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kitsunefire7 · 3 months ago

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Up In The Air Chapter 12

Kristanna Modern AU

Rated T

WC 4200

Summary: Tired of her nomad lifestyle, traveling nurse Anna Arendelle on a whim picks Pensacola Florida as her new town to try find a sense of home. Meanwhile, Navy Pilot Kristoff Bjorgman has accepted a dream position at the Naval station in the same town. After a chance encounter goes south, the two of them find their lives entwined, with neither of them all that happy about it!

Also Available on AO3

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"Are you going to ask her out?"

"Slow your roll, Nic. I just have a couple pictures from Memorial Day that I wanted to give to her."

Nicole didn’t let up. “Then why do you need her number? Just give them to her the next time you see her at the hospital.”

“Because…” Kristoff let out an frustrated breath. He didn’t want to tell Nicole more than he needed to. It would just add more fuel to the fire. “Look, you and Sven are the ones that have been pushing us to get along better. This is me trying to be nice to her outside of work. Besides, asking her out would be a waste of time with how she feels about me.”

There was a pause from Nicole. “You’ve said that before. Why do you think that about Anna?

He didn’t want to get into Anna calling him a liar. It would make them both look bad. “Just something she thinks about me that isn’t true.”

“Fix it then.”

“Nic...”

“I haven’t heard you one time tell me you didn’t want to ask her out, only reasons why you couldn’t.”

“I didn’t say I wanted to either.”

Nicole let out a long sigh. “Sometimes I could strangle you.”

“I don’t doubt you could.”

That elicited a small chuckle from Nicole. “Sending her number now. Don’t make this worse or I will live up to that threat. And you will never ever get to see your niece.”

“That’s brutal, Nic. But thanks.”

“One more thing,” Nicole added. “Anna fell and hurt her ankle at work last week. Got a nasty gash on her head too. Luckily, no concussion. So cut her some slack when you talk to her.”

“Yeah ok… wait, what did you just say?”

********************

'Hey Firecracker. You busy?'

'Oh great. Nicole warned me she gave you my number. What do you want?’

Kristoff took a deep breath as he stared down at his phone. He had wondered if Anna was angry with him for walking away from her at the party. He sure got his answer quickly with that response. He wasn’t sure what to do next, so he went with what he was curious about.

‘How are you feeling?’

‘Did Nicole tell you that too?’

‘Just the basics. Fell. Hurt your ankle and head. You ok?’

The three dots on his phone were showing for what felt like an eternity. When they disappeared, Kristoff’s stomach dropped only for him to be startled by the phone ringing.

There was an audible sigh when he answered. Anna started in right away. “Typing was taking too long and I don’t have anything better to do. You really want the story?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Don’t start with me today. I’m not in the mood.”

Kristoff laughed. “Alright, you got me. I’ll be good. Promise.”

“Thanks, Kristoff.”

The tightness was back in his chest again. Kristoff couldn’t remember the last time Anna had addressed him by his name. It felt good to hear it coming from her.

“So, what happened?”

Another sigh. “I can’t believe I have to say this out loud. It’s so embarrassing.”

“I guarantee whatever you say, I’ve heard ten times worse.”

“Ok fine. Scheduling has been rough at work recently. A lot of long hours. I’m used to it, but there’s a limit to how many hours I’m allowed to work before I have a mandatory rest, especially since I’m one of the OR nurses. You know, have to be alert in surgery and all that.”

Kristoff sensed at once where this was going. This was an all too familiar topic in the Navy. Long hours without enough rest. “Let me guess. You had to go over your hours.”

“You got it, Cap. We were short staffed. What are you going to do? I was managing good and getting close to finally getting a replacement when we had an emergency C-section. My friend, Sue, was already in another surgery and there wasn’t anyone we could get quick enough outside the department. So, the team all agreed I’d go in and assist. I insisted, actually.”

Kristoff listened to Anna, impressed with her spirit. She never complained once about the situation. He could tell she was downplaying how long she had been working and wouldn’t be surprised if she had been going for at least 24 hours.

“Everything went well. Mom and baby were both stable and healthy, thank goodness. I was alert the entire time, no issues.”

“Did you get in trouble?”

“No. When there’s an emergency like we were in, the doctors are allowed to overrule hour limits. It would have been worse if something happened and I wasn’t in the OR.”

“So did the hospital goons find you and make an example out of you?”

Anna laughed and it sounded so good to hear that from her. “I almost wish it was that. Less embarrassing. No, we were cleaning up and the exhaustion hit me all at once. I wasn’t paying attention and tripped on some equipment. My foot got caught and I went flying. Luckily, the corner of a piece of equipment to my head stopped my fall. Knocked out immediately.”

“No…”

Anna was giggling now. “I’m sorry. It’s so stupid and exactly something I would do. I woke up on the floor, blood everywhere with a bunch of experienced doctors all looking down at me in a panic.” Anna’s giggles had turned to full on laughter, which made Kristoff chuckle at the sound. After a few moments, she was able to talk again. “I’m sorry. It’s the first time I’ve told this story out loud. It’s absurd. I’m a walking disaster. So, now I have a cut on my head- in my hair, thank goodness, and pulled ligaments in my ankle. I’m out of work for a few weeks. And it’s my right ankle. I can’t even drive!”

“Wow…that is rough. I’m sorry.”

“I’ll live.”

“Leave it to you to work so hard only to have that happen. I’m sure your team appreciated everything you did before you fell.”

“I'm sorry...I thought I was talking to Kristoff not Sven?”

“Ha ha. No, I was concerned about you.”

There was a pause. “So… did you text me for something or just to hear the story?”

Kristoff went blank for a second. He had completely forgotten why he had texted Anna. Clearing his throat he started as his brain finally caught up. “Ahh, I actually had something I wanted to give you.”

“What is it Cap?” Anna asked, suspicion in her voice.

“It’s a surprise.” Kristoff heard Anna huff. “Relax, it isn’t anything big. I was going to ask if I could drop it off or meet you somewhere, but I’ll give it to you next time I see you at the hospital.”

“You can drop it off.” Anna responded so quickly she almost cut Kristoff off. “I mean, only if it’s convenient for you. Otherwise, the hospital is fine, but it may be a few weeks.”

“You sure?”

“It’s not like I have anything better to do.”

“Ok...ok, that’s…that’s great.” Kristoff stopped himself and took a breath to get his thoughts in order and more importantly to stop sounding like an idiot. “How’s tomorrow? Around 11:30?”

“I’ll be here.”

“Anything else you need?”

“I’m good. But…thanks for asking.”

“Anytime. Send me your address and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Ok, Cap.”

“Oh, wait. One question?”

“What is it?”

“Are you riding around on one of those scooters you put your knee on. Because I HAVE to see that if you are.” There was dead silence on the other end of the phone. Kristoff burst out laughing. “You are, aren’t you!?”

“Shut it, Cap!” Anna scolded before hanging up.

********************

Anna went around the house, picking up what she could. Luckily, it hadn’t gotten too messy being that she really wasn’t mobile enough to destroy the whole house. She made sure her area by the couch where she had been rotting away for the last week was at least cleaned up and the door to her bedroom was closed.

She was nervous and excited about Kristoff coming over and making way too much of a fuss about him dropping off some mystery gift for her. It was probably because she hadn’t been around people very much since the accident. Anna could manage the pain, but she missed being around everyone at the hospital. Nicole, Camilla, and Sue had all been over, but she wouldn’t let them stay too long when they visited. They all had families waiting for them at home. Anna reminded herself she only did her hair because it made her feel better. It had nothing to do with who was coming over. Being a lounge sloth on the couch had its comforts, but she was starting to feel like she wasn’t human anymore.

The doorbell shook Anna from her thoughts. Anna pulled her phone from the pockets of her shorts. 11:30 on the dot. She laughed to herself. Leave it to Kristoff to be that punctual.

“Be there in a sec! Hopefully!” Anna called out, hoping Kristoff could hear her. Maneuvering around with a bum foot was not easy. She was thankful her place was all on one level, but it still took her some time to get around without knocking into something.

Anna scooted over to the door and was at least able to open it without knocking it into the front of the scooter. As soon as the door opened, she looked up and the sight of Kristoff took her breath away. He wasn’t in anything special, cargo shorts and a dark blue T-shirt with the word ‘NAVY’ across it in bright yellow letters. Anna had only been around him several times out of uniform and seeing him like this was a treat. Especially when he filled out that shirt so well.

“Hi,” Kristoff said softly as he smiled down at her. Anna watched as his eyes shifted lower and his smile morphed into a smirk he was trying to hold back.

The realization hit Anna instantly and she crossed her arms in defense. “Before you say anything, yes this is a scooter. I have crutches too- they’re over in the kitchen, but it’s easier to get around with this when I need to cover some ground.”

Kristoff’s grin was wide now. “Relax, Firecracker. I just didn’t think you actually had one. But I get it. Here, a peace offering. Thought it could brighten up your place since you’re stuck here.” Kristoff held out a small bouquet of flowers.

Anna’s eyes went wide. “Thank you so much! These are lovely! That was nice of you Kristoff.” Anna looked up at Kristoff not able to wipe the smile off her face.

"Glad you... wait, did you call me by my name?" He shook his head with a disbelieving look. “That’s the second time in less than 24 hours. I think you may be slipping.”

“For the flowers, yes I will allow it.”

He smiled again and Anna’s stomach flipped at how handsome he was. She couldn’t deny that as much as she tried to over the past year and a half to ignore it, she was still as attracted to him as the night they met.

It took Anna a moment to catch on to Kristoff slowly switching to an awkward stance. What was wrong with her? Staring at the man while keeping him at her doorstep. “I…I should put these in water. Come in. Please.”

Anna was able to turn around without running into anything. She made her way to the kitchen, Kristoff following silently behind her.

There was a rustling of paper by the fridge. “Is it ok to put these in your freezer?” Kristoff asked.

Anna turned and saw Kristoff holding up two pints of ice cream. She tilted her head at him and he shrugged.

“Sweet Annie’s is the best ice cream in town. Have you had it?” When Anna shook her head no, Kristoff smiled. “I got dulce de leche and chocolate explosion. Wasn’t sure if you were a chocolate person or not.”

“Definitely chocolate. But I’m not too fussy when it comes to ice cream.”

Kristoff turned and put the ice cream in the freezer. Anna took the moment to hop over to the bar stool at the kitchen island to sit down. She noticed a manilla envelope on the other end of the island next to a paper bag Kristoff must have taken the ice cream out of. She was about to ask about it but remembered the flowers.

“Do you think you could get a vase down for me?” Anna asked.

“Down?” Kristoff’s head tilted slightly.

“Top shelf.” Anna pointed up at one of the cabinets.

Kristoff looked up then back to her. “How do you get it normally?” His eyes were squinted with a hint of amusement at Anna.

“Oh, I just climb on the counter when I need to reach that high,” Anna said.

There was a glint in Kristoff’s eyes when he smirked over at her. “Kind of hard to do that now, isn’t it?”

Kristoff opened the door and reached up to the one Anna pointed at. His sleeve rode up slightly when he lifted his arm up with no effort to reach the top shelf. Anna could see the bottom of a tattoo on his upper arm.

“You have a tattoo?” Anna blurted out.

Kristoff put his arm down quickly, placing the vase on the counter. “Oh...yeah. I do.”

Too much, too much, the voice in Anna’s head was screaming at her when she noticed how uncomfortable Kristoff looked. Trying to smooth things over, she added. “I sometimes ask patients at the hospital that have them to tell me about them. You know, how and why they got them. It gives them something to talk about and not focus on the pain. Some of the stories are really good.”

“I don’t think mine would be all that interesting, unfortunately.”

“Try me out. Can I see it?”

Kristoff nodded and slowly pulled up his sleeve as he walked closer to her. “It’s a little messed up, but I had it done when I got my wings.”

“Your wings?” Anna asked as she looked at the image of a stylized anchor with outstretched feathered wings on either side.

“When I graduated from advanced flight school. The one that let me fly jets. It’s not too original. But I’m proud of it.”

“Oh. That would be a big deal I imagine! I’ve always been afraid to get one. I think it would hurt too much. Yours is really nice!”

Kristoff shrugged. “It wasn’t so bad. I may add more when I retire and clean this one up if possible.”

Anna noticed a scar running down the tattoo, leaving a wide white line cutting diagonally across it then around his arm before it disappeared around the back of his tricep. She held back asking how he got the scar as she watched Kristoff cover the tattoo quickly with his sleeve when he noticed her studying it too long. She knew a scar like that had done some damage. Looking to avoid putting her foot in her mouth Anna and asking about it, she shifted. “Got any others?”

Kristoff’s eyebrow arched and his face morphed to a mischievous grin. “Curious, are we? Only one way to find out that answer.”

“Ugh you are such a jerk!” Anna was only joking this time, but when she looked back over, Kristoff was running his hand through his hair and looking down.

“About that. I’m sorry about the other day.”

Anna folded her arms. “I don’t get you. One minute we’re having a nice conversation then the next you’re trying to get away from me as fast as possible. Then you disappear for the rest of the party. If you can’t stand being around me that much, you don’t have to pretend.”

“What? No, that’s not it.”

“Then what is it? Because you apologizing for how you acted is getting old.”

“I’m trying. I’m just not used to…” Kristoff motioned between him and Anna “…this. Us being nice to each other. I’m not pretending and you didn’t do anything. I’m not good at any of this. Never really have been. But if there’s anything I can do to make it up to you, tell me.”

“Well,” Anna said thoughtfully, “ the flowers and ice cream were a good start. But really just stop being a jerk and avoiding me. It’s infuriating.”

Kristoff nodded, sincerity across his face. “Ok.” He looked down at the island, reached for the envelope, and slid it over to Anna. “Here. This is what I brought for you.”

Anna took it. “Do you want me to open it?”

“After I leave.”

Anna nodded in understanding.

Kristoff looked around then grabbed the vase and went over to the sink. “Are you sure there isn’t anything you need? Groceries or any errands?” He asked as he filled it with water.

She started arranging the flowers in the vase when Kristoff brought it over to her. “I had my groceries delivered. It’s working ok. Except this week I ordered one bag of string beans but only got one bean. Literally.” Anna laughed at the thought. “So, maybe it’s not working so great.”

Kristoff shifted his weight from one foot to another. “I’d be happy to get you anything you need. Or if you’re up to it and want to get out of the house, I can take you.”

Anna didn’t know how to answer him. This was the sweetest thing someone had done for her in a long time. She focused on the flowers, still fussing with them even though they looked fine.

Kristoff spoke again, breaking the silence. “If that feels too personal or creepy I understand. No hard feelings.”

“No! No, I’m sorry. I’m just a little speechless, Cap. That’s sweet of you. And here I thought you didn’t like me.”

“Not the case.”

Anna felt her face flush not daring to make eye contact with Kristoff. “I’m supposed to get a walking boot on Friday. Still can’t drive, but I’ll be more mobile if you want to pick me up.”

“How’s Sunday afternoon? I’ll be back from the show and free around 3 if that works?”

She dared to look up into those beautiful brown eyes and couldn’t say no to Kristoff even if she tried.

********************

“Nicole, what am I going to do?” Anna’s elbows were on the table, head bowed down with her hands rubbing at her temples.

“I don’t see what the problem is.” Nicole, ignoring Anna’s theatrics, reached over and grabbed a fry off Anna’s plate. “They’re nice pictures.”

Anna lifted her head back up. “It’s not the pictures. They’re great. But he wouldn’t let me open them until he left. I know it’s because he didn’t want to see my reaction, but I can’t figure out if he was worried I’d be upset or happy about them.”

“I thought you didn’t care.”

“Nicole!” Anna whined. “You aren’t helping!”

There was a knowing smile coming from Nicole across the table. “I’m not going to help unless you admit it.”

Anna sat back and crossed her arms with a pout and closed her eyes. The evening breeze felt refreshing against her skin. She was grateful Nicole had picked her up so they could grab dinner out of the house. She was even happier it was cool enough to sit outside, but Nicole was supposed to be helping her, not making it worse.

“Ok fine,” Anna said, opening her eyes. “I care why he was worried. He’s not that bad being around when he isn’t hiding from me. I don’t want him to feel bad.”

“Good start,” Nicole said and reached for another fry. “He was worried you wouldn’t like that he gave them to you.”

“How do you know that?”

Nicole shook her head. “He didn’t bring them all the way to your house to not want you to like them. I think it was sweet.”

“As long as he doesn’t get the wrong idea. Being friends is one thing, but there is a wall here that isn’t coming down.” Anna waved her arm up and down in front of her, to emphasize her point.

“You’re something else, you know that?”

“Oh, why did I agree to go with him Sunday? It’s going to be weird. I’m going to make it weird.”

“Anna…” Nicole was clearly at her wits end on the subject. “He’s taking you shopping. It’s not a big deal.” She stopped for a moment, then smiled. “Unless you want it to be.”

“No!”

“Then don’t make it a big deal. It’s just a nice gesture. But hey, at least you’ll have your boot then, so you’ll be able to walk and not need those clunky things.” Nicole pointed over to Anna’s crutches leaning against the railing.

“It was pretty sweet of him to offer, wasn’t it? More than any of my exes would do.”

Nicole gave Anna a small smile. “Or a reminder of how you deserve to be treated. You know, I really think-“ Nicole’s head swiveled as a waiter walked past carrying a tray of desserts. “Ooh, do you want to get some ice cream after this?”

Anna laughed. “You should know by now you don’t even have to ask. What were you trying to say?”

Nicole just stared at Anna for a moment, then shrugged with a giggle. “I don’t remember. Pregnancy brain!”

Anna let out a small chuckle. “Hey, have you ever been to Sweet Annie’s?”

Nicole’s eyes went wide. “Yes! It’s amazing! Kris took Sven and I there when we first moved here. Have you been wanting to go? I will absolutely go there on a different day. I think I need to stay closer to where we are tonight. I can feel the sleepiness starting to set in. There’s a good place down the block we can stop at.”

“I’ll take you up on that offer. Kristoff brought me some when he dropped off the pictures. It was so good!”

Nicole’s eyes squinted at Anna. “Kris did?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Nothing. He must have been over in the area, because it’s the opposite end of town from where any of us live.”

Anna took pause with what Nicole said but then brushed it off, agreeing with what Nicole said that he was probably just in the area.

After dinner, Nicole and Anna sat on a bench outside the ice cream shop enjoying their dessert and discussing the baby shower. Anna knew she wouldn’t be able to keep it a complete secret from Nicole. She had a limited span of information on friends and family and had to rely on Nicole to give her a lot of the information she needed. While Nicole knew some details Anna insisted on keeping her in the dark with as much as possible, especially the date and theme. Anna still needed to figure out the exact date, but Sven had given her the ok for some time in late July.

“Did my mom get you the list of family you needed?” Nicole asked. “Not that most of any of them will be able to make it.”

Anna could hear a touch of sadness in Nicole’s voice. She nudged Nicole. “Maybe not. But I’m sure they’ll want to send you a gift or some congratulations.”

The small smile from Nicole didn’t reach her eyes. “Maybe.”

Anna mentally went over some of the information she needed, most notably the guest list Nicole still needed to give her of friends and people from the base. “Oh, that reminds me. I wanted to ask you, that couple that was at Sven’s party. Are they family and are they on your mom’s list?”

Nicole looked at Anna quizzically. “What couple?”

“The ones that were with Sven’s parents most of the afternoon. They were around the same age. They left a little earlier and I didn’t have a chance to talk to them.”

It took a moment as Nicole thought about it, nonchalantly offering Anna the information once it came to her. “Oh, those are Kris’s parents. I think Sven’s parents were more excited to see them then Sven and me!” Nicole chuckled. “They hit it off when they met when the guys were in the academy. Been friends ever since.”

“Wait…Kris’s parents? As in Captain America’s?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Did they come down for Sven?”

Anna could not understand why Nicole was looking at her like she had two heads. “No…they live here.”

Anna almost choked on her ice cream. “You mean to tell me they followed Cap here.” Anna thought about it for a second. “Actually, that’s kind of adorable.”

Nicole was laughing and Anna was getting more confused at her reaction. “Anna, they are from here. Kris grew up in Pensacola. Didn’t you know that?”

This time Anna did choke. When she was able to get a breath again, Nicole patting Anna on the back and asking if she was ok, it felt like a part of her was spinning out of control.

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