#kacij2018

[awesomemaple]

@thesvenqueen hello hello hello!!! i’m your secret santa~ you gave me a TON of ideas for your gift, and i decided to go for bodyguard and secret relationship AU :D hope you like it!

they’re not as sneaky as they think they are ❤️

[upthenorthmountain]

Happy Christmas-in-July @kristoffxannafanatic! I’m your secret Santa. :) you said you liked modern AU art with topless Kristoff so I hope you like this. :)

[punkpoemprose]

Run Away With Me -KACIJ2018

Happy Kristanna Christmas in July @lacejill!!! I’m your (slightly tardy) secret santa! I wrote you a little modern AU with socially awkward rich girl Anna and lawn care worker/ college student Kristoff and their whirlwind summer romance! It was inspired by the song “Run Away With Me” by The Spring Standards. Also I should mention I’ve literally never been to Washington state, so inconsistencies likely abound. I hope you like it!

           It was the greenest summer he’d ever seen in his entire life. The sun rose bright and warm every morning, and it only ever seemed to rain just enough for the grass to stay lively and plush beneath his feet. It was the perfect outdoor summer, made for hiking and fishing, and of course it was the first summer he’d been put in charge of jobs for his father’s lawn service, so while he spent most of it outside, it wasn’t quite as enjoyable as he’d wanted it to be.

           That didn’t mean he’d found it boring. No, he’d always found some comfort in demanding work, in keeping things in order, so when Cliff asked him to spend his last college summer running a job for one of their wealthier clients in the historic part of Artondale, Washington he was quick to jump aboard. Of course, it was just as much for the assistance it gave his father as it was for his own personal satisfaction, but what he hadn’t expected was to find the assignment to be fun. He hadn’t accounted for Anna.

           It had been all business at first. He’d gone to high school with Elsa, and she’d insisted upon using his father’s lawn service for the summer because it was the service her recently passed parents had always used. He barely knew her, she’d always kept to herself and that had never bothered him. She was a polite enough employer, and he always made sure that the work he completed was up to her standards. They never had an issue, and everything was as neat and orderly as the hedges, rose garden and exactly two-inch-high weed-less Kentucky Bluegrass. That was, of course, until Anna came back from boarding school.

           He could still remember the first time he saw her, a red head poking out an upstairs window for a split second like a ghost. He wouldn’t have even noticed it if he hadn’t looked up at just the right moment, because of course he knew that the Arendelle’s had a younger daughter but hadn’t thought that she’d be watching him from an upstairs window. Something about it made him sad, the idea of her spying instead of just coming down to say hello. He hadn’t really thought much of it at the time, but as he caught her looking again and again it had made him equal parts curious and frustrated. His only thought at the time had been that she was too good to come out and say hello, everything he knew about Elsa said that she wouldn’t agree with her sister fraternizing with the help.

           But undoubtedly fraternization was bound to happen when she kept spying on him out a window. It had been a week since he’d first spotted her staring and while he’d never considered himself the sort of man to have a temper, he also had never encountered conditions as infuriating as those on the day they first met. He’d apologized later, his Ma would have rung his neck if he hadn’t, but in the moment, he shouted up to her he had seen more red than just that of her hair.

           “Take a picture, it’ll last longer!”

           He’d been angry, after hours of convincing himself that she was up in the air-conditioned loft of her bedroom while he and his guys toiled with her hedges on the hottest day of the year. And of course, if he’d been in his right mind he wouldn’t have said anything at all, but he had been fried from the heat and sick and tired of ensuring that there were ninety-degree corners on a plant with round leaves. It had only been the background thought of his father’s reputation and a quiet voice of self-preservation that had kept him from yelling a few choice words instead.

           When she’d disappeared from the window he’d expected her sister to come out and ask him to leave. He’d stopped his work on the hedges and looked to the ground, hearing his heart beating in his ears as he came to the realization that he’d just screwed himself over, not to mention possibly lost a customer for his father. He had played a million possible outcomes over in his head of all the different ways in which six words would ruin his life and he became strangely prepared for it all within a few moments. What he hadn’t imagined in his thousands of possibilities was that when the sliding glass door opened a few minutes later he would to look up to see a sheepish young woman carrying a tray of lemonade like something out of a sitcom.

           That was the day that he truly met Anna Arendelle. That was the day that he, somewhat nervously came to the realization that she was not the annoying thirteen-year-old sister of his employer, but rather a sweet young woman of eighteen who hadn’t spoken to a man outside her ivory tower. After clumsy introductions and apologies, Kristoff realized that his week-long stalker was so much more than a flash of red and affluence in an upstairs window, she was just a lonely soul looking for companionship.

           It had been easy for him to like her. At the start she would still be a flash in a window, the little red head that watched him work, offered a few polite words, and brought out homemade lemonade to his guys. It was a comfortable way to know her, to see her smile at his compliments on the drink, to nod slightly when she had preferences for which flowers she’d like planted, and to politely make small talk when she caught him before he left in the afternoons. She was polite, and when she rambled about her thoughts on the garden he didn’t find it annoying or boring because she was also an excellent listener when he decided to say something in return.

           It was always easier to listen to her talk though. There was something in her voice, the raw excitement she had for information as simple as which plants were weeds or why he needed to change the height on the mower deck before he mowed her lawn. Her passion was strangely infectious, and soon enough he was able to find comfort in being swept up in her moods. The moments when she called him by his name and talked about her day while he weeded the garden were some of his favorite moments of the day, and he’d started to notice that when he came by after not being around for a couple days, she’d seem anxious to see him. When he realized her burgeoning attachment to him, her distaste for rainy days where he didn’t work, he began to take note of the way being around her made him feel.

           The day the feeling had become inescapable was exactly a week after she’d been told off by her sister for distracting the crew. Of course she’d come out each time just as she had before, but there was a discomfort to it, a strangeness to the way she had to sneak into her own backyard just to see him. That day in particular was no exception, but the way in which she was caught certainly made it difficult for him to deny he had feelings for her. Of course, any many would have a hard time denying their affection for a woman once she was in his arms.

           The day that Kristoff realized that he was falling for Anna Arendelle was the same day that he learned that she was terrified of snakes, the same day that she saw a garter snake, leapt into his arms and cried while shrieking loud enough to cause her sister and all the staff of the stately house to come barreling out of the house in a rush. It was also the day that he was apologized to profusely by Elsa Arendelle, and the day he extremely nervously asked Anna to join him at the county fair for a day, a date he felt was immensely beneath her, but also one that Anna enthusiastically agreed to as her sister sighed.

           It was all downhill from there. The rest of his summer was spent with Anna, teaching her about the things he did for work, telling her about his plans after he graduated with his forestry degree, and listening to all of her concerns about going off to school three states over for a program that she didn’t even want to complete. Anna Arendelle spent the summer becoming engrained in his life, his truck cab started to smell like a mixture of her perfume and the old saddle blanket she’d used for equestrian that had become their picnic and star gazing blanket, his hands became skilled at wrapping around hers, and in shy and nervous ways the nights became a classroom for them to learn the shapes of each other’s mouths.

           It was the summer of Anna. Her eyes were bluer than any of the fjords in Puget Sound. Her red hair swinging in braids rivaled any sunset, and he found the grass was greener and softer below him whenever she was laying in it beside him. Her smile outshined the sun, and as they sweated together in her backyard or on his days off up in the mountains, at local events, at concerts and in farmers markets, he found he couldn’t care less about the heat. If Anna would look at him with love in her eyes forever, he thought that he’d walk into a fire and back out again without a single complaint.

           The night they made love was the night that he’d stopped working for the Arendelle family. His father had been able to take back over, with summer turning to fall and his work becoming more and more raking and less and less mowing and gardening, so with no small amount of gratitude for the opportunity the work had given him, he’d taken Anna out to dinner and then up camping to watch the Perseid meteor shower in the mountains. He hadn’t felt worthy of her atop the pile of blankets in the bed of his truck. He’d been so nervous the whole time, kissing every inch of skin she revealed for him until she practically begged for him to be inside her. It was nothing like the movies, it was nothing like he’d imagined, and yet it was so much more because it was Anna, sweet untouched Anna who spent the entire experience caught up between virginal gentleness and the primal need to take what she wanted. Her hands gripped his shoulders as she called out his name into the heavens above them, and he spent the entire experience whispering prayers and thanks for whatever it was he could have done to deserve her.

           He tucked her beneath a blanket at his side as they watched the passage of the stars above. She had told him about making wishes, and while she probably made a million, she was strict to her promise that she would not tell him a single one until it came true.

***

           He didn’t have any packing to do. All four years of his education were easily accessible, just nineteen minutes from home at UW Tacoma. Come next summer he would be a graduate, hopefully with a job in one of the many parks in the area or with the state department of ecology. He knew that the thought should fill him with joy, but as he helped Anna pack everything she loved into a few suitcases, he couldn’t feel anything akin to happiness. He imagined it would be easier if she seemed happy at all herself, but as per the usual she was easier to read than a book.

           She didn’t shrug off his hand when she brought in to her shoulder, but instead relaxed under it. When he wrapped his arms around her, he felt as if he might be the only thing keeping her standing. After their whirlwind summer romance, how quickly he had fallen for her, he felt the same for her. Being together was the only thing that kept them from falling apart.

           “Kris,” she whispered, so soft her sister wouldn’t hear her from the next room over, “I don’t think I can do this.”

           I don’t think I want you to.

           “Sure you can,” he whispered in return, his lips in her hair, “You’re Anna Arendelle, the strongest, smartest girl I know, you can do this no problem.”

           She shook her head and he frowned as she pulled away from him. Of course, he had a feeling that the thoughts running through her head were about the same as his own, but he was trying to optimistic for her despite positivity being far more her strong suit than his own.

           Please don’t go.

           “Not school,” she started, stepping forward to place another t-shirt into her bag, this time it was printed with the words “Jane’s Canvas”, an indie folk group they’d seen in concert at an open mic night before they’d gotten serious.

           He stepped around her so that he was facing her. He could see by the way she was frowning that she was going to cry soon. She had to leave within the hour to be at the airport to catch her plane, and as the time to leave approached, she got more and more upset. He couldn’t help himself from reaching up to tuck an errant hair back behind her ear. He didn’t know how many more he’d have the pleasure of touching before winter break, so he took his time and rested his had gently on her cheek when he was done, his thumb swiping away a few drops of moisture that had already found their way out of the corner of her eye.

           “I know,” he said because it was all he could think to say.

           He wasn’t surprised when she started to cry fully in response. He hadn’t expected anything else, and he knew that wiping away the deluge would do no good. Apparently going off to school was on par with her fear of snakes, as the amount of tears was similar enough he knew the only solution was to pull her into his arms to let her cry into his chest.

           He hushed her gently, hands moving across her back, through her hair, along her shoulders as he heard her choked attempts at speaking through the pain and his embrace.

           “I don’t even want to go. I want, I want to, I want to stay here. I don’t want to study business, and the teaching program in Tacoma wanted me… I, I hate this. I hate this so much. Please Kris.”

           He didn’t know what to say, so he just held her tighter. It was all information he knew already. She’d been accepted at the business school her parents had wanted for her to attend in Arizona as well as at UW Tacoma’s education program. He knew that while Anna had wanted nothing more in life than to teach kids, her sister’s constant reminders of their parents expectations had swayed her to head out of state. He knew that she could still take Tacoma up on their offer, and he knew that there was a little house a friend was renting there that was looking for roommates.

           “I’m no good with words, but that’s nothing new,” he said, allowing himself a moment to finally let go, “but still I have to try to explain what I want to do, with you.”

           “Let me be your ride out of town,” he whispered without really thinking about it, “let me be the place that you hide, we could change our plans on the go. Anna, there’s a house on the bay…” he shook his head and pulled her closer, “expectations be damned, Anna, I’ll get a job in the city, just please…”

           He took a deep breath, but the words came out quiet despite his new found determination, “Run away with me.”

           Anna, whether though shock or sheer will, was able to reign in her control enough to look up at him and go quiet.

           “Get the car packed and throw me the key, run away with me. Anna, I have these plans, I have all these plans for our lives in Tacoma, just… accept their offer, I know this seems fast, but what else can I do? Anna, I love you. Run away with me.”

           She blinked, and Kristoff was suddenly aware of how hot he felt. He wanted to tell her that if it looked like he was sweating it was because he was, but he figured that at such a serious moment that they were both shocked into silence, it would be foolish to break it with something so silly.

           “I did.”

           “You did what?” he asked, not sure what she was referring to.

           “Tacoma. I did, I…” she took a deep breath and then smiled, “I did accept their offer, I know it was stupid, but with the other school requiring in person meetings before the semester started… oh God it was so stupid of me, but I was going to go and change my mind… I, Kris… Yes. I did, I’m going to stay in Washington. I’m going to stay in Artondale. Tacoma sounds great, and the house is something I’d like, but maybe after you graduate? Maybe we start with you driving me to campus for orientation next week? And then maybe we go to campus together? I could schedule my classes the same time and…”

           He kissed her, pulling her tight into his arms and not caring about the way his eyes were watering as he took it all in. Anna was going to stay. He’d never thought that he could need someone in the way he needed her, and now he’d gone from packing her bags to hearing that she’d not be leaving him. It was emotional whiplash, but all he could feel was happiness as he kissed her again and again until he heard a throat clear from the door way.

           Elsa, steely and professional as ever stood before them with her brow cocked. She too seemed to deflate slightly after a moment, and for the first time since Kristoff had started seeing Anna, he watched the older Arendelle sister crack a smile.

           “I guess it’s a good thing I cancelled that plane ticket a few weeks ago, huh?”

[thesvenqueen]

Dark Knight

HAPPY CHRISTMAS IN JULY @moredibell! I am your secret santa!!

So, I ran with your Batman AU idea and I came up with this! It’s a bit odd having Kristoff as Batman but, hopefully I made it work character wise? Also, ignore the horrible, horrible title lol

A bit of background:

Anna is a reporter for the Daily Planet, recently moving to Gotham City just a little over a year before. Her first big story is that of Kristoff Bjorgman; the new CEO of Bjorgman industries and the largest industry in Gotham. Not much is known about him or his adoptive family. Only that a few years ago, his adoptive mother and father vanished without a trace, leaving the company to their only son, Kristoff. Before that, the family was very private, barely speaking to the media unless absolutely necessary.

While waiting for the interview at the mansion, Anna stumbles upon the mysterious Kristoff. She finds him having a wound being stitched by his family butler Olaf and his best friend and business partner Sven (a friendship started in grade school, and the only friend Kristoff really ever had) after a sticky situation with a couple of thugs. Cape on the floor and mask close beside it, Anna realizes who exactly she is dealing with. Sven catches her spying before she can run but, Anna boldly offers her help in aiding Kristoff.

It is then a new member was brought on to this ‘team’ of sorts, and there started the relationship between Anna Rendell & the Dark Knight.

This happens about a year after, hope you enjoy!!

For once she absolutely hates the drive to the mansion.

Most times, Anna would enjoy the surrounding hills, the winding roads that lead to a beautiful view above the city, letting her windows down as she enjoyed the long ride away from the hustle and bustle of Gotham; but today she despised it.

It was too long of a drive, not short enough, and she swore as she took a turn a bit too quickly and heard her tires squeal.

She had seen the headline from across the room at the gala,

“Batman vs. Joker: Joker Escapes Once Again”

Her heart was already thundering in her chest as she got close enough to her Lisa Cortez report from just a few blocks away, standing in front of a blocked off street,

“--witnesses say the fight was quick but the Joker ultimately got away once again, after yielding a knife in the latest altercation. One witness described seeing Batman struggle to get back to his vehicle, even falling at one point as he made his way back. Police advice local residents to stay in doors until the surrounding area can be cleared. Traffic has been--”

She started for the door before she could hear more. Movement across the room caught her eye as she saw Sven excuse himself and head for the nearest exit as well.

Their eyes meet for a moment and it is immediately understood where they were both heading.

In record time, the mansion came into view and she can vaguely spot a pair of dim lights in the woods behind the mansion slowly disappearing below the earth.

Pulling up to the front of the mansion, Anna slams on the brakes.

She takes the stairs three at a time, gasping as she reaches the door and Olaf (bless him) is already holding the door wide open for her.

The mansion is much less of a maze, as it had once been a few months before. Now, Anna can get through it blindfolded if need be and she is in the cave in meer minutes.

It’s there she spots him. A broken mess beside the car, clutching at his side.

He had tried to get out of the car, but had barely made it and was on the floor of the cave; Anna can tell he is struggling with every breath he takes and it is when he finally collapses completely to the floor that she moves.

She can see the blood before she reaches him.

Anna kneels beside him, taking in the scene as quickly as she can. Small cuts here and there, the cape torn in places, many cuts to his forearm guards. It’s the large gash that Kristoff still clutches that makes her pause. It is the worse she’s ever seen, his armor already soaked in blood.

“Anna”, he breathes and it is then she finally looks at his face. His eyes are barely opened, he is pouring sweat and he is looking at her in recognition but she can see his eyes glazing over.

Thinking fast, she grabs hold of the train of her dress, ripping it and beginning to wrap it around his wound.

“Ok Bjorgman, we gotta move.” She says, bringing his arm around her shoulder.

She struggles, trying desperately to pull him to his feet.

Footsteps echo across the cave and announce the arrival of Sven.

“What did you do now you lug?” He jokes, pulling Kristoff’s other arm around his shoulder and together they move him to the nearest table.

For a time, it seemed the bleeding wouldn’t stop. Anna had frantically began cleaning it at best she could, Olaf supplying anything and everything she needed. With shaky hands she sewed the wound together, watching his breathing as she did.

Finally, finally, he was stable. A few painkillers and bandages later, he lies on the table still.

It is just them now, Sven and Olaf leaving after Kristoff had calmed (Anna prayed to god they didn’t see the tears that were threatening to come the whole time he was on the table). It is just them and the sound of the nearby waterfall echoing through the cave.

“Your dress.” He says with a frown, feeling the material in his hands, eyeing the blood and large rip.

“What?...Oh,” Anna says, peering down, “It’s ok, I’ll...I’ll get a new one.”

“No.”

“No?”

“I’ll get it.”

“Kristoff no. I bought it, I’ll get it.”

“And I ruined it by being bullheaded and nearly bleeding out.” Kristoff said, looking at her with a soft smile. “It’s my fault it’s ruined, so, I’ll get you a new one.”

“I..you..thanks.” Anna says, blushing as she finds the bandaging across his chest suddenly very interesting.

“You look beautiful by the way.”

Anna laughs, blowing a few wisps of hair from her eyes, “I’m sure the blood is a nice touch.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok.”

“No, not for that.” Anna eyes him, “Ok, yes I am sorry for that but...I meant..the gala...I know it meant a lot and you worked hard to get into it and--”

“It’s alright Kristoff.” Anna said, taking his hand. “It was boring anyways.”

“You’ve been talking about it for weeks,” Kristoff huffs a laugh, “I doubt it was boring.”

(In truth, Anna had been over the moon about the gala. It was the one thing she’d been dying to cover since coming to Gotham. The biggest names of the city came just to mingle, talk business over wine and champagne. It was the biggest party of the year and Anna, this year, had been chosen to cover it.

She had talked about it constantly, something she thought would annoy Kristoff to no end.

“It’s nothing but snobby rich people.”

“But there the biggest names in Gotham Kristoff! It’s a huge party.”

“Eh...it’s ok.”

“Wait...does that mean you’re going?”

Kristoff had paused, momentarily stopping in his tracing of her freckles along her back, “...maybe?”

Anna had turned over quickly then, squealing in excitement, “Oh this gala just got so much better!”

Kristoff smirked at her, “I thought you were already excited for it.”

“Yeah but now I know you’ll be there, and you’re going to wear a tux which is an added bonus!”

He chuckled then, “You like it when I dress up, huh?” leaning closer to her,

“Mhmm,” She giggled, biting her lip, “It’s very sexy.”

“And you’ll dress up too right?”

“Yeah,” she sighed as he kissed her neck.

“Mmm, maybe the gala won’t be so bad after all.”)

“...Ok, yeah...it wasn’t terribly boring and I did snag a few pictures, but still not all that exciting and glamorous like I thought plus...,” Anna pauses, biting her lip, “You weren’t there so, it wasn’t as fun.”

He squeezed her hand and Anna looked up.

“I’ll be at the next one.”

“No cape?”

“No cape.” Kristoff said with a grin, “Just a tux, and some roses.”

“Roses?”

“To go with your gown.”

Anna blushes bright red, looking down a their hands. “The press would have a field day with that one.”

“...and?”

Anna looks at him, confused.

All their time together, Kristoff made it a point to keep his life private. No matter what, nothing about his personal life went public. He kept very much to himself, as he and his family had done for so long. It was natural, easier that way he would say. Having people nosing around in his business, constantly trying to find the darkness in his past since he was brought into the family as a child, having grown adults working diligently to make him, a young boy, seem unfit to be apart of his family or discredit the family entirely; it was gross. The words people wrote, what they said, the lies they painted on so many things; he hated it.

He hated it all. So, he kept it all locked away in the mansion. Away from the public eye.

Their dates they had were in secret, discreet. Most were at his mansion, to make it easier on them. Anna never pestered him about it; she understood his hesitancy and distrust of the public.

But there was always a small bit of sadness deep inside on the fact they couldn’t hold hands in public, be seen talking too long, riding together in his car, venturing out for an ice cream cone; the normal cute date things Anna loved in her romance novels.

But this was not a knight in shining armor in a cute romance novel; this was the Dark Knight, this was Kristoff. Shy, quiet, unsure of the world and what it held but still so kind and full of love that Anna pushed the sadness aside.

Kristoff sits up, gasping as he does so. Anna moves to help but Kristoff grabs her hand once more and pulls her close. He leans against her lightly, his hands grasping her waist and as she settle hers on his shoulders.

For the millionth time she finds herself lost in his chocolate brown eyes.

“I don’t...I don’t want to be quiet anymore. Not about this.” He cups her cheek, “Not about something I care about.”

Anna smiles softly, “Kristoff--”

“I’ve been so...quiet, so shut away from people for so long and didn’t want to trust anyone but...you...you’ve helped me see the good. That there is still good in this crazy city. And I want people to see the woman that made me change, see how wonderful you are, see the good that I have in my life.” Kristoff smiles, “I want people to see the woman that I love.”

Anna giggles in excitment, tears threatening to come, “Are you sure?”

“Anna,” He whispers, “I’ve never been so sure in my life.”

[kristoffxannafanatic]

Baby It’s Meant To Be

Baby It’s Meant to Be!

Happy Kristanna Christmas in July @awesomemaple! I am your Secret Santa. I tried to get in the things you requested…hope you like it! A HUGE shout out to @michaela-armstrong-paul for saving…I mean editing this piece for me. Without her help it would not have been possible. The song is Meant to Be by Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line.

Anna couldn’t believe she let her sister talk her into this desperate attempt at displaying her art. It was an old naval air base that they were slowly turning into a vibrant and bustling community. They were building condos, apartments, sports fields, stores and restaurants. They had decided to keep the old airplane and blimp hanger and a film crew used the location for stock footage and establishment shots.

  So this is where she found herself renting a storage cube at The Hang Out waiting for customers to buy one of her paintings or get a portrait painted while they waited. It had been a good idea on paper but it turned out to be the best bad idea she ever had. It was making her no money and wasting her weekends. 

The people that walked through very rarely bought anything just browsed while grabbing a beer at The Beer Can or food from the food trucks parked over by the tented area that had picnic tables and a stage where the local bands played. Anna got to enjoy a lot of the young local bands who were trying to get more exposure but Saturday night was her favorite open mic night. That is when he would come to sing. Kristoff, the tall, muscular blond with a dog by his feet would sing a bunch of cover songs sometimes he even played his guitar.

Every week without fail he would wait until about 9pm when most of the cubes had packed up and the food trucks were gone and there were only a few people left in the audience. His voice was very comforting but sad. In Anna’s mind, he was very talented. Every week he sang the same haunting tunes about life’s disappointments and love lost.

Anna started sketching Kristoff performing. And every week she said she was going to go tell him how much she enjoyed his music. But he would always disappear quickly after his set. She never made it up there in time to talk to him. There was something very magnetic about him. She was drawn to him like a moth to a flame. She could relate to things he sang about and he was very easy on the eyes.

Labor Day was rolling around in a month and Anna decided not to renew her storage cube for the Labor Day until Columbus Day season. She was spending more than she was making. Her sister agreed it was a wise move.

Elsa was keeping her company the first Saturday in August when he came on stage. “Is this the guy you have been talking about all summer?”

“I haven’t been talking about him all summer! And yes, that’s him”

Anna finished up her latest painting and packed up for the night. They brought their wine and dinner over to the picnic tables to enjoy his set.

“You should talk to him. He’s cute and he keeps looking at you.”

“I doubt that. Look at me! I’m covered in paint, sweat and grime.”

“Sunflower, you should give yourself more credit. You are a natural beauty. Don’t let what that prick ever said to you make you doubt that. Haven’t you punished yourself enough for past failed relationships?”

Anna got very quiet, “What if he isn’t interested? I don’t know if I can handle a rejection right now.”

“What if he needs you to make the first move? Did you notice his dog is a service dog?”

Anna was so enamored with him, she never noticed the dog’s special service animal vest. Damn, if he could put himself out there on stage, than she could at least introduce herself to him.

“OK, I think I will say hi to him. What is the worst that can happen? I’m only here for a few more weeks.”

“That’s the sassy girl I grew up with! I’m going to head out call me with the details later. No matter how late.”

Elsa gathered all their trash and headed for her car. Anna listened to the rest of Kristoff’s set. She knew which song he ended with so she made sure to head over to the stage before he could run off. He slowly walked off stage and she ran up to him.

“H-hi! Kristoff, I just wanted to tell you I really enjoy your performance every week.”

She took him by surprise. He was thankful Sven was right by his side. He placed his hand on Sven to steady himself. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at his feet.

“Oh…t-thank you. I think your paintings are amazing. You are Anna, right? The cube with all the sunflowers?”

“Wait, what? Yeah that’s me. You’ve looked at my work?”

“Oh, yeah. Um, I’ve watched you paint when Sven and I go to the dog park before I do my set. We live in one of the townhouses on the base. You have an amazing eye for detail.”

Anna blushed from head to toe, “Thank you. I’m only going to be here a few more weeks. It hasn’t made me the money I was hoping to make plus the storage cube is expensive.”

“W-w-would you like to go with Sven and I for a walk sometime when you are done with your cube?”

Anna could tell it took all his courage to ask her to go with them on their walk. She put out her hand and said, “I would love to go for a walk with you and Sven.”

The next week, he came earlier and sat with her at her cube. They talked, laughed and she could finish her sketch of him that she had started. Each week he came earlier and each week they learned something new about each other.

She learned that he was a highly decorated Army veteran. He was honorably discharged after his Humvee was hit by a IED. His injuries went deep, the surface ones were healed but there are some that time just won’t heal. It was getting better, now that he had Sven. He was stating to enjoy some of his old hobbies and was starting a new job as an architect at his father’s construction company.

He learned that she went to art school, her parents had died in a car accident when she was fifteen, her sister runs their parents company and about her failed engagement to a money hungry social climber. She didn’t know what her plans were for the fall except that she didn’t want to give up on her art. She was happy being a starving artist. 

They were quickly becoming friends but Anna wanted more but she felt like she shouldn’t push him or rush him. Kristoff was so sweet, gentle and kind. He actually listened to her when she rambled on about her favorite things or life experiences. No story was too long or too rambling. She would get back to her point eventually.

  Elsa and Kristoff came on Anna’s last day to help pack up her paintings and supplies. Anna watched as Kristoff crated her paintings and loaded them into Elsa’s SUV.

“Are you going to pine after him or say something?” Elsa asked, looking over her shoulder at the big blond man her sister was crazy about. 

“He has been through a lot,” Anna said. “I don’t want to push him unless he’s ready. It wouldn’t be fair to him.”

“You are so blind! You’re never going to know if you don’t try. Stop overthinking things like you always do and walk over to that man and tell him.”

Anna walked over to the stage with Kristoff and Sven before his set. “I’m trying a new song tonight. Do you think you could help me?” He asked, looking at her in a way she never thought he would. Like the way she wanted him to. 

“Me! I don’t sing.”

“I’ve heard you, you sing when you paint. Your voice is beautiful and just what I need for this song.”

“That’s completely different.” 

“Anna, for me?” He smiled at her in that way she rarely saw. 

“Okay, when are you going to sing it?” She gave in with a smile.

  “I’m going to sing it last. I asked them to bring the karaoke monitor so you can read the lyrics. I’ve been practicing it for you.”

Anna blushed and felt her heart race. She decided to make a move although a small one. She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek, “Good luck, Kris.”

He looked pleasantly surprised and smiled down at her, “Thanks, be ready for when I call you up.”

He seemed to get through his set with more confidence and enjoyment. He even spoke to the e crowd when he needed her to com on stage, “I’d like to call up the talented Anna Arendelle to join with this last song.”

His smile lit up his face in a way she had never seen. Once he started the first line, she knew it was his way of asking her out. 

Kristoff began to sing. Baby, lay on back and relax, kick your pretty feet up on my dash No need to go nowhere fast, let's enjoy right here where we at Who knows where this road is supposed to lead We got nothing but time As long as you're right here next to me, everything's gonna be alright If it's meant to be, it'll be, it'll be Baby, just let it be If it's meant to be, it'll be, it'll be Baby, just let it be So, won't you ride with me, ride with me? See where this thing goes If it's meant to be, it'll be, it'll be Baby, if it's meant to be

Anna joined in when the next part began and she smiled over at Kristoff. I don't mean to be so uptight, but my heart's been hurt a couple times By a couple guys that didn't treat me right I ain't gon' lie, ain't gonna lie 'Cause I'm tired of the fake love, show me what you're made of Boy, make me believe

Kristoff~ But hold up, girl, don't you know you're beautiful? And it's easy to see

Kristoff and Anna together~ If it's meant to be, it'll be, it'll be Baby, just let it be If it's meant to be, it'll be, it'll be Baby, just let it be So, won't you ride with me, ride with me? See where this thing goes If it's meant to be, it'll be, it'll be Baby, if it's meant to be

Kristoff~ So, c'mon ride with me, ride with me See where this thing goes So, c'mon ride with me, ride with me Baby, if it's meant to be Maybe we do

Anna~ Maybe we don't

Kristoff~ Maybe we will

Anna~ Maybe we won't

Kristoff and Anna together~ But if it's meant to be, it'll be, it'll be Baby, just let it be If it's meant to be, it'll be, it'll be (c'mon) Baby, just let it be (let's go) So, won't you ride with me, ride with me? See where this thing goes If it's meant to be, it'll be, it'll be Baby, if it's meant to be If it's meant to be, it'll be, it'll be Baby, if it's meant to be If it's meant to be, it'll be, it'll be Baby, if it's meant to be

The crowd cheered at their delightful cover of the song. Anna felt exhilarated and her beaming smile gave him the courage to walk over to her and kiss her.

Baby, it’s meant to be

[the-blue-fairie]

Kindred Spirits - A Kristanna Harry Potter AU

A Kristanna Christmas in July Gift to @somecallmejohn! I hope you enjoy and I hope you feel the story has heart!

What struck Anna first was all the color – the scarlet engine flashing in the sun, the white smoke billowing into a sky as richly blue as the sea.

She came from a world of far graver hues. There were blues in the family mansion, but they were the blues of the dusk that deepens into shadow-filled night. There were silvers also… in banners hung upon the shadowed walls… in crests that might have glistened had they not too well absorbed the darkness of the place and so hung dully overhead. Anna had recoiled from them in the earliest years of her life, felt them leering down at her like grotesque masks or gargoyles. As she grew a little more, however, and grew more aware of her own loneliness, she found beauty in the gargoyle-like imagery. She giggled and whispered to the grim-visaged eagle on the great coat of arms, though it seemed ready to swoop upon her and take her up in its talons.

If she could not speak with something human, she would speak to the lifeless things upon the walls…

She had tried to speak to the house-elves once, but they were too deadened by their toil to dare converse with her. They responded to her, certainly, when she demanded they respond, but that was not the same as a conversation. Of course Kai, the head of staff, would not see the sisters live alone among house-elves. Though only a serving-man himself, he held an almost tyrannous pride in the family’s name – a pride perhaps as deluded as his bigotry. Therefore, there were some human servants hanging about… but they all had sunken faces like corpses dregged up from rivers and were not very chatty.

As for Elsa, she was as cold and still as the figures of their parents in the portrait on the wall – a portrait more shrouded in shadow than the whole shadow-manor since that fateful day. Their parents’ deaths harrowed Elsa and so she retreated into her studies, into herself… leaving Anna alone…

Alone.

There was something akin to drowning in the loneliness, though Anna could not put it into words at so young an age. Not being able to breathe. Lungs burning. Unable to do… anything. Reaching out to the light filtering through the blue void, helplessly seeing it dwindle as her eyes seared… as she sank deeper… deeper… The sea was limitless. No ship to save her. No hand to pull her up. An expanse. An abyss.

Not cruel, not unforgiving. Indifferent. And how much worse was the dread of indifference!

What struck Anna first was all the color. It was like bursting from the surface of the water and gazing upon the brilliant sun. It was radiant, it was luminous!

She boarded the Hogwarts Express, eyes wide and round in her tiny face. Instinctively, she knew not to seek out her sister. Elsa… wouldn’t want her in her private space anyway…

There were so many students jostling here and there – towering seventh years, awkward, gangly fourth years, with the first years like herself feeling as if they might be trampled underfoot. Clumsily, Anna stumbled through the train and at last came to an empty compartment.

She had thought that she would love the crowds… and she did… In a way, she did. Still, she was so small and they so large, with myriads of strange faces. With uneasy relief, she tucked herself into the corner of the compartment. She became transfixed by the sunlight glinting against the glass of the window. Flickering and shimmering, it danced for her like a ballerina in a music box. It comforted her for she was drawn to lifeless things, things she might give life to through her fancy. After all, she had done it all her life.

Being around people… people so loud and rambunctious… It wasn’t that it made her uncomfortable per se, but she was so unused to it.

She was used to being alone – or at least, without people.

Beside her, Anna’s barn owl hooted gently. Anna glanced over at her, smiling softly.

“Won’t this be an adventure, Joan?” she whispered.

The door to the compartment slid open slightly. A young boy about Anna’s age peered in, then started shuffling awkwardly away.

“Sorry,” he mumbled. “Thought this compartment was empty…”

The boy had a thick mop of golden hair and a scruffy appearance. His owl, out of his cage and cupped gently in the boy’s hands, looked as scruffy as he did. The boy stroked the bird’s feathers, focusing on his pet and not the girl in front of him. His head was bowed. He would not make eye contact as he backed away, but something in the boy’s voice made Anna cry out:

“Wait! Don’t go! You can sit here!”

The boy bowed his head even lower, but stayed his departure. “I…” he murmured. “I…”

A smile spread across Anna’s face, red as holly berries in the white of winter and warm as a Christmas fireside. She placed a hand upon the boy’s shoulder and he raised his eyes to her – and soon the two of them were smiling together.

The boy sat across from her, his smile a shy one.

“I’m Kristoff,” he said simply.

“Anna.”

The train rumbled forward, beginning its journey across fields rich and broad, past rivers like ribbons that hung in children’s hair, over antique bridges, and through emerald hills… and as it surged onward, the shyness of the two melted away as surely as scenic vista after scenic vista melted away outside their window.

They were rapt by each other’s stories. Like Anna, Kristoff knew loneliness. He too was an orphan and he spoke of the orphanage wherein he had grown as if it were a prison – cold, formidable, a husk of a former century rotting in the heart of the city. Its windows were not barred, but they might as well have been.

The chill of the mansion returned to Anna’s heart. She took Kristoff’s hand in hers and squeezed it. Sven, Kristoff’s owl, hooted sleepily.

Anna kept Kristoff’s hand in hers as they crossed the lake, the glow of the castle reflected in the dark waters below them. They huddled close in the boat in the cold of the night. They clung to one another as they entered that fabulous hall, stars and distant galaxies swirling above them, and when the time came for Kristoff to have the Sorting Hat placed upon his head, Anna squeezed his hand once more.

“HUFFLEPUFF!” the hat cried and something twinged in Anna’s heart. She looked fleetingly over to her sister’s table, then to the Hufflepuff table, where Kristoff’s cheering peers were greeting him.

The hat whispered when McGonagall placed it upon Anna’s head.

“Hmmm…” it drawled. “Not much like your sister, are you? She’s all sharpness and wit. But you’re brave, to be sure. You’d make a fine Gryffindor. Wouldn’t that startle your family?”

But Anna’s heart said otherwise and so the hat chucked. “That might surprise them too. Very well, miss. As you wish. HUFFLEPUFF!”

Anna never felt more familial warmth than when a flood of arms at the Hufflepuff table embraced her. She strode over to Kristoff, hugged him close, and they stayed side by side as the feast began. (Of course, Anna stuffed herself on chocolate cake when the desserts appeared.)

***

Before classes, after classes, in any nook and cranny of free time, Anna and Kristoff could be found together. Folk saw them arm in arm going through the corridors, lounging in the common long into the evening working on essays. Sometimes, Anna would raise her quill and threaten to doodle over Kristoff’s face. He would recoil and laugh and then they would both fall to laughing. The gold of the Hufflepuff common room gave a glowing sheen to Anna’s cheeks, a shimmer to her hair. It wrought a halo of gold around them both and, oh, Anna could breathe freely and bask in the light like a baby seal and Kristoff could shake his shining hair with joy and cast aside the solemnity of growing up too early…

And both their hearts were at peace.

***

The first time they kissed was in fourth year.

They were lying by the lake, hair wild in the grass. Anna’s was fanned out around her like flames. Every so often, Kristoff would toss a smidgen of food to the giant squid, who waved its tentacles jubilantly at the snack.

Then once, after the squid had finished off the remnants of Kristoff’s sandwich and the young man was returning to his place beside Anna, he bent down to kiss her.

The sun shone over his head like a heavenly light, like the light Anna had not seen for the first ten years of her life.

When the kiss came, it was natural as the blossoms in the springtime. It was soft, tender, and deep. Everyone might have expected it, for they were kindred spirits. Their souls were as one.

They were each other’s solace, comfort, escape from loneliness…

And, in love, they remained each other’s solace and comfort.