Day 19 of February Ficlet Challenge, checking in with Kristoff and Hans in the Rowing AU.
Kristoff sat on the blanket staring out at the river, hardly paying attention to the other rowers from various teams walking past him.
“There they are, finally!” he heard with an almost disgusted sigh. He whipped his head around, and saw Hans.
“I swear, if he wasn’t in my boat,” Kristoff muttered under his breath.
He saw Olaf and the four rowers in the boat he was coxswain of returning from the river, and Olaf giving the commands for them to set the boat back on the racks.
“I bet he took them off course,” Hans said, loud enough for everyone around to hear. “They sure took long enough.”
“Give them a break,” Kristoff said, standing up to face Hans. “You were there with me out there today, there was a crosswind.”
“Olaf is always bragging about the wind being on his side,” Hans scoffed. “Serves him right, if you ask me.”
Kristoff sighed, not believing that he was going to be defending Olaf. “He’s enthusiastic. And, okay, maybe he’s a bit weird. Who cares?”
Hans glared. “I’m just glad my car is finally out of the shop so I drove myself here.”
Kristoff shrugged. It had been a mediocre day for everyone. The boats so far had been in second or third place. It was disappointing, but hardly the end of the world.
“Elsa is waving us over,” Kristoff said. “Why don’t you help us pack up the trailer so you can go home.”
heyyyyyy, I really wanted to try and draw human Olaf and reference as much about is canon looks as possible... I’d imagine him to be a bit of a know-it-all-kid that’s constantly explaining the world you know because he is but also? mama!elsa and an excuse to practice my digital colorings
From the Frozen modern AU where Kristoff and Olaf are roommates...
Kristoff walked into the apartment, and Olaf dashed in front of him.
“Oh, Kristoff, great!” Anna called out from the kitchen.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
"We can't do this on our own," Olaf said.
“What, exactly?” Kristoff asked, looking around for a clue.
Anna and Olaf were hurrying around the apartment, but Kristoff couldn’t see any clues. He checked his phone, and it didn’t look like anyone's birthday was coming up, and there were no holidays happening.
“We’re just organizing,” Anna explained. “Olaf saw a TV show, and I said I’d help.”
Anna sat on one of the stools in the kitchen, tapping her foot on the rung, watching her sister finishing one of the puzzles in the newspaper.
“Hey, Anna,” Elsa said, finally looking up. “What do you think about ordering delivery for dinner?”
“Oh, right, I didn’t think about that part…” Anna mumbled, not realizing she had said it out loud until she heard herself.
“What do you mean?” Elsa asked. “It’s almost five, we should probably get something for dinner.”
“Well, it’s your birthday, right?” Anna stopped tapping her foot. Kristoff and Olaf would probably want to eat, too. She needed to think this through.
“Right!” Elsa laughed. “I seriously almost forgot!”
“So, what do you want? I’ll put in the order.”
“That’s not really necessary, what do you want?”
Anna hopped off the stool. “I… want to order the food!”
Elsa sighed. “Fine, I’ll have the chicken tikka masala, and make sure you get an order of samosas.”
“Sure!” Anna said, beginning to type into her phone. She sent off a quick text to Olaf, and thankfully he got back to her immediately with both his and Kristoff’s requests.
Elsa was back to her puzzle, chewing on the end of her pen. Once the order was put in, Anna ran around tidying up the first floor.
“What are you doing?” Elsa asked when Anna came back to the kitchen and started wiping the counter.
“Um, well, it’s your birthday, I thought I’d do something nice?”
“Oh, thanks! I appreciate it!” Elsa smiled, going back to her puzzle.
Anna checked her phone. Olaf sent a message that he and Kristoff were on their way, and assured her that Kristoff was driving and so it was fine that he was texting. She began pacing the living room, checking the front window. She suddenly realized that if the food came first, she’d have to try to keep Elsa from eating right away, but of course! She could set the table. Except it would look suspicious if she set out four plates. Did they have four matching plates? They had to, of course they would.
She realized she was staring at the kitchen cabinets when the doorbell rang.
“Is the food here already?” Elsa asked.
“I’ll get it!” Anna called out.
She glanced in the mirror in the front hall, and satisfied with what she saw, smiled as she opened the door.
“Thank you!” she said, ushering Olaf and Kristoff in while putting her finger to her lips.
Olaf handed her a large box with the cake inside. She took it to the dining room and set it on the table. She realized she couldn’t reach deep enough to get the cake out.
“How do we get this out?” she whispered.
“I got this,” Kristoff replied under his breath.
Anna watched as he lifted the cake out, somehow not messing anything up.
“Oh, shoot, you didn’t bring candles, did you?” Anna asked, barely remembering to whisper.
Kristoff shook his head, and Olaf looked like he was about to open his mouth, so Anna put her hand over his mouth.
Anna realized they’d have to let Elsa know they were there soon enough.
“Hey, Elsa?” she called out.
“Yes?” her sister responded, not looking up.
“I was thinking it might be fun to have a cake. Do we have any birthday candles?”
“Left hand drawer under the microwave, next to the silverware,” Elsa recited, still not looking up.
Anna opened the drawer, and there was a pack of pastel birthday candles sitting in the corner, exactly the number they needed, too.
“Thanks! This will be perfect!”
Elsa finally looked up.
“Don’t we need a cake?” Elsa asked. “It’s kind of late to make one at this point.”
Before Anna had a chance to reply, the doorbell rang.
“That must be the food!” Anna shouted, running to the door.
“But I thought-” Elsa began to say, getting up from the table. “Wait…”
“Surprise!” Olaf Kristoff shouted from the dining room.
“Oh! You were supposed to wait for me!” Anna said as she brought the bag of food from the Indian restaurant.
“Wait,” Elsa repeated, “when did you guys get here?”
“They’ve been here about ten minutes,” Anna told her.
“And the cake?” Elsa asked.
“We baked that yesterday,” Kristoff replied before Anna had a chance.
“All of you?” Elsa asked.
“I forgot I had class, so I wasn’t there,” Olaf admitted.
“Hey,” Anna said, setting out the plates, “let's have some dinner first. Then we can have the cake and sing and all that.”
“No singing,” Elsa pleaded.
“It’s your birthday! We have to!” Olaf insisted.
“But first, dinner!” Anna said, pulling out a chair for Elsa and making sure she sat down.
Anna saw that Olaf had already sat down to Elsa’s left, so she could sit next to Kristoff. And it wasn’t a very large table. She wasn’t trying to constantly touch him, but she wasn’t about to go out of her way to avoid it.
Olaf was telling Elsa about something that had happened on campus, but Anna hadn’t been following. Kristoff didn’t seem to be following, either.
“So, did you have any trouble getting the cake here?” she asked him.
Kristoff blinked as if he hadn’t been expecting any conversation.
“Oh! Right!” he chuckled. “Once Olaf found the box, it was pretty easy.”
“I’m glad! I hadn’t really thought through that part yesterday. I was worrying about it all afternoon.”
“I was worried about it driving over here, because Olaf kept texting you while the cake was on his lap, but it looks like it survived the trip just fine.”
Anna giggled but couldn’t think of a response. Kristoff reached over to grab a second samosa, and his leg brushed up against hers under the table. He looked at her apologetically, and started to move his leg away, and she quickly moved her leg back over up against his. His eyes widened, and she gave a smile.
“Should we have the cake now?” Olaf asked suddenly.
Anna sat up straight and looked straight ahead, saying nothing. She could feel the table move a little as Kristoff did the same.
“I’m finished eating dinner,” Elsa replied, “what about you, Anna?”
“Oh, um, dinner?”
Elsa sighed. “Yes, Anna, are you finished? Olaf just asked if we want to have the cake now.”
“I’m done, I think. Um, what about you, Kristoff?”
“What?” he asked, sounding startled, staring ahead like a deer in headlights.
“Are you ready for cake?” Olaf asked him.
“Cake, sure,” he grunted, letting out a long breath.
Anna realized that someone needed to clear the table, and if she didn’t, Elsa would do it, and it was her birthday. She picked up her plate and Elsa’s, and Kristoff picked up his plate and one of the empty food containers and followed her to the kitchen.
Anna glanced over her shoulder, and in the dining room, Olaf was standing about to bring his plate in, so she quickly set the plates she had on the counter and ran back out.
“I’ll get that, Olaf!”
“Oh, thanks, Anna!” he said, sitting back down to finish the anecdote he had been telling Elsa.
She came back to the kitchen, and Kristoff had started scrubbing the plates.
“Come on, you don’t need to do that now,” she insisted, grabbing his arm. “Our dishwasher gets everything off.”
“Right, um, sorry,” he said, setting the plate down and drying his hands on the nearby dishtowel.
“Don’t be, but you’re our guest,” she said, touching his hand again.
They stood silently for a moment not saying anything.
“Hey, Anna, do you need help finding the candles again?” Elsa asked.
“No, I got it!” Anna called back, taking a deep breath and grabbing the candles from the drawer in the corner.
She heard Kristoff clear his throat.
“Hey, you coming?”
“You’ve got matches, right?” he asked.
“Oh… Elsa? Do we have matches?” she called into the dining room.
“Next drawer over from the candles!” Elsa called back.
Anna opened it up, and saw a pile of matchbooks with old restaurant names on them.
“Huh,” she blurted out.
“What’s wrong?” Kristoff asked, walking up behind her.
“Nothing’s wrong,” she said quietly, “I just remembered my dad collected these.”
“Did he smoke?” Kristoff asked.
“No, just, remember how fancy restaurants all used to give out matchbooks with their name on it?”
“Uhhh, can’t say I do,” Kristoff admitted.
“Oh, um, well, they used to. Kind of like hotel pens, you know?”
“Hotel pens?”
“I have a few,” Anna admitted.
“You steal pens from hotels?”
“No, no! They don’t mind if you take them, it’s like, free advertising?”
“Anna?” Elsa called out, “do you need any help?”
“No, I got this!”
She shook her head and picked up the only matchbook without writing or decoration, closing the drawer with her hip as she turned around.
“Ready!” she shouted cheerfully, walking into the dining room. “Olaf, do you want to help out?”
“How many candles do we need?” he asked.
Anna laughed. “Olaf, you knew us in elementary school, do you really need to ask?”
“Oh, right!” he laughed, taking the candles and sticking them in the cake.
“I’ll light the candles,” Kristoff insisted.
With the candles lit, they began singing Happy Birthday, and Elsa blew out the candles on the first try.
“Why don’t we watch a movie now?” Anna suggested.
“Sure, but I don’t want Olaf and Kristoff to feel like they have to stay.”
“That sounds fun! I love movies!” Olaf said. “What about you, Kristoff?”
“Promise not to spoil this one?”
“I won’t!”
“Wait,” Elsa laughed, “we haven’t even decided what we’re watching.”
“I take it you’ve never watched a movie with Olaf?” Kristoff chuckled.
Anna went into the living room to set up the TV, and Elsa sat down on the recliner. Olaf sat on the cushioned chair and began spinning around.
“Olaf, stop!” Elsa scolded him. “What are you, five?”
“Sorry, I just can’t resist!”
“I can’t believe you can do that without getting nauseous,” Anna laughed. “Anyway, Elsa, you should pick the movie, since it’s your birthday.”
Elsa took the remote, and switched through the selections. Anna sat down at one end of the couch, and looked up to see Kristoff still standing in the doorway from the dining room. She looked over and patted the spot on the couch next to her.
“Oh, this one’s good!” Elsa said, “have you seen it, Olaf?”
“No, I haven’t!” Olaf replied.
“Thank goodness!” Kristoff laughed, his arm ending up right behind Anna.
Elsa hopped up to turn off the lights as the opening credits started up.
As the movie went on, Anna snuggled into Kristoff a little more, partly just for the body heat, since she really was a bit cold.
“Hey, Kristoff,” she whispered.
“Yeah?”
“There’s a blanket under the table next to you there, could you grab it?”
“Sure,” he said, leaning over and bringing up the throw blanket.
Anna spread it out over both their laps. “Sorry, I didn’t ask if you wanted to share. Is this okay with you?”
“I’m good.”
“Thanks!” she chirped. Without thinking, she gave him a kiss on the cheek before sitting back down.
After a split second of wanting to disappear, she felt his arm sliding down to her waist and pulling her a little closer. She reached down and held his hand. At some point, she realized that her other hand was on his thigh, and she was squeezing it during an especially intense scene. He squeezed her tighter.
“You okay?” he whispered.
“What? Oh, yeah!” She looked up at him, locking eyes as much as possible in the dim, flickering light from the movie. He leaned in and kissed her.
She lost track of time as they kissed, but a loud noise from the movie startled them apart. Anna looked around. Olaf was curled up in his chair snoring, and Elsa’s hand was dangling from the side of the recliner.
“They’re both asleep… So… What do you wanna do?”
Kristoff picked her up and set her on his lap, and kissed her again. She was beginning to wonder if they could find some place more private, when she heard something buzzing.
“Oh!” Elsa snorted, startled awake. “That’s my phone, sorry. Who’s calling at this time of night?”
She reached over to the table next to her recliner, and looked at the phone with a groan. “I’ll let it go to voicemail. They should call during normal business hours.”
Anna moved back over to the opposite side of the couch, and Kristoff was tucking the blanket on his lap.
Olaf sat up, looking groggy and trying to figure out where he was. “Did the movie end already?” he asked.
Anna looked up and realized the credits were rolling. “Yeah, it is. I didn’t realize… I guess I dozed off, too?”
“Uh, same,” Kristoff said.
“Well, we should get going,” Olaf said, jumping up.
“Do you want any leftovers?” Anna asked.
“Sure!”
“I’ll help you split them up,” Anna said, running to the kitchen. The takeout containers were still mostly full, so she handed Olaf the items that he and Kristoff had asked for, and put the rest in the fridge. Kristoff was still sitting on the couch when she got back to the room, and Elsa was turning off the TV.
“Kristoff, are you good to drive?” Elsa asked.
“Oh, yeah, I’m wide awake,” he said. “I’m just going to hit the bathroom first.”
He hopped up and ran to the bathroom next to the kitchen.
“Thanks for sharing,” Elsa snorted.
“So, Elsa, did you have a good birthday?”
“Yes, I did, Anna, thank you. As much as I hate surprises usually, this was really nice.”
“Good!” Anna smiled.
“You sure are chipper for someone who just dozed off,” Elsa laughed.
“Wait, what?” Anna said in a sudden panic.
Elsa smirked.
“Hey, Anna and Elsa, where’s Kristoff? I’ve got the leftovers and I’m ready to go.”
“I think he’s in the bathroom,” Elsa said.
“Not any more,” Kristoff announced, stepping out.
“Well, thank you both,” Elsa said, “it was a great birthday!”
“It was Anna’s idea entirely,” Olaf insisted. “I just showed up.”
“Well, still, thank you!”
“Happy birthday!” Olaf said, “and good night!”
“Good night, Olaf!” Anna and Elsa said together.
“Happy birthday,” Kristoff said, nodding as he started heading out.
“Thanks, Kristoff,” Elsa said, turning around to head upstairs, “good night!”
“Good night,” he said.
Anna was standing there, not sure what to say.
“So,” Kristoff cleared his throat. “I was just thinking, I still have those egg yolks from yesterday. Do you know what I should do with them?”
Anna blinked. “Um, if you’d be interested in baking something, I found a pound cake recipe.”
“Maybe tomorrow night? Olaf’s got an evening class, but-”
“Yes, that sounds good,” Anna said quickly.
“See you tomorrow, then?”
Anna gave him a quick kiss. “See you tomorrow, good night!”
