family and there was a decent chance she had done events like these before. But when she stood up, her skirt billowing around her as she reached for his arm, Kristoff didn’t seem to care at all that she was miles out of his league.
Anna was here with him. And for now, she was his.
He couldn’t help himself as they approached the end of the carpet. He spun her twice, admiring the smile on her face, and bowed at the waist as he stepped over the threshold, his hand out and ready for her when she skipped the last few steps forward. She followed him through the door, both of her hands resting in his as he stood back up, soft smiles gracing both of their lips.
“Anna… You-“
“Anna!” Honeymaren came darting up, grabbing her hands out of his, and urged her to follow, the smallest wave of a hello and a goodbye the only thing letting him know that Honey had even noticed him.
Anna waved over her shoulder as she was pulled away, he assumed to get on with some of the recording for IBTV, and Kristoff let out a heavy sigh before another hand clapped down on his shoulder.
“You ready?” Sven grinned, squeezing once.
“As I’ll ever be.”
Part of the fun of the event was the gambling - every attendee was given fifty dollars of chips to start, and the more they played, the more the team hoped would sell and therefore be donated to the charity. And since the players were the dealers, it was always popular.
Kristoff and Sven got lucky enough to work the blackjack tables, and they always had lines.
The arena was fully transformed.
The whole right half was now a casino - there were about ten blackjack tables, six for poker, and two for roulette. A few other games sat around the edges, manned by some of the newer players, some spinning wheels with random prizes that cost chips to enter, and even a few unmanned slot machines. A few of the guys were at the auction tables, a few serving drinks, and then a couple more even behind the bar. It was an all-in experience where fans could be close to the players and get to know them a bit better while doing some good and giving back to charity.
And, as always, there were copious amounts of alcohol.
Through the night the guys worked one shift, getting half of the night to work and the other half to play - and Kristoff was ecstatic to be on the first shift. That meant he had the whole back half of the evening to have fun with his friends and drink a little and maybe even sweep his gorgeous girl off her feet and, if he had enough to drink, bring her to the dance floor and see how she could move.
The night was speeding by and before he knew it, his shift was done - He hadn’t even had a minute to be sad about not seeing Anna while he was working before Nieminen was tapping him on the shoulder and letting him know he was free to go. It was clear that his backup goalie was a little tipsy, but it was all part of the fun.
He thanked his last patron, grinned at Sven, and ran to find Anna the second he left his seat.
—
-
—
Anna waved over her shoulder as Honeymaren literally dragged her to the back room to get her set up for the opening shots for IBTV. It was a whirlwind as she was escorted around the room with a camera in her face, interviewing attendees and players and directors about how this night had come to be. They shoved a drink in her hand, told her to pretend to drink it and talk up the specialty cocktails before leading her back to the front entrance and having her record a quick introduction and conclusion to the video.
As worn out as she already was, she was glad that she only had to participate in this for a short while. Then she would be able to spend the rest of her night actually drinking and having fun with her friends.
She heard him before she saw him. Just as they were wrapping up the video’s outro, Anna stood up straighter at the sound of her fathers’ voice booming over the music and practically traveling directly to her. She looked up, meeting his eyes briefly before she smiled and headed his way. He was finishing up a quick questionnaire with Gerda as she approached, and he nodded down at her when she got close enough to hug him.
“Hi papa.”
It only hit her then that she hadn’t seen him in months. It hadn’t felt that long.
“Where are mama and Elsa?”
He scoffed, and Anna was immediately reminded why it had felt that way.
“I assume your mother went straight for the bar. Elsa… I’m not sure.” He looked around, his eyes narrowed as Anna bit her lip slightly and stepped back, her own dropping to the ground between them. She knew this wasn’t his scene and she was proud he had shown up, but the suspicious expression that was taking over his features had her nervous and biting at her lip.
Then she heard her name from a familiar voice, and felt her whole body relax.
Elsa was coming towards them, a smile on her face, and an icy-blue gown hanging low on her shoulders and trailing on the ground behind her. Anna practically ran at her sister, enveloping her in a hug. “It’s so good to see you, Elsa.”
Immediately her father disappeared, and Anna was almost relieved.
“So,” her sister started, a teasing tone in her words. “Where is this boy toy of yours? It only feels right that I meet him.”
Anna laughed and shoved her sister’s shoulder before looking around for the time, missing Elsa’s eyes glancing up behind her. It was already almost half-way through the event. “Oh, he should be done any minute now!”
As if on cue, Anna felt a pair of hands wrap around her shoulders, and a warm mouth press against the back of her neck, making her flush from the chest up.
Elsa smiled knowingly.
“Kristoff,” Anna sighed, wiggling under his grip just enough to get his attention. “This is Elsa.” She paused to wait for a reaction but wrapped her fingers around his wrist when he gave no sign of caring. “My sister.”
That got his attention.
“Oh,” he started, standing up straighter and moving his palms to rest on Anna’s bare shoulders. “I’m sorry, um, hi.” He reached out with his right hand and let out one awkward laugh when Elsa shook his hand around Anna’s body. “It’s… nice to meet you.”
Anna blushed deeper as Elsa cocked an eyebrow as her eyes moved up and down the pair, as if trying to make something add up. “Yes, Kristoff, I’ve heard… so much about you.” And deeper still.
It wasn’t like Anna had disclosed the size of his cock to her sister, but she was sure she had spilled more details than Kristoff would really want her sister knowing. And she was positive that Elsa wasn’t able to stop those facts from flooding her head again as she looked at the pair of them. It wasn’t like it was a secret that she was tiny next to him, and one could rightfully assume...
“I’m,” hummed, stepping out to stand beside the both of them. “I’m getting a drink. Anna… a cosmo, right? Elsa, would you like anything?”
Elsa smiled and asked for just a vodka tonic, and Anna let out a happy sigh as he pressed a kiss against her cheek before trotting off to the bar.
And then she felt Elsa’s eyes lock onto her. “I can see why you’re… interested in him.” She winked. “He’s cute. And… larger than I expected.”
Anna rolled her eyes and wrapped her arms around herself, shrugging. “Goalie gear, right? You never know what’s… below it.”
Elsa snickered beneath her hand.
“Shut up.”
It was only a short moment before he came back with their drinks in hand, seeming to be concentrating hard on not spilling them as he made his way through the dark room. He gave Elsa’s hers as smoothly as possible before gripping Anna’s by the bottom of the stem “Here, baby,” he grinned as she took the glass from his fingers.
He had never called her baby before. Anna felt her heart skip into her throat before she pressed a nervous palm to his cheek. “Thank you, honey.”
She swore she saw something new glimmer behind his eyes before he ducked down to kiss her, his now free arm snaking around her waist as his other hand rose to the back of her head. This was different. She couldn’t figure out why, but it was, as his lips moved against hers softly and slowly, not rushing, not pushing, just… savoring.
And then Elsa coughed from beside them, causing him to pull away so quickly she thought she might have been on fire.
Though the way she was blushing this time might have burned her alive anyway.
Kristoff mumbled something along the lines of promising drinks for Sven and Jelissa on the dance floor, and promised to be back as quickly as he could before placing another kiss on her forehead and one more on the tip of her nose as she smiled up at him, her eyes dreamy as a soft smile spread across her lips. Anna wanted nothing more than to follow him and join their friends, but she also wanted her sister to meet them. So she stayed put, eyes following Kristoff as he strutted up to the bar, and only returned her focus to Elsa when she heard her name laughed from her peripheral.
“Sorry.”
Elsa’s lips where pressed together now, a smile evident in her eyes.
“So… fake, huh?”
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Between The Pipes [Chapter 29]
Rating: M
Words: 2341
Pairing: Kristanna
Summary: When a new owner takes over the Arendelle Ice Breakers, Kristoff isn’t sure about his future with the team. That is, until a PR nightmare throws the newest member of the media team, who also just so happens to be the daughter of the new owner, right into his arms. Kristoff and Anna can’t even stand the interviews they have to do together… how on earth are they going to fix this mess? Hockey!AU.
[Chapter Index]
Where To Read:
[AO3]
Notes: Something amazing happens.
So so so so so so many that it's close to infinite thank you's to @xmjcx for helping me with this chapter. Her wisdom got me over a roadblock I couldn't figure out my way around, so, yeah. I'm just forever grateful. (hopefully this butters her up enough that she's not mad at me for posting it while she's asleep whoops)
Enjoy!
Kristoff had insisted, after their long-running burger dinner, that either she should come to his, or let him come to hers. But Anna had smiled and shook her head, promising that she just had a very bad headache and wanted nothing more than to go to bed.
“You know you can talk to me about anything, right?” He stroked a nervous thumb over the back of her hand before she leapt out of his truck.
No kiss.
“I know,” she smiled again, but it still wasn’t reaching her eyes.
Anna waved and left him sitting alone, worried and upset, as he watched her shoulders sag as she made her way up the stairs. He hoped maybe some sleep would help.
But then she didn’t show up the next day. To be fair, she didn’t really have any work to do when there wasn’t a game - she just usually came to watch practice and hang out afterwards - but it was strange nonetheless.
He had texted her as soon as he got off the ice.
Want me to come over tonight? I’ll bring dinner? Chinese?
aww, you’re sweet. im just not feeling well. maybe tomorrow?
All right… let me know.
of course!
He didn’t even hear from her for another day after that.
She came in on Thursday for a game against St. Louis, and Kristoff took note of the caked makeup over her dark, puffy under eyes. “Hi, baby,” he tried, letting out a heavy sigh of relief when she immediately stepped into his outstretched arms and pressed her nose into his shoulder. “Feeling better?”
Her head shook a firm no against him, but he wasn’t going to push it. Kristoff was just thankful she was _here _and responding to him.
“I’m here,” he breathed into her hair. “Whatever you need.”
He swore he felt her sob against him.
She powered through the night, interviews were jovial and upbeat as she made jokes and teased and talked through play-by-plays with some of his teammates. You could barely even see how much makeup she was wearing on camera - Ryder had been picking flattering angles and lighting.
They had won, she had hugged him, and even kissed him once more.
But she still drove home alone afterwards.
“Man…”
Kristoff turned around in the parking lot, surprised to see Honeymaren walking out behind him. “Real shame, huh?” He felt his eyebrows furrow as she looked down into her bag. Did she know? “I know, I know, I’m not supposed to know but,” she shrugged and smiled sadly up at him. “Her sister has loose lips.”
He nodded once, hoping she would continue. Thank god she wasn’t so tight with secrets either. “Just… God their father is the worst, right? I can’t believe that he just fired her like that.”
His heart was hammering in his throat as she kept talking.
“You’d think, you know... that’s his kid, right? Give them the benefit of the doubt?” She was shaking her head now. “Apparently he called her all sorts of…” She sighed into a groan and she practically shivered. “Just… horrible.”
Kristoff gave her about thirty seconds to continue before he blurted out a quiet “why?” He ignored how her eyes widened. “Why did he fire her?”
Honey looked shocked now. “She… Anna hasn’t told you?”
He could feel his eyes fluttering slightly as he shook his head. “No…”
“Oh, um…”
Regret was radiating off of her in waves. She had said too much, he knew she thought it, but… He understood, now. No one wants to be fired - much less by their own parent - not to mention, Kristoff genuinely couldn’t think of a single thing Anna could have possibly done wrong. She was a great employee, and a great on-air personality… But he still didn’t understand why she wasn’t telling him.
Unless…
His shoulders slumped. “Was it… because of me? Because,” he stuttered for a moment, gripping the strap of his duffel. “Because she was dating me?”
“Oh, god,” Honey cringed, pressing a palm against her forehead. “I… I think you should talk to her. I… shit. I’m sorry.” He watched her cheeks darken as she turned to head back to her car. “I… god, I thought you would’ve known.”
He nodded once, curt and hardly there, as she climbed into her drivers’ side. “Me, too,” he mumbled, before she shut the door.
—
One more day passed before he heard the personalized Disney ringtone she had set on his phone - because you said I was pretty enough to be a princess, remember? - and Kristoff was almost embarrassed at how he dove for his phone. “Anna?”
“Wanna come over?” She sounded so shy, and he wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. “I’ll order pizza.”
“Of course, give me a few minutes.”
She hung up almost immediately and he definitely broke a few speed limits getting to her as quickly as he possibly could. And, as if she heard his truck, or his heavy footsteps, or even his panting for air as he sprinted up the staircase, her front door swung open just as he lifted his hand to knock.
“Hi --”
“No talking.” Anna threw her arms around his neck and led him quickly into the apartment, kissing him deeply as they stumbled over her haphazard piles of belongings. It was only a short walk before he recognized the distinct smell of her perfume that was strongest in the bedroom.
Fuck, he knew they needed to talk, he knew she needed to tell him, or that he needed to tell her, but she was so warm and giving and he had missed her so much. Then suddenly, a moment of clarity as she threw herself down on the bed, fingers tangled in his t-shirt, moving with enough force to pull them apart for just a moment as he locked his arms on either side of her. “Hang on, wait, Anna… We really should--”
Her hand clasped over his mouth. “I said no talking.”
Kristoff blinked a couple times in surprise, eyes scanning over her face. Her nose and cheeks were red, eyes dark and wet, and she had still fucking been crying. But… would this make her feel better? Could he risk turning her down and her kicking him out? She was in control of this whole situation, and if this was what she wanted…
God, no.
No, it wouldn’t help. He knew her well enough by now to know that for sure, didn’t he?
Turning his head enough to slip her hand from his lips, Kristoff twisted his hips so that he was sitting beside her now on the bed, resting one of his hands on her forearm and squeezing reassuringly. “Anna…”
Her cheeks were red, now with embarrassment, as he rubbed his thumb back and forth over her skin. “Honeymaren, uh… She told me what happened.”
There was a mixture of confusion and anger and relief washing over her features as she seemed to be puzzling over which one to allow to the forefront. He blew out one breath of air, and had to close his eyes when he heard one heavy sob escape from her throat. “She… what?”
“Not…” He stroked his fingers up her arm to rest below her shoulder, doing his best to reassure her. “Not everything, I don’t think. Just…” She sat up, forcing his hand to leave her arm and settle on her leg. “That he fired you.”
His eyes dragged over the slight swell of her throat as she swallowed before darting back up to her downcast eyes. Kristoff only hesitated for a moment before he scooted a little closer, now hip to hip, and nudged her with his shoulder. “Anna…” She looked up at him, eyes red and puffy, and he tried his best to give her a soft smile. “You can tell me as much -- or as little -- as you want. I’m here. Just… let me know what you need.”
She blinked away a few tears, sniffled once, and then laid her head against his shoulder.
“He…” Another sniffle. “He was never told that our… how we started…” He couldn’t see her face, but he could almost picture her lip caught between her teeth as she struggled for the words. “He didn’t know it was fake. And… I guess someone told him…”
Warren. That scumbag Warren told him. But how the hell did he even know?”
“So… now I’m a big liar.” Her hands came to grasp at his as he flipped his palm up on her thigh, and she let out a small sigh as she started playing with his fingers. “I guess it just… confirmed his suspicions about me - about…” Anna’s head shook against his shoulder and he nodded, letting it go. It was something she wasn’t ready to reveal yet, and he would respect that.
“Anyway, I guess he said… it wasn’t worth the potential scandal?” He could tell it was easier when she wasn’t looking at him. “If everything came to light… About how I got the job, about the… PR stuff… I think he said I wasn’t good enough at it to justify it… I don’t really know,” she laughed lightly, bitterly, as she squeezed at his fingers, and he tried his best not to let the rage bubbling in his stomach boil over. “I kind of blacked out a bit, I think. But… After the All-Star break, I’m… done.”
Kristoff turned his head to press his lips softly against her hair before settling his cheek against her head once more. “Your father is making a huge mistake. It’s going to be a big loss, you not gracing everyone’s screens anymore.”
Anna laughed, quietly but genuinely this time, and he brought his other arm to settle around her hips. “I’m not kidding, really.” He could feel her turn her nose in to nuzzle against his throat. “Listen, I’ve… seen a lot of interviewers and worked with a lot of interviewers, and you have this very, very natural charisma about you. You get even the most resistant guys to talk.” He vaguely lifted their joined hands to gesture at himself.
“You hardly wanted anything to do with me, if you want to remember correctly.”
“Yeah, well,” he grinned, pinching at the curve of her hip and soaking in the soft sound of her laughter. “That’s what I’m saying. You’re so good at getting people to open up and talk. That’s a skill few possess.”
He wanted so badly to look at her, but Kristoff wouldn’t risk moving if she felt safe here. “And, god, you’re so smart, Anna.”
A meek “I am?”
“Of course! Fuck, you learned the ins and outs of hockey in a matter of weeks.” He felt her tensing against him. “I swear, you asked questions that even made us impressed. You saw things sometimes that even _I _missed on the ice.”
“No I didn’t.”
He did pull back then, turning on the bed to face her as he lifted his hands up to her shoulders, pressing firm palms against her. “You did. Anna…” Her eyes rose to meet his and he couldn’t help but smile. “You’re amazing. You’re kind and funny and smart and brave -- you took a job you knew nothing about in a new city and you proved that you could do it. You stood up to people who said you couldn’t -”
“... Like you.”
“... Like me.”
There was a smile on her face and a light in her eyes that Kristoff had been so desperately missing. “You’re… you’re brilliant, and you’ll have no problems getting up from this. And…” He leaned a little closer as his hands dragged down her skin to clasp her fingers in his, holding them tightly between their chests. “I believe in you, so much. Whatever I can do to help, whatever you need. I’m your guy.”
Anna’s whole body shifted with the deep breath she took in and released, as her eyelids fluttered and she bit at her lip. He wanted to kiss her, but first he wanted to make sure she was okay.
“I have no doubt that you’ll come back from this better than ever. Whatever job you find after this.” Blue eyes rose to meet his, and he felt a warmth growing in his chest. All he wanted from this day forward was for her to be so happy, no matter how that came to be. “What can I do?”
She slid her hands out from his and reached forward to stroke soft thumbs over his cheekbones. “You’re already doing it.” Moving to kneel, Anna shifted forward on the bed to settle between his thighs. “Thank you,” she hummed, before pressing her lips against his. It was chaste and soft and slow, and Kristoff felt his lips stretching into a smile under hers.
“Anytime,” he murmured, lifting his hands to rest on her hips.
It was different this time as she kissed him. It was different as she wrapped her arms around his neck. And it was different as she looked at him, something new and exciting and raw in her eyes, before laying back and encouraging him to join her.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I…” Her eyes darted across his face, and she reached one hand up to cup his jaw. “I want to.”
“Not…” He had to make sure. “Not like before, right? Not just to escape?”
Anna smiled, and shook her head. “No. I just… want to be with you right now.” Her plush bottom lip was caught between her teeth again as she stroked her thumb across his skin. “I… I think I’ve realized something.”
He nodded, bracing his weight on his elbows as he leaned down to continue.
And finally, it was so, so different, the way they moved together, softly, slowly, cherishing the moment and the comfort of one another as they found a new rhythm that no longer felt like it used to. It no longer felt like just sex, just benefits, just friends.
It no longer felt like just.
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Between The Pipes [Chapter 28]
Rating: M
Words: 2028
Pairing: Kristanna
Summary: When a new owner takes over the Arendelle Ice Breakers, Kristoff isn’t sure about his future with the team. That is, until a PR nightmare throws the newest member of the media team, who also just so happens to be the daughter of the new owner, right into his arms. Kristoff and Anna can’t even stand the interviews they have to do together… how on earth are they going to fix this mess? Hockey!AU.
[Chapter Index]
Where To Read:
[AO3]
Notes: hmmmmmm.....
thanks 2 @ahtohallan-calling and @awesomemaple for the sven and anna dancing to lizzo inspo lmao the true mvps.
Enjoy!
Kristoff almost fell over when Anna sprung herself forward to land on his back with her arms around his neck. It was mostly the surprise of it, but he managed to right them both before she even noticed his stumble. “Hi,” he laughed, shifting his bag of gear to his other shoulder as she slid down the expanse of his back. “You’re chipper this morning.”
“Well,” she grinned, sliding her hand into his and lacing their fingers together. “It’s a beautiful day!”
It was most decidedly not a beautiful day. It was cold and gloomy and snowing. And not even a pretty snow… just wet and harsh. But if Anna felt that way, then sure, he could roll with it. “That so?”
She had started swinging their hands together as they walked, her thumb tracing circles over his. “Mhmm,” was all she hummed, nodding slowly.
It had been two weeks since the gala and she had spent almost every night at his house. It had been weird to fall asleep without her last night, but she had insisted on staying with her sister at her hotel. Apparently they needed some bonding time, and who was he to deny her that? But still, he already felt tension draining from his shoulders as she squeezed his hand and bumped his hip with her own while they walked and she talked about the bright side of the bad weather.
“I missed you,” he mumbled beneath her rambling, blushing bright when she stopped mid sentence to look up at him.
A small hop-skip-jump brought her lips up to his cheek, and then she was smiling even brighter. “I missed you, too.”
Kristoff coughed slightly, just to clear his throat, before shaking his head and trying to accept the small moment of vulnerability. “So, um…” He shrugged and kept his gaze forward. “Did you have fun with your sister?” He relaxed just slightly when she pressed her arm against his.
“Oh, yes.” She paused for a moment as she looked around. “I guess Elsa and Honey have been…” Anna practically giggled behind her hand. “You know.” A snort laugh and red tinged cheeks made him smile. “Talking.”
He could laugh at this shy, bashful Anna, so different from one he knew. Maybe it was because she was talking about her sister, but shit, he couldn’t help but wonder if it was how she talked about him, too. “Oh? Talking? Or… not talking.”
Anna whacked at his chest and laughed again, wrapping her hands around his bicep this time. “That’s my sister you’re talking about.”
“Sorry, sorry.”
A relaxed silence fell between them again as they continued down the corridor. Kristoff had spent the whole night thinking, and talking to Sven, and talking to his mother, and… He had decided that he wanted to do something special for Anna. He wanted to take her somewhere fancy, wine and dine her, and, fuck, as cheesy as it was, wanted to officially ask her out.
They sat in limbo right now, unsure of where to proceed. Their feelings were on the table, but, at least for Kristoff, things still felt uncertain. Did she want him to fully figure himself out before they moved forward? Or was she willing to work with him? It was a lot to ask of someone, but she was the most patient and kind person he had ever met.
If anyone would be able to help him, it was her.
Coach Mattias’ door slammed open as they stepped into the locker room. It startled Anna, who clenched his arm a little tighter as their eyes both snapped to the entrance. Warren emerged first, obviously irritated, followed by Mattias and…
“Papa!” Anna exclaimed, clearly taken aback. “I didn’t think you were coming to the skate…”
His face was stern as he turned his attention to the two of them. Kristoff could swear there was something venomous in his eyes. “I wasn’t. But I was called for a meeting.”
Kristoff was going to let go of her, but he felt just a slight squeezing of her fingers. “Oh?”
“We’ll talk later.”
And then he left the locker room, leaving a dozen or so stressed out players in his wake.
“Dude, what was that?” Kristoff’s eyes moved quickly to Warren and Anisimov, hunkered into a corner as Warren’s glare lingered just slightly too long on Anna.
He met Kristoff’s gaze, clenched his jaw, and snapped his head back around to face his teammate. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
This didn’t seem good.
—
Family skate had never been Kristoff’s favorite event. Sometimes he was able to fly his family out around Christmas and keep them in town long enough, but with his sister having a new baby and his dad needing to get someone trained to run the shop, they weren’t able to join him this year. But it was okay, because this year he had Anna, and she more than made up for all the years he just stuck awkwardly with Sven, Jelissa, and their siblings.
She clearly had snuck in more practice since their initial learn-to-skate session, and was easily gliding over the ice - nothing fancy, but clearly comfortable on skates. Every once in a while a good song would come on, and she would speed up to catch Sven and Jelissa as they danced and sang and all-around made fools of themselves.
He fucking loved it.
One song in particular had Sven crouched and shaking his ass back and forth as Anna smacked at it, the lyrics rapping something about fit fat asses and needing tempo and so many other words he couldn’t understand. Kristoff would have been jealous if it were anyone else, but there was absolutely zero reason for it with the two of them. He even found himself skating closer as Anna sang something about boyfriends watching and made little finger hooks to urge him over.
He would never be able to express how open and free he felt when she was by his side.
“Okay, I’m tired,” she laughed, leaning on Kristoff’s shoulder. “Water break.”
Kristoff gestured for her to lead the way, but shivered slightly when her hands slid over his hips as she came to a stop behind him, one arm lifting to flick at the bobble on top of his toque. “Take me where I need to be!” she hollered, wrapping her arms around his waist.
So, as was his nature when it came to Anna, he did the exact opposite.
Bending at the knees, and hearing her quick realization of what was happening, Kristoff took off, almost full sprint, with Anna laughing wildly behind him. “Stop stop stop!” But her laughter was louder than the protests, so he kept going, zig zagging out of other skaters while she yelled apologies behind them.
“Kristoff!!”
He grabbed her hands with his own, holding on tight to her, as he whipped around a corner.
“Too fast for you?”
“Not even close!”
Finally, when he had worn himself out, too, Kristoff came to a gradual stop right at the door, offering Anna a hand to help her step off the ice. She was still laughing, her cheeks flushed with exhilaration, and he couldn’t stop himself from leaning forward and cupping her jaw in his palms. One more sighing laugh came from her throat as she looked up at him with a crooked smile.
She was so fucking beautiful.
He kissed her, deep and slow, earning a round of wolf-whistling from the adults in the rink. He didn’t even care, because her hands were gripping his and her chest was arching into his and god damn it, did he need something fancy to tell her what he wanted? “Anna…” His breath was heavy as he pulled away, swallowing around the new lump in his throat. “Anna, I…”
Her eyes were full of wonder as she kept her gaze locked onto his, her bottom lip caught between her teeth.
“I… I really --”
“Anna.”
Her fathers’ stern voice cut through their thoughts and she jumped away as quickly as she could, turning to face the owner with her hands clasped together behind her back.
Of course.
“Hi, papa.” She waved her fingers at Kristoff from behind her back, urging him to head back out onto the ice. “What’s up?”
Kristoff felt her fathers’ eyes locked onto him as he took a few glides backwards, giving them the privacy he thought she might be asking for. He wasn’t sure what was wrong, but he felt unsettled as he tried his best to turn his attention back to his friends instead of on Anna, following the owner back into Mattias’ office.
—
Almost an hour passed before Anna reemerged.
Mr. Arne had come out after just twenty minutes, bid his farewells, and told them to give his daughter some privacy before heading out of the arena. Kristoff had pulled out his phone and texted her, not wanting to barge in on something she didn’t want him to bear witness to.
Is everything okay baby?
yeah! yep!! i’ll be out soon!! Sorry!!
Are you sure? I can come back if you want.
no!!! it’s fine! just doing some quick paperwork!!
He wasn’t sure he believed her, and the excess of exclamation points certainly didn’t help, but she wasn’t pleading for him to come and comfort her and he had to trust that she would ask if she had wanted him to. But when she came back out to the ice, he noticed her red nose and puffy cheeks, and immediately skated over to her. “Anna…?”
A smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Yes?”
He scanned over her face, noting the softly twitching corner of her mouth and flaring of her nostrils that he could guess signified she wanted him to drop it. So… he held out his hand to her and waggled his fingers in her direction. “Wanna keep skating?” The relief he saw drop in her shoulders made him tense in her place as she nodded and stepped back onto the ice.
It all felt different then. She kept a firm grip on his fingers as they moved slowly around the rink, no more enthusiasm in her small strides, and definitely no more dancing.
He had to try again. “Baby…” his voice was low, just above a whisper, as he pressed a kiss against her hairline.
“I’m fine. Please.” She kept her gaze firmly forward, until they reached the end of their second lap. She tugged on his arm just slightly, tilting her body towards the exit. “I think…” she started, biting her bottom lip. “I think that I really want to get a burger.”
Kristoff almost laughed. “Yeah, yeah, of course. Let’s go. We can talk. Let me just grab my --”
But then she was red faced and she was hollering at Sven and Jelissa, waving them over and inviting them along.
Anna didn’t want to be alone with him right now.
Normally it wouldn’t bother him, but when it felt like she was going to some great length to avoid telling him what was bothering her, he could feel irritation prickling at his spine. Kristoff sighed and trailed behind the others as they made their way back to the locker room to grab their things.
Soon after, they were all climbing into Sven’s Escalade, making their way to his favorite burger joint. He said it was a hole in the wall and you had to know someone to know about it. Kristoff couldn’t help but tease him, saying knowing him clearly hadn’t done them any favors.
Anna’s hollow laugh felt like a knife in his stomach.
He knew she’d tell him when she was ready, but there was a burning in the back of his throat that begged him to pester her until she caved, until she laid it all out on the table. But that was his father. That was something he would do. That wasn’t Kristoff. He wasn’t going to do that.
Instead, he reached over, clasped her hand in his, and gave her a reassuring squeeze.
At least this time her smile was a little more genuine.
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Between The Pipes [Chapter 23]
Rating: M
Words: 2013
Pairing: Kristanna
Summary: When a new owner takes over the Arendelle Ice Breakers, Kristoff isn’t sure about his future with the team. That is, until a PR nightmare throws the newest member of the media team, who also just so happens to be the daughter of the new owner, right into his arms. Kristoff and Anna can’t even stand the interviews they have to do together… how on earth are they going to fix this mess? Hockey!AU.
[Chapter Index]
Where To Read:
[AO3]
Notes: The gala was only supposed to be one chapter but then they spent 2000 words getting into the car so. Now it’s more. Also u’ll never guess who Jelissa is a hybrid of. We love her in this house. :^)
Enjoy!
I can’t wait for you to see this dress.
I may or may not have gone all in.
It’s… it might be too much.
I have a backup. Just… let me know when you get here!
Kristoff shrugged his jacket back on as he moved to get out of his truck, grumbling to no one about how much he hated this outfit. It was stiffer than last year’s loose fitting shirts, and itchier, and definitely more of a hassle to get on. Why did he have to wear an undershirt and a vest and a bowtie and a jacket? Not to mention the pocket square they had so carefully folded up and the fedora he had left on the seat of his cab. This was so much work, and while the event was wonderful and worth it, he was just so uncomfortable.
Their director had gone all out this year - being that it was approaching the new year, she wanted to embrace the roaring twenties - so she had chosen a Gatsby theme for the charity event. Luckily men’s fashion hadn’t changed too drastically, but his hair was slicked back in a way he wasn’t used to and he struggled not to run his fingers through it.
Anna had been excited. She asked if he could wear a green undershirt and pocket square, and the person who was putting together their outfits didn’t seem to have any objection - It went well with the multiple shades of tan in his suit and the buttons anyway. She said she had found something that was on theme enough but still fun, and while Kristoff wasn’t sure he knew what she meant, she had seemed thrilled by it.
He dusted off his pants, straightened his bowtie and headed for the short stairs that led up to her second story apartment. The limo would be here in about twenty minutes, and even though Anna swore she’d be ready on time, he felt a gut need to go check on her. It only took a moment after he rapped two short knocks against her door for it to swing open and for him to get a full view of her.
It took longer for him to process it.
She wore a dark forest green gown with so much intricate gold beading that he was afraid it would fall apart if he touched her. A simple plunging neckline only supported by two thin straps was complemented by curves and lines of decoration along the bodice that almost made it look like the sun was rising on her dress. It all narrowed down to a point on her waist, where the skirts puffed out to move airily around her hips, thin lines of more beading running all the way to the floor.
“Jesus, Anna,” he breathed, his mouth dry as she smiled at him.
Anna stepped back from the door, pressing her hands against the skirts to make them dance around her legs. He could’ve sworn he saw a peek of her creamy thigh high up in the masses of fabric.
“Do you like it?” And then she spun, and he saw the back, cut low and sitting just above the swell of her bottom, all her freckles and beautiful, soft skin teasing him with every pass. “I thought maybe it might be too much so I got a simpler one and —“
She jumped slightly when he shut the door, his eyes raking up the length of her to settle on her face, lips, dark and sultry below a more natural eyeshadow, her hair in flat waves and pinned up in something he could never have even imagined. It almost looked as if she cut it. He could tell she was holding back a smile - he knew she could see the lust he could feel burning through his veins.
He stepped forward, reaching out a needy hand to find her waist, fingers twitching as they brushed up against the rarely exposed skin. “You’re going to kill me.” And he pulled her closer, gently still, his other hand rising to cup her cheek as he lowered his head down to meet her.
Only to be stopped by her little fingers pressing against his mouth. “You can’t ruin my lipstick.” Then she grinned. “Yet.”
Kristoff laughed once at the frustration that sat heavy in his belly, groaning as his palm slid lower, thumb wrapping ever so lightly around her throat as he pushed her head back to stretch out her neck, exposing more skin for his mouth to find. He placed warm, wet kisses against her, grinning as he felt her swallow against his hand and his lips.
“I barely,” Anna sighed, her hands sliding up to grip at his lapels. “Covered the marks already there…” Her voice was quiet, as if she was saying this with regret. “Y-you can’t… not right now…”
She wasn’t going to let him have anything, was she? He tightened his hold around her waist and lifted his head to look at her again. When he could barely see the blue of her irises, Kristoff knew she was fighting the urge as much as he was. He shook his head. There was a part of him that was secretly thrilled that she let him take her this way - that she let him leave his mark on her. In fact, that tiny piece of him wanted people to see, wanted everyone to know she was his and that he wasn’t planning on letting anyone else get a taste of her - not as long as she let him keep her, not as long as she was okay with their arrangement.
“My father and sister will be there…”
Okay, he didn’t necessarily want them to see.
“Later.”
Kristoff groaned and let go of her, sighing as he let his blunt nails drag across the skin of her back, fingers scraping carefully over the small strap as they left her throat, and the promise of an after-gala rendezvous sending a shiver down the back of his neck. “Are you ready?”
When she nodded he noticed the jewels resting around her head, twisting through her hair in a way he couldn’t even comprehend. He needed to remember to look closer when they had more time, but soon his phone was buzzing with an alert from the limousine company, telling them that their ride had arrived. “Do you have a jacket?”
“Oh!” As if it wasn’t late December, Anna scurried back to her closet, reaching into the depths and pulling out a short white fur coat, grinning wide as she wrapped it around herself. “Don’t worry, it’s fake.”
He couldn’t help but laugh as she moved closer to him again, her heels clicking on the wood floor of her apartment as she grabbed a small gold clutch and gestured to the door, following behind him and locking up. They hardly made it to the bottom step before they heard the familiar voice of the Ice Breakers’ captain hollering. “Let’s go already!”
Anna snuck her hand around his elbow, resting it firmly in the crook of his arm before she gasped, and stepped back. “Your hat?”
“Hurry up!”
Kristoff waved an annoyed hand at his best friend before running over to his truck, grabbing it quickly, then returning right to the side of his beautiful, beautiful date for the evening as he settled it on top of his head. “There, all set.”
“Perfect.”
He felt on his own face what he saw mirrored on hers - a gentle smile growing wider as eyes softened and shoulders dropped and fondness practically radiated off of them. He would have said screw the event if it meant he could take her right back upstairs and spend the entire evening showing her how beautiful she was.
The only thing that brought him back was the sound of a door opening, metal clanging against pavement, and an irritated hockey player screaming “if you two don’t stop eye fucking right now, we’re going to leave you here!”
Kristoff turned quickly, glaring at Sven. “God, why did they think it was a good idea to give you a cane?”
Sven grinned and winked, climbing back into the limo before Kristoff grabbed at Anna’s hand and guided her carefully to the vehicle. It was a slight challenge to maneuver her skirt into it, but when they finally settled, she seemed startled as she looked across the way.
“Oh, hello.” He watched her gaze jump from him, to Sven, and to the blonde sitting on the other side of the limo. “Um…”
The blonde leaned across the way and smiled, a hand outstretched. “Oh, hi! Anna, right? I’ve heard so much about you. I’m Jelissa. Sven’s fiancée.”
Kristoff watched Anna’s whole body tense with shock. “I’m sorry… what?”
Jelissa laughed as Anna shook her hand tentatively, her eyebrows lowering in frustration at both of the boys in the car. “Why am I not surprised that he wouldn’t tell a pretty girl about me?”
Anna flushed and held her hands up in defense. “No! Oh my gosh no, no —“
“Baby she doesn’t know you’re teasing.”
Kristoff watched as Sven draped an arm around her shoulders, placing a kiss against the bottom of her jaw as she laughed at him again, her curvy legs crossing at the ankle. He couldn’t deny that she was gorgeous, but the anxious touch of the woman at his side mattered more to him than anything else in the world. He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her into his side.
“So,” Anna smiled, relaxing into him. “How long have you been together? I can’t believe Sven hasn’t told me about you! I would be furious!”
Sven rolled his eyes and tapped the floor with that stupid cane again. “Oh, this bombshell and me have been kickin it together since the ripe old age of thirteen. Don’t know how she’s put up with me so long.”
Leaning forward just slightly, Jelissa’s smile turned wicked. “It’s the ass.”
Anna snickered and nodded in agreement.
“Shush, shush. She spends most of her time -“
“Half, babe.”
“- Half-” Kristoff didn’t miss the air quotes. “-of her time in Jolly Ol’ England, and the other half traveling around the states. Being all important and stuff. So I’m denied her presence most of the year.” Sven reached over to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear, his smile softening as he looked at her.
Kristoff felt the start of something bubbling in his stomach. He couldn’t place it.
“But she’s always here for Christmas and New Years and the All-Star break, and I spend my time off traveling with her.”
Anna’s hand had risen to rest on his chest, tucking small fingers under the collar of his jacket. He felt her sigh against his side. “That’s so lovely, wow.”
And then Jelissa smacked at Sven’s cheek, an action Kristoff had become all too familiar with since knowing his best friend, and rolled her eyes before looking back at Anna. “And he still forgets to mention me. Isn’t that nice?”
“Baby.” He was whining now, a pout evident on his lips. “You know I love you more than anything.”
As they continued to bicker, Sven’s fiancée tapping teasingly at his nose as he begged for forgiveness, Kristoff couldn’t help but tilt his head down to look at Anna, and was only slightly surprised to see her looking back up at him.
We could be like that too, you know.
He felt like he could hear her thoughts in his head.
He knew.
Kristoff leaned forward to place a soft kiss on her forehead, his hand around her shoulder pulling her impossibly closer.
He could fall in love with her so easily, if he let himself.
Anna’s arm dropped from his collar to rest around his waist, her fingers fiddling with the hem of his jacket as they all continued to carry on their conversation. He pressed his cheek against her head, grinning as Sven poked his thigh with the cane.
He knew.
And that frightened him.
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