Kristoff hadn’t spoken to Buzz since their breakup. It wasn’t as if he was necessarily avoiding him… It was just that they kind of parted on bad terms. Even though Misty seemed convinced that Kris and Buzz needed to talk things over -and part of him knew she was right- Kris wasn’t so sure he was ready to do that. He should have known that something like this was going to happen. Now, Kristoff was headed downtown to pick up a few things that he needed. Not expecting to run into he knew, Kris was wanting to go, get everything, and leave.
Okay, what do I need? Groceries, I have to pick something up for my mother, get new tools for work… Oh, an- wait… Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Kristoff caught a glimpse of strawberry blond hair, and his eyes widened. Turn around… Turn around and walk the other way he told himself. However, that suddenly became non feasible, with the giant mob of people following behind him. It was a nice day out, so everyone was out and about, and would have had to against the current. Instead, Kristoff attempted to get lost in the crowd, which seemed to work for all of a few minutes, as he didn’t see that strawberry blond hair anymore. That was, until he wasn’t watching where he was going for a moment, and ended up crashing right into “Buzz…” Kristoff said, holding his breath. “Um.. Hi.”
“Now, do you really want to be late on your first day of kindergarten?” Buzz asked the five year old blonde girl as she refused, once again, to let him put her shoes on her feet. “See, Kris, this is what happens when you let her stay up watching princess movies and then sleeping in until God knows when, it teaches her not to appreciate punctuality.” He raised an eyebrow at his husband, then relented as both Kris and Chloe gave him the same puppy dog face in response. “Oh, could those eyes get any bigger?” he laughed, then tickled Chloe’s side. “Come on, let’s get these shoes -”
“No, I don’t want to!” she said, frowning this time rather than playfully ignoring him like the first attempt. Buzz furrowed his eyebrows; that was not the look of a girl excited for her first day of school. Sure, he’d noticed Kristoff being a bundle of nerves all morning, but Chloe had seemed excited last night.
With a sigh, he turned toward Kris, hoping he could perhaps get her to cooperate. “Will you let Daddy put them on for you?”
Kristoff had been running around the house all morning, making sure Chloe’s bag was packed, making sure she had a lunch, making sure he himself wasn’t going to freak out when they dropped her off; his nerves had been on edge since he woke up. He couldn’t believe that their daughter was actually starting kindergarden. “Chloe, listen to your father,” Kris said, coming into the room from the kitchen. “Hey, those princess movies aren’t that bad,” the blond argued.
Kristoff sat next to Chloe, twiddling his thumbs. He was still nervous, but he tried not to be, for Chloe’s sake. “What’s going on, buttercup? Why won’t you be a good girl and get your shoes on?”
“I don’t want to go to school,” she pouted. “I’m scared.” Kris frowned, pulling Chloe into him and giving her a big kiss on the cheek.
“I know it might seem scary, but you’ll love it. I promise. And after school today we can go get ice cream. How does that sound?” Chloe’s frown turned into a smile almost instantly, nodding her head as her little blonde curls flopped around. “Alright babes, then let’s put these shoes on.”
Chloe let him slip her shoes onto her feet, and fuss over her shirt, and hair, making sure she looked nice for her first day. “See?” he turned to Buzz. “Sometimes you have to try different tactics,” he smiled, kissing him as Chloe ran off to grab her backpack. Once she was out of the room, Kristoff confessed his worries. “I know she’ll be fine, but I’ve been freaking out all morning. I can’t believe she’s starting school,” he said with a bit of a sigh, watching as she came skipping back down the hall.
Buzz frowned at first, watching as his husband promised ice cream and then suddenly, Chloe cooperated. “You know, we can’t promise her ice cream forever,” he said with a strained smile after Kris gave him a kiss. “Oh, I’ve noticed. Your nerves are wound tighter than Woody’s today. You should breathe, it’ll be fine.” Of course, Buzz himself was having a tiny bit of a meltdown himself over this; hadn’t she just been a baby, and now suddenly she was starting school? Before they knew it, she was going to be graduating high school, going to college… But it was probably better not to let Kristoff see his freaking out, and like always, he played the peacekeeper.
He watched her bounce back down the hall toward them, her little Bat-Girl backpack dragging along on the floor. He remembered Kristoff’s look of victory when she’d chosen that one over the Iron Man one, and honestly it made Buzz laugh inside, since it reminded him of their second date and their superhero debate all those years ago. “Look at you, all ready?” Buzz leaned down to Chloe’s level, giving her a wide, reassuring grin. “Oh, but someone forgot to brush their teeth, didn’t they,” he said, and he took her bag. She ran back down the hall again, disappearing into the bathroom.
Standing back up, Buzz leaned into his husband’s side, putting his arm around his waist. “She’s going to be great, and tomorrow, she’ll be the one dragging us to get there faster.” This was probably easier for Buzz since he’d had to work away from home a lot more than Kris had, and thus Kris had spent that much more time with her. A bit of separation anxiety on both their parts. “Or should I be telling you that you’re going to be all right without her? You’ve still got that panicked look in your eyes.”
“I can for now, if it gets her to listen,” Kristoff smirked. Letting out a small huff of air, Kris cringed slightly, his face scrunching at the comparison. He knew that Buzz was right, but he didn’t exactly like being compared to Sheriff Hot Shot. His worried expression began to fade when he saw her again. “No skipping out on that, next time. Or I might take back that ice cream promise,” Kristoff called out to her as she ran back, hearing her little squeak of worry. The blond sighed, turning to look at Buzz.
“In a way, I hope you’re right. But in another, I don’t want you to be.” Never in a million years would Kristoff have thought that he would grow so attached to someone, until they got Chloe. Now, it was kind of hard to let her go. “She’s gonna be gone, for hours at a time, Buzz. The most I’ve left her alone for without checking in was what, maybe three hours?” As far as Kris was concerned, Chloe was his princess, and he didn’t want anything to happen to her. As she came back for the second time, Kris scooped her up in his arms and held her tightly. “Mmm, when did you get so big? Are we finally ready to go?” he asked her, pressing his lips to her cheek.
“Yes,” she giggled. Kris turned to Buzz, handing her over to him.
“We should probably get going, so she’s not late.” They had decided to both drive her to school for her first day, so that they could both say goodbye to her at the same time. “Come on, Princess, we’re going to school.”
A smile crossed Buzz’s lips as he watched Kris with their daughter; he’d loved watching them together ever since they’d brought her home. And then his smile grew as Kris handed her over his way, and he bounced her in his arms a couple of times as they walked toward the door, making her grin back. “So, are we taking daddy’s car, pop’s car, or the police car?” he asked her, and he noticed her eyes light up at the mention of the patrol car. She’d always loved riding in the squad, and he had even taken to keeping a booster seat in the trunk for her. Woody liked to complain about that, but it didn’t stop him from using it himself when Hanna needed one.
“Can we do the lights?” she asked excitedly as they got outside.
“Well, duh, of course we can do the lights,” he replied to her, booping the end of her nose with his finger. “When we get to school, okay?” He opened the back door of the car, and he’d already gotten the booster seat in place earlier, knowing that Chloe would want to take the cruiser, so he helped her into her seat and buckled her in while Kris put her backpack in on the other side.
Kristoff laughed as they got outside. “Why am I not surprised? Of course she’d want to take the cruiser.” Having a cop as a father had it’s perks, he supposed. If he was in Chloe’s situation, he’d pick the police car too. Putting her back pack in, Kris closed the door and hopped into the passenger’s seat, buckling his seat belt. “And you say I spoil her,” he teased as his husband got into the car. Leaning over, he pressed a kiss to Buzz’s lips with a smile. Turning his head back to Chloe, he gave her a smile, too. “Ready to roll, cupcake?” She nodded her head, clapping excitedly.
“Yes!” Her smile was so cute, that spoiling her seemed worth it. Besides, she was a well behaved little girl.
“Alright, Pop, I think that means we’re going.” Kristoff rolled down the window some, staring out of it as the rolled out of the driveway. “Do you think you’re gonna like kindergarden, Chloe?” he asked, looking at her in the side mirrors. “I think you’re gonna be just fine,” he said, more to comfort himself than to reassure her.
“I guess,” she shrugged, seeming more interested in the fact that she was in the patrol car, and probably that she was getting ice cream later. Kristoff let out a small sigh, not saying much more as the ride went on, lost in thought.
“Ha, well, it could be worse,” Buzz said in regards to spoiling her. “Imagine if I was still an astronaut and she wanted to go to the space station or something,” he laughed, joking of course, and they backed out of the driveway. He glanced up at the blonde girl in the back seat a few times in the rear view mirror while they drove along, listening to Kris encourage her, but he did notice that he was mulling things over in that sandy head of his too. He reached over and took his hand over the center console, squeezing it a little to reassure him. “She’ll be fine,” he said in a low voice, giving him a little grin as they continued toward the school.
Before long, they arrived, since the drive from Arendelle to Andalasia wasn’t very long, and they pulled up to the student drop off area. As promised, Buzz turned the lights on, and the red and blue flashers drew all the other kids’ attention as he opened the door and got Chloe out of her buckles. She hopped out happily, grabbing onto Buzz’s hand and watching the swirling colors for a moment before she realized that she was in a place she hadn’t been before and she was about to be with a bunch of new kids. He could see the anxiousness that she had inherited from Kristoff cross her face as she looked away from the car and toward the school building. And if he was going to be honest, his own anxieties he had been trying to squash down all morning were threatening to show themselves. Sure, he left her with Kris all the time, but that was with her father so, duh, no brainer. This was leaving her with a teacher they had only met once when they enrolled her in school, and a class of twenty other strange kids, without either of her parents to watch her.
He knew all about what Kris had been feeling, but it suddenly hit him like a sack of bricks. He swallowed hard, not wanting to let go of her little hand as they walked up the sidewalk, Buzz holding her right hand and Kris holding her left. “You’re going to like your teacher, I think,” he said, looking down at her with a smile. “And I bet that you’re going to make lots of new friends.”
Upon arriving at the school, Kristoff felt his heart sink into his stomach a bit. He had been relatively calm until they had actually gotten to the school. Kris himself never particularly liked going to school. He just hoped for Chloe’s sake that she wasn’t the same way. Walking Chloe down the sidewalk to the building, Kristoff took a deep breath. For a moment he thought he might be holding her hand too tightly until he looked down and realized it was she who was squeezing his hand. She looked up at Buzz with a nervous glance, making what sounded like a small wince.
“Hey, you’ll be fine, Princess. Just show all the kids your pretty smile and your cool back pack, and be nice,” he smiled down at her, but also looking back up at Buzz with a slight smirk at the backpack comment. Walking into the building, Kristoff suddenly couldn’t remember where it was they had to bring her.
His eyes darted around for a few seconds before giving up. “Do you know where we’re going?” the blond asked Buzz, hoping he would remember.
“Daddy look!” Chloe said excitedly, raising the hand that clasped Kristoff’s and pointing to the wall of art that had been made by some of the students, and put on display.
“Oh yeah, those are cool. Maybe you’ll make something will end up there,” he said with an encouraging smile, watching her eyes light up.
Her little fingers were wrapped so tightly around his much larger hand, Buzz was almost tempted to just say “nope” and take her back home. But he supposed that was probably not the best course of action. He rolled his eyes at Kristoff’s backpack comment, but smiled back anyway. “Oh… Yeah, I’ve got it,” he said, knowing how to find quite a few of the classrooms here. He’d been there for quite a few career days over the years, for both his astronaut and police work. Of course, that was much different than bringing your own child here, and he could completely understand Kris’s lack of direction. He nearly forgot himself, in all the nervousness, but he managed to keep his head just clear enough to remember where their daughter needed to go.
It was funny how this was causing him so much more anxiety than any moment of his military, aerospace, and policing careers.
“What? Of course your drawings will end up there,” Buzz said, loving the way Chloe’s face had lit up at the sight of the board. “You’re the best artist I know,” he grinned down at her, receiving a big beaming smile back. “We’re almost there, Chlo, see that lady up there? That’s your new teacher, Miss Lockheed.”
That didn’t have the intended reaction of her getting excited; in fact, her hand squeezed tighter on his, and she stopped her feet all together. Buzz shared a look with his husband, then knelt down to her level. “Hon, you okay?”
Chloe’s reaction was nearly Kristoff’s biggest fear. Well, it was one of them. Maybe she could skip this year. Maybe they could home school her instead. No, neither of them would probably have the time for that. This was the best option, despite her obvious nervousness. As he and Buzz exchanged a look, Kris was thinking of ways to get her out of this nervous stage.
“I wanna go home…” Chloe frowned, suddenly not wanting to be there even more. Kris managed to let go of her tight grasp for a second, but Chloe realized a second later, whipping her head in his direction as her blonde curls flew everywhere.
“I’ll be right back, Chloe, I promise. Okay?” Kristoff gave her a kiss on the cheek before going over down the hall to Chloe’s new teacher, explaining the situation. She politely agreed to come talk to Chloe herself.
Heading back to where Buzz and Chloe were left, Kristoff introduced Miss Lockheed to Chloe, who was now shyly standing half behind her other father. “You must be Chloe,” the teacher smiled. “Don’t be scared, sweetie. I know starting school can be different, and a little weird, but we can get through it together. Right?” Chloe gave her a hesitant nod, stepping out a bit.
“See? She’s really nice, Chloe. You’re gonna have a lot of fun in class, okay?” Kris said, kneeling down to her level. “Don’t be scared.” Even though Kristoff was still not thrilled about having to give her up for hours at a time, he would get over it. It just felt like Chloe was growing up so fast, that it was hard to believe they were at this point.
He was quite a bit worried when Chloe decided to hide behind his back, but as much as Buzz just wanted to take her home and skip this, he knew it had to be done, so he tried soothing her as he watched Kris go down the hall and gather up the teacher. Thankfully, the teacher knew at least a little bit of what to say to coax her out, because she decided to come out from behind him anyway. “Nothing to be afraid of, right? You know, me and Daddy both had to come to school too, when we were your age. And we were scared too, but then we went in and made friends and had lots of fun.” He smiled, glancing at Kris out of the corner of his eye, hoping that this was working.
Reaching out, he gave their daughter a big hug, then sat back into his kneel again, giving her a nice, grown up look, right in the eyes. “You’re such a big girl, and you’re gonna do amazing in there, okay?” He wasn’t quite sure how he and his husband were going to react once she was in there out of their sight, but they would handle that when it happened. “And if you get too upset at all, you can call me or Daddy with your phone, and we will come right away to get you. But you have to give it a little chance first, okay?” He was referring to her emergency children’s phone, one of those that only had a couple of buttons with preprogrammed numbers in them, where she could reach any of her relatives, including Aunt Elsa and Uncle Woody. He turned around and stood, holding her little hand in his big one, looked at the teacher, then back down at the little blonde. “So… You ready?”
Kristoff smiled at Chloe and Buzz’s interaction. They may have had slightly different parenting techniques, but he had to admit that they worked well together, and Chloe was pretty much a mix of their personalities. The better halves. But, he definitely appreciated that Buzz always seemed to know what to say, in any situation.
Their daughter nodded her head, still a little shy to the whole situation. Kris gave her one last big hug before he let her go. “Be good,” he smiled, pushing her hair out of her face. Looking back up at Buzz and Chloe’s teacher, he took a deep breath. “I think she’s ready.” They said goodbye to Chloe, and handed her over to her teacher, who took her hand graciously and assured Kristoff and Buzz that she would be fine, and that it would be a great school year. All Kris could really do was nod and thank her.
Watching the two walk back down the hall and disappear into the classroom, Kristoff immediately grasped Buzz’s hand, turning them around. “If we don’t leave now we might change our minds, and Chloe will be fine. She has a great teacher. We just need to trust that everything will go smoothly.” Kris was mainly saying this to convince himself, at this point, but he needed it. As they made it back to the car, Kris got in and looked back at the building, knowing that it would only be a few hours until he went to pick her back up. “I really hope she makes some friends, at least, within the first couple weeks. That’s usually easier at her age.”
He’d completely been expecting to be the one that had to drag Kristoff away after leaving Chloe, but no; the tables had turned and somehow he was the one with his feet planted firmly so he could watch her all the way into the classroom, and still linger afterward. He heard Kristoff’s words, but even as he nodded his consent, he wasn’t exactly happy about turning around and leaving their baby in the hands of a stranger. A few minutes later they were in the car, both of them just sitting there for a moment taking a deep breath. “Of course she’ll make friends,” Buzz said, worrying at his lip as he put the keys in the ignition and started the engine. “When did she get so big? I swear, it seems like we just brought her home yesterday…” He shook his head, chuckling to himself and pulling his eyes away from the school. “No, we should go home, and everything will be fine.” He reached over and patted the blond beside him on the knee, taking another deep breath. “Right?” Last night, Kris had been the one freaking out about today, and now he supposed it was his turn. But it was done, they’d dropped her off and she was successfully in school away from them for the first time… Now all he had to do was actually drive away.
Kristoff sighed, shaking his head. “I have no idea. She needs to stop growing; seriously, this has to be a crime or something.” Kristoff sighed, tapping his foot anxiously. “God, I hope so. Alright, let’s go.” After the eventually left the parking lot and drove home, Kris still wasn’t 100% okay with this, but he was going to have to be. Inside, the blond leaned against the kitchen counter, taking a breath. “For once we don’t have another blonde running around the house,” he noted. “We just have to keep telling ourselves she’ll be fine, and maybe eventually we’ll believe it.” He chuckled at the comment, but it was true, in a way. The man stood, walking over to his husband and putting his arms around Buzz’s neck, smiling. “But, even though she’s growing up way too fast, I think we’re doing a pretty good job raising her.” Smirking, Kristoff pressed his lips against Buzz’s, kissing him gently.
Still reeling with the urge to get back in the car and drive back to get her, Buzz sighed, trying to feel better about this as Kris have him a kiss. He leaned his forehead onto the taller man’s shoulder, closing his eyes and breathing deep. “We are?” He chuckled, looking back up at his husband. “Because right now I feel like we are just stumbling blindly and hoping we do the right thing by her.” He smiled, then took Kristoff’s hand and headed through to the living room, where he tugged him down onto the sofa next to him. “We need movie time or something to distract ourselves, or I still might drive back and get her out of there.” Thankfully, he had the day off, but clearly with his mind on edge, he wasn’t going to be getting the errands he’d planned done, so he had to at least do something to keep from doing what he wanted so desperately to do.
Kristoff laughed, kissing him again. “I think so, anyways. But even if we are just stumbling blindly through with her, at least we’re doing it together.” Following Buzz to the living room, he sat down beside him on the sofa, smiling slightly. “Movies are kind of our thing. I like movies.” Kris reached for the TV remote, turning on netflix. “But I did mean what I said, I think we’re doing a pretty good job. I never really imagined myself having a kid at all, to be honest, but now that we have Chloe, I don’t know. Things are… different. Definitely a good different, though.” Flipping through the movies section, they finally agreed on one, and Kristoff put it on, leaning against Buzz’s shoulder. “All things considered, I wouldn’t trade this for anything,” he smiled, looking up at his husband. Sitting up, Kris kissed him once more as the movie started. “Love you.” Kristoff curled up beside Buzz on the sofa and wrapped his arms around him. For once, Kristoff knew what it was like to have other people truly dependent on you, and to depend on others, rather than being independent, and a bit of a loner. It was a nice change, he had to admit. One that he certainly wasn’t going to let go of anytime soon.
After the campaign dinner, as Buzz had promised, the two of them went out and got some actual food. That fancy shit they had at the dinner wasn’t bad, per say, but it wasn’t all that appealing. After that, since it was late, they had decided it was best for Kris to just stay over with Buzz. Despite the tension they had endured at the campaign dinner and a bit after that, they were still planning on going out the next day. Kristoff was just glad that they had a chance to calm down before going to sleep last night, since it was never a good idea to go to bed upset; especially if when in a relationship. “It’s not that I didn’t want to be there, it was all the stupid cameras, and the looks, and even Elsa and Woody were giving us those damn looks. I mean, how am I supposed to feel after that?” Kris groaned, pushing his hands through his hair. “I wanted to be there, I did; but that was worse than what I expected it to be like. It had nothing to do with you, Buzz. I’m just not great in social scenarios.” Now, it was a new day, and Kris was just waking up. As the blond rolled over to the side, he noticed an empty spot in the bed, and sat up with a confused expression. It faded within seconds as his eyes found Buzz. “Good morning,” he smiled, his voice soft from having just woken up.
“Everything’s gotta be a competition with you, huh?” Woody commented, mulling over the thought for a second. While it wasn’t a usual for him, he didn’t see the harm in gambling once in a while. “Yeah, okay, fine. This time.” Woody got to thinking, the competition thing raised curiosity on a few things. Like Buzz running for mayor. “So, definitely loving the fliers around town, pal. You look good in red, white and blue. Mr. Patriotic. I didn’t know you even wanted to run.”
“Well no, but its sort of fun to watch you lose sometimes,” Buzz said, as they walked toward the booths they would be shooting from. “Okay, first off, I did not want to run. Your girlfriend took it upon herself to nominate me just so this Hans guy doesn’t win.” He shrugged as he took a set of sound proofing earmuffs from the counter. “And second, she put those fliers up without my knowledge. She must have bribed my mom to hunt down a usable picture or something, I swear.”
“Uh-huh,” Woody grinned, taking his own ear muffs and slinging them around his neck till they were ready. “So, just because you’re nominated doesn’t mean you have to go through with it. Unless you secretly want to and you’re just playing coy.” Woody moved to Buzz’s right side, remembering he was a lefty, and secured the safety glasses on. “I mean, Buzz. If you want to be mayor, just say you want to be mayor. Retired astronaut, already famed, wants to run. It’s kind of like Donald Trump running for office. It’s weird, I’m not gonna lie.”
Buzz scrunched up his face at Woody’s comment. “I don’t know why I’m going through with it. I guess… I just felt like she knows this guy personally, right, so if she says it’s a bad idea for him to be mayor, it might do good for him to not run unopposed. And if I’m the guy who’s going to do that, then so be it.” He shrugged, looping the earmuffs around his neck, then loading the clip for his service pistol. Holding the magazine in one hand and a handful of bullets in the other, he glanced up periodically to look at his partner. “Okay, please don’t compare me to Trump again. I feel weird enough about this already.”
Kris was by no means a people person. He could fake a smile when he needed to and talk to whoever; he could bite his tongue and say what people wanted to hear instead of what he thought, laughing at jokes that weren’t funny, but people expected you to laugh anyway. But, it wasn’t truthful half of the time. He knew this dinner was going to be stressful for Buzz, but he hadn’t realized how awkward it would be for himself as well. As if the fact that they were twelve years apart wasn’t obvious enough, now, it seemed like that’s what people were talking about. Any talk of the campaigning process or initial ballot went in one ear and out the other to Kris, because all he could focus on were the people who were staring. “Lots of rich important snobby people, who probably for the most part think that they’re better than everyone,” Kristoff mumbled quietly, playing with his fork, twirling it on his napkin. The only reason he was there was for Buzz. “I’d be handling it better if I could breath without feeling like dozens of eyes were staring at me,” he answered truthfully. Turning to Buzz, he put on a small smile, chuckling. “What about you? You’re the one we’re all here for. Are you doing okay?”
“I’ve been better,” he said with a nervous chuckle, his eyebrows raised as he glanced around the crowded ballroom. “You look like you’ve been better too. I’m sorry to have dragged you here, I’m sure you’d much rather be doing something else.” He reached out and took his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. He didn’t know what was going on in that blond head of his, but it had to be the similar jargon of judging things people might have in their direction. Then again, these people wouldn’t be here if they weren’t supporting this campaign. “I promise to make it up to you?”
Kris sighed, looking around before meeting Buzz’s eyes again. “Well, I can’t say that being in a room full of people who I don’t know and who certainly don’t know me while we all try to pretend this is such a high and mighty event is my idea of a good time.” Kristoff paused, squeezing Buzz’s hand back. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that, I know this is important.” His free hand started finding other things to do, like tap on the table or trace circles in the table cloth. This was usually a telltale sign that he was either bored or nervous, though in occasion it meant he was comfortable, ironically. Unfortunately this was not one of those rare occasions. “You need to focus on the campaign,” the blond reminded him. “Maybe that can wait until after this stuff is over.” Of course Kristoff knew that if Buzz were to win, this “stuff” would never be over. But, there was always a little bit of hope. “It is hot in here, by the way. I never answered.” Kris smiled at him, this time not faking it. “How long is this thing, anyway?”
Buzz smiled at Kristoff’s honesty, knowing this was absolutely not a picnic for either of them. “I appreciate you coming to support me, even with all the high and mighty fancy to-do going on,” he said, rubbing Kristoff’s arm assuredly. His smile faultered slightly when Kristoff brought up “when things were over.” What if he won, anyway? Then there would be lots of events like this, and lots of office hours, and less time to spend with his boyfriend. Why he hadn’t considered that until this moment, he didn’t know. “Ah… A couple more hours. I’m sorry…” He frowned, linking their fingers together as his other hand played with the edge of his cloth napkin. He looked away, and noticed Elsa glancing away from them at the same moment. He got the sudden sinking feeling she had been watching and silently judging the two of them, even if she wouldn’t say it to their faces. He remembered too clearly what she had said and her opinions on their “moving too fast.” He looked down at the napkin, noticing the fraying hem and stopping his fiddling. He dragged his eyes back to Kristoff, trying to regain some sort of natural smile. It probably wasn’t working. “Look, tomorrow after we go vote, we can go do… Whatever you want to do. I’m all yours.”
“Well I wasn’t going to ditch. I’m not that terrible,” he said, jokingly. A couple more hours he had to endure. Maybe it wouldn’t be that bad. Or, it could be, but for the sake of being there for Buzz, he was going to at least attempt to be optimistic for once. He hadn’t even allowed himself to really think about the possibility that it was very likely that Buzz could win. And if he did, what would that mean? Kristoff would hardly get to see him. They still had now, however, even if now meant being with a bunch of strangers, and their two friends, who had been acting extremely strange around the two of them lately. It was starting to concern him, honestly, and was a little freaky. “As much as I’d love to hold you to that promise, what if something comes up?” He had to ask, because he knew that when important things were going on, such as running for mayor, you tended to get sucked into things particularly if you’re involved. “But I’d like that, if it works out,” he nodded. A few more hours and they’d be free.
Even with everyone looking, and the obvious disapproving glance from their best friend, Buzz leaned over and gave his boyfriend a quick kiss. “Tomorrow, you are everything, okay? I promise.” He smiled and then sat back, noticing the waiters arriving with the plates of food. “The only time that any of this will even come up is when we go to vote, okay?” He gave one last assuring squeeze to his hand before he separated them, and he thanked the waiter as the food was placed in front of them. Small, fancy looking entrees were set on the clean white plate, and he looked back at Kristoff as his plate was set in front of him. He raised an eyebrow, a skeptical expression at their meals. Once the waiter was gone, he leaned over again, and whispered to him, “After this, how about we go get some real food as well, hm?”
Kristoff was surprised by the kiss, but smiled. “Okay,” he nodded, the smile still on his face. “Right. Voting tomorrow, and then the rest of the day will be free.” Restating this wasn’t to comfort Buzz, it was to convince himself that this is what would happen. There was still doubt in his mind, but he tried to eliminate it. The food was placed in front of them, and Kristoff was just glad that he wouldn’t have to talk as much anymore. He could just eat the food and pretend like people weren’t still watching their every move. He couldn’t help but laugh at Buzz’s comment. “Fair enough,” he smiled, quickly kissing his cheek. Turning back to his plate, Kristoff picked his fork back up with one hand, placing the other on Buzz’s leg, under the table. “I guess I should get used to fancy events such as this,” he commented, before taking a bite of his food, swallowing. “Especially if you were to win.”
Taking his own fork in his left hand, Buzz reached under the table and put his hand on Kristoff’s, proceeding to pick at his food as well. “If I win, I’m all for dinners, if there’s actually food involved and I don’t have to wear a monkey suit,” he said softly with a laugh. He still didn’t like the thought of how much he would be busy and unable to spend time with his friends and boyfriend, however. How did people do it? How did they balance stuff like this and still have a personal life? He sighed, focusing on his plate as though it was suddenly very interesting and not just a very small portioned chicken dinner. And he had a sudden sinking feeling as a thought came unbidden into his head; maybe it was unfair of him to expect Kristoff to tag along on this. He was only 24, after all, and he shouldn’t have to be here in this sort of thing, especially when Buzz knew that Kristoff was not a people person, even less than he himself was. “Yeah. Yeah, if I win,” he repeated absently and took a bite.
Buzz had a point. For a fancy campaign dinner, the dinner wasn’t too fancy. “Mm, suits aren’t exactly my thing, so I’d have to agree.” He laughed as Buzz did, attempting to eat this “dinner” that they were brought, since it would be impolite not to. Kris turned to Buzz, hearing a sort of disconnect in his words. “Are you having doubts about going through with it?” Kristoff asked. To be completely honest, he was conflicted about it himself, and it was Buzz running, not him. Kris never really even paid attention to politics and law in school, because it didn’t interest him as much as the other subjects. The only reason he came to this dinner was to support his boyfriend, and to also spend time with him before the big election. He knew that if Buzz won, things were going to change. They already started to, and the blond wasn’t sure how to feel about it. “I know it’s normal to be nervous, but I think you have a good chance of winning. Really,” Kris nodded, trying to smile for Buzz’s sake.
At this point, things had changed over the course of the night already, and Buzz was unsure of what he was nervous about anymore. Was his still just nervous about the election, and potentially being the mayor of Memoire? Or had that somehow subsided and now he was nervous about what would happen to this relationship that was still so new? He did know that it was not a good feeling that he was having at this time, but he smiled at his boyfriend anyway. “I… Guess I’m nervous because I don’t know what I’m doing,” he said with a forced chuckle. “I can learn, obviously, and I’m a hard worker, so I can do the job, but… I don’t know. Maybe some other things are starting to make me wonder…” He stopped talking, realizing that he was betraying what he was thinking about almost. He gave Kristoff a smile. “I’m just curious now to see what happens.”
Kristoff may not have been a people person, but he knew well enough when people were lying, or if not lying, dancing around the truth. It takes a pro to catch one, and whether he liked to admit it or not, Kris did more than his fair share of dancing around the truth in his life. “I think you’ll do fine,” the blond shrugged. “Like you said, you’re a hard working, willing to learn, and you have good life experience. You’ll do fine.” Kristoff took a bite of his food as Buzz continued. His hesitation and the word wonder made him practically drop his fork right then and there. “What happens with what? The position?” he asked, pausing. “Or something else?” Kristoff’s eyes met Buzz’s for a moment, before turning back to his plate. “I’ve been thinking about it lately, and I think I want to start doing research on my birth parents,” he confessed. This had been something he talked over with Elsa before, but he still hadn’t mentioned it to his adoptive parents. As a matter of fact, he still hadn’t mentioned to them that he and Buzz were dating either. Time had been a serious enemy lately, never seeming to be right to do anything.
Biting his lip from saying what he had actually meant, Buzz allowed the change of subject to Kristoff’s parents without a word otherwise. “I think that might be good for you, and I can help if you need me to,” Buzz said, running a thumb across the back of Kristoff’s hand. “I actually tried to find mine at one point, but the only thing I discovered was that I had a twin brother another couple apparently adopted.” Speaking of parents made him suddenly aware that neither of them had even introduced the other to their own, but these days, he didn’t know how important that kind of thing was. He hadn’t even mentioned having a boyfriend to his yet; they were probably going to be calling him the next morning once the newspaper printed pictures of this event. Just a great way for them to find out he had a significant other. He could just hear his mother’s Asian accent over the phone now. “Ah… Also speaking of parents, I should probably introduce you to mine, after these pictures get out.” He blushed slightly as he looked over at the blond. “If.. If you’d be comfortable with that.”
Kristoff nodded, pushing the food on his plate with his fork. He took another bite before continuing. “I think so too. Elsa offered to help me, but I appreciate you offering as well. If I need you I will let you know.” Kris was surprised to hear that Buzz had a twin brother. It was a complete shock, to be honest. “Wow, really? I had no idea. That’s kind of exciting though, no?” He saw both sides of it, why and why not. “But you’ll find something, I know it.” Kris laughed at the image of Buzz’s parents reacting to this. He was kind of afraid of his own family’s reactions, considering their nature. Of course they would be accepting, but they like to push buttons that are better left un-pushed. “No, I think I’ll be fine,” he smiled. “Speaking of which, I haven’t introduced you to mine. Be warned, if you ever come over their house,“ Kris stated. "Prepare to never leave.” He chuckled, picking at his plate again.
“Yeah, it’s a bit of a strange feeling to know that there’s a guy somewhere out there that I should definitely know, but I’ve never met,” Buzz relented as he finished what was edible from his plate. He was pretty sure that fancy food was not going to be anywhere on his radar ever again after this. And the small portion was pathetic. He smiled at Kristoff as he described how his parents might react, and a laugh escaped at the mention of never leaving their home again. “Your parents sound like a blast, honestly. I would love to meet them. I should warn you about mine, I think. My mom is an overbearing Asian woman, and she speaks her native Taiwanese a lot. So prepare to not understand her.” He leaned back in his chair and sighed, and wasnt surprised to have his empty plate scooped up quickly by the wait staff of the hotel. “And my dad is from Michigan. He likes outdoorsy stuff, and is basically Mr. America. I take after him a lot, I think.” He was actually glad they were talking about this; it made his earlier doubts ease, at least for now.
Kristoff rolled his eyes playfully. "Oh yeah, a real blast," he nodded, teasingly. "I probably don't think so since I grew up with them, but they're okay," he shrugged, smirking slightly. "Although I don't know what it says knowing that my mother likes Elsa just as much as me, if not more." Kris was only half joking, since his mother did love both of them, but she treated Elsa as part of the family as well. Anna too, in a sort, but Elsa was more of a daughter to her as well. "An overbearing Asian woman, huh?" Kris laughed. "I'm sure she's lovely anyway. Your dad seems pretty cool, too." Their dinner conversation tonight was refreshing. It made this whole event less awkward, and it seemed to be helping them get to know one another more. There were still those feelings of doubt and annoyance with everyone in the back of his mind, but for now, he focused on their conversation. Kris took the last bite of his dinner, frowning slightly at the plate. "We'll have to arrange those meetings some time."
"We definitely will," Buzz agreed, smiling and pushing back in his seat, getting ready to stand up. He looked across the table; Elsa was giving him an encouraging 'are you ready' face this time, rather than the one he'd spotted on her earlier. He wished she would be more supportive of his relationship with Kristoff, since she was the one that introduced them in the first place, but she knew exactly where she stood on the fast relationship stance. He sighed, giving Kristoff a look that stood as a promise of everything he had said tonight. He had every intention of taking him out for real food after this was said and done, and he was spending every minute of tomorrow with him. "Well... I guess it's time to get back out there." He shrugged a little, then stood, giving his boyfriend a kiss on top of his head. Of course, a camera went off somewhere in the room, but he didn't care. "Just a little bit longer."
The end of dinner meant that Buzz and Elsa would have to leave and go do more campaign shit that Kristoff honestly probably wouldn't understand. Great. Which meant A ) he would be stuck here with all these people and get bombarded with questions, or B ) he would get stuck with Woody for the rest of the night. Or both. Most likely both, and although Kris was still a bit uncomfortable with being alone with Woody, he'd honestly prefer it to facing these masses alone. Kris smiled up at Buzz, but it was more fake this time, except for when he kissed the top of his head. "I'll see you later," he whispered as Buzz and Elsa left. Even though the room was filled with probably a hundred people, Kris felt completely alone in that moment. Wanting nothing more than to be anywhere else, he closed his eyes for a moment and imagined he was. Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes back up. Whether he was ready or not, the questions were already beginning, and not all of them came from strangers.
“Excuse you, I’m great with kids,” Buzz said with a smile as they walked into the ballroom. His stomach was filled with butterflies, but he smiled and waved as a few camera flashes went off. It had been a few years since he’s had that happen, so he wasn’t quite as adjusted to the newspapers being around as he used to be. As they walked along through the room, the paper’s photographers quickly dissipated, leaving the pair to go around meeting people with gracious handshakes as they made their way to their seats. “You should know I’ve had experience with this sort of thing too, I just never really got used to it,” he said to Elsa as they walked. “Now, how long do we have to schmooze before we can go eat?”
“Fine, fine, you keep your future position as Uncle Buzz, fair enough?” As soon as the first camera flash went off, Elsa gave his hand a squeeze. By this point, Elsa was a pro at dodging the cameras. After years of being dragged to these events with her father, she had perfected the art of smiling, waving and get out of there as quickly as possible. Sure enough, after just a few minutes, Elsa had successfully maneuvered him through the crowd, to their table. “Wasn’t so bad, was it? ” She smiled at him and shook her head, “No, we’re eating now. I’m starving. Kris and I went to the gym today and…well, okay we really didn’t but I’m hungry. Uh, I’m finding a server-waiter-person,” Elsa set her clutch on the table and stood, but two absences at the table made her stop dead in her tracks. “Uh. Question. Where are our boyfriends?”
“You’re much better at dodging them than I ever was,” Buzz said appreciatively, as they reached their table and sat. However, she was right; their boyfriends were absent for the moment. “Well, they’re probably trying to swim through the masses of people to get here. And just so you know, you might be my date for the night, but I am having at least dinner with Kris, okay? I feel like the world’s worst boyfriend lately as it is.” He was standing beside her, looking for Woody and Kristoff just as she was, only being greeted every few moments by people as they were going to their own seats. “There, I see Woody over there, and Kris is - there.” He sighed in relief as they both came into view. “Okay, I’ll talk to you again in a little bit, have fun with your boyfriend for a little bit.”
For a moment, Buzz actually considered not going through with this. But the fact that Elsa had so strongly advised against his opponent becoming mayor… That weighed heavily on him. He didn’t know the guy, but he knew Elsa, and Elsa didn’t say things so bluntly about a person unless she knew for a fact. Unless you were Flynn Rider, he supposed, but he didn’t really know the full story there yet. He had faith in what she said about Hans, and if he was going to be the one to make sure that guy didn’t end up in office, then so be it. “No… I’m doing this. Not just for you either, although you are a major contributing factor.” He smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “You’re right, I do kind of want to see what’s going to happen. So… I know it’s a big deal, but it’s an exhilarating one. And I might act like I hate it - well, part of me totally does, I’m a soldier, not a politician - but there is that part of me that is totally ready to tackle this head on.” He scratched the back of his head nervously. “So… I just walk in there and wave to people, right? Kiss some hands, shake some babies?” He chuckled awkwardly at his own lame joke.
“Well, for what it’s worth, I think you’ll be good at it. You’re a sweet guy with a really big heart and a genuine concern for everyone else’s well-being.” Elsa smiled as he kissed the top of her head and linked her arm with his as they left the room. “Besides, I’ve already informed our boyfriends that you are my date tonight and I won’t leave your side. Sadly, I’m used to this sort of thing. If you need me to take over or do anything, just give my hand a squeeze or give me a look or do something, okay?” As they entered the ballroom, Elsa gave Buzz a side-glance and smiled, “Well, look at it this way. You easily have the prettiest girl in the room on your arm.” She laughed, “I’m kidding. But kiss some hands and shake some babies? Remind me to never let you babysit my children.”
"Excuse you, I'm great with kids," Buzz said with a smile as they walked into the ballroom. His stomach was filled with butterflies, but he smiled and waved as a few camera flashes went off. It had been a few years since he's had that happen, so he wasn't quite as adjusted to the newspapers being around as he used to be. As they walked along through the room, the paper's photographers quickly dissipated, leaving the pair to go around meeting people with gracious handshakes as they made their way to their seats. "You should know I've had experience with this sort of thing too, I just never really got used to it," he said to Elsa as they walked. "Now, how long do we have to schmooze before we can go eat?"
Another look, but this time Buzz let it relax sooner. “Okay, maybe. I’m in it for the adventure, I guess. I like new things, so sue me.” He paused, thinking that over. “Well, not new people, I guess. You’ve seen my crippling shyness at work by how much I avoided Kris for a month.” He shrugged, looking at his reflection again. “This is as good as it’s getting, so we should just…” He sighed, then held his arm out and waited to Elsa to link her arm with his before they started out of the room and toward the ballroom. “I don’t have to say a speech, do I?” He asked suddenly, not having the thought until now. He knew that speeches were part of politics, but at his own dinner, was that going to happen? God, he hoped not.
“No, no. I said no speeches, but I’m starting to think that you and Woody are paid to sit in his office and perfect that look. He gave it to me this morning. Hold on…” Elsa let go of his arm and turned him gently to face her, redoing his tie. “Okay.” She looked up at him, the weight of the situation finally hitting her. “Buzz, I’m serious. You don’t have to do this. Honestly, I really had no idea it would actually go this far. Go out there and do this if you want to do this, not because of me or anyone else. You know me. I’m impulsive. My brain takes a little longer to catch up to the words that come out of my mouth.” She took both of her hands in his, “But if you don’t want to do this, say the word, and I’ll go out there myself and quietly call the entire thing off. You can make a statement or whatever in your own time tomorrow.” She looked up at him, “It’s your call.”
For a moment, Buzz actually considered not going through with this. But the fact that Elsa had so strongly advised against his opponent becoming mayor... That weighed heavily on him. He didn't know the guy, but he knew Elsa, and Elsa didn't say things so bluntly about a person unless she knew for a fact. Unless you were Flynn Rider, he supposed, but he didn't really know the full story there yet. He had faith in what she said about Hans, and if he was going to be the one to make sure that guy didn't end up in office, then so be it. "No... I'm doing this. Not just for you either, although you are a major contributing factor." He smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "You're right, I do kind of want to see what's going to happen. So... I know it's a big deal, but it's an exhilarating one. And I might act like I hate it - well, part of me totally does, I'm a soldier, not a politician - but there is that part of me that is totally ready to tackle this head on." He scratched the back of his head nervously. "So... I just walk in there and wave to people, right? Kiss some hands, shake some babies?" He chuckled awkwardly at his own lame joke.
“I don’t think you realize how awkward this is,” Buzz said as Elsa stood in front of him straightening his tie for the twentieth time. Preparing for a dinner was one thing; having a campaign dinner thrown in your honor when you know absolutely nothing about politics? Terrifying. “You owe me sooo much for doing this, I hope you know. And dinner isn’t going to cut it, Else.” He gave her the look, a raised eyebrow included, and then sighed as she stood aside for him to see his reflection. “Well, we should get out there, I guess,” he shrugged.
Trying to maneuver herself through the crowded ballroom in that dress was one thing. Getting Buzz to come out was another thing entirely. “Well, at least you look good,” she offered, once she got to the back room where Buzz was getting ready. For that remark, she received the look. Elsa rolled her eyes and walked over to him, reaching up to fix his tie for him.
“Okay. I’m sorry. Yes, I nominated you partially for my own selfish purposes because I hate Hans and that’s a really stupid reason. But in my defense, you could have said no, Buzz.” She let go of his tie and began to straighten out his suit jacket. “And you haven’t. And don’t say it’s because you didn’t want to disappoint me, because you would have let me down easy. You can still back out.” Elsa turned her eyes up to his. “We can go out there, thank everyone for coming and announce that you’ve formally declined the nomination. I won’t be upset, I promise.” She reached up and pushed a hair from his face, “But part of me thinks you’re actually curious to see if you will win. Call me crazy.”
Another look, but this time Buzz let it relax sooner. "Okay, maybe. I'm in it for the adventure, I guess. I like new things, so sue me." He paused, thinking that over. "Well, not new people, I guess. You've seen my crippling shyness at work by how much I avoided Kris for a month." He shrugged, looking at his reflection again. "This is as good as it's getting, so we should just..." He sighed, then held his arm out and waited to Elsa to link her arm with his before they started out of the room and toward the ballroom. "I don't have to say a speech, do I?" He asked suddenly, not having the thought until now. He knew that speeches were part of politics, but at his own dinner, was that going to happen? God, he hoped not.
