kristannafever-fics

[kristannafever-fics]

Mountain Man - Fifteen

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: M/EX WC: 3098

Collab with @lukin08

Chapter Index

-----------------------

Kristoff slid on the head set and checked the instrument panel then continued running through his pre-flight checklist.  A moment later, he was ready, and he fired up the engine of the plane.  Anna smiled at him from the co-pilot seat as he set out.  He rolled out of the hanger and taxied to the runway.  Once he got the all-clear from air traffic control, he pulled onto it, lined himself up, and took off.

There was no better feeling than being in control of a plane as it took off from the ground.  There was a weightlessness to it, something he felt in the deep pit of his stomach.  It trilled him every time. 

Six months ago, he was living alone in his cabin in the middle of nowhere, eking out a living on trade.  Now he was piloting an aircraft on his own with the love of his life beside him.   Look at me now, he thought.

They soared high in the clear, sunny sky.  It was the perfect day for flying.  The perfect day to do what he was about to do.  He looked over at Anna.  She was already looking at him and gave him a big smile.  He grinned back.  It was impossible not to feel pure happiness with the life he now had.   

They chatted as he flew, talking over this and that, things about their future, which they did often, and how great it had been for Kristoff to reconnect with Cliff and Linda.  They made the trip to White Mountain often, and they always had a fantastic time with Kristoff’s parents.  So much so in fact, that the older couple had decided they wanted to downsize their house and get a condo back in Nome to be closer to their family. 

Finally, the ridge came into view.   He had never flown this way before, only heard about it from Anna, and he was nervous with anticipation.  He’d dreamt about it, ever since she had described it to him, and he was excited to see it with his own eyes. 

He approached it and reminded himself to breathe, then just as he pictured it in his mind, they crested the ridge and the long valley opened up in front of them.

“Wow,” Kristoff whispered.

“Right?” Anna said softy.

He nodded unable to take his eyes off the view.  “It’s incredible.”

Anna reached over and patted his forearm gently.  He pulled in a breath, as he was strangely on the verge of tears.   While he knew today was going to be a mixed bag of emotion, he had no idea it was going to start this early.

They flew on, chatting again about the task at hand, when the strip of bare ground came into view.  He smiled.  The first time he’d set his eyes on it from this view he was with Frank; the plane full with the first load of his purchases to drop off in preparation to start his homestead.  It was a natural void in the forest that was just about perfect for landing a small plane.  They only thing Kristoff had to do was widen it a little and straighten it near the end for safety.   He had put all those felled trees to good use in keeping him warm in the lean-to while he worked to build his cabin.

He lined up the plane and began his decent.  The snow had all melted, leaving him a smooth grassy runway.  A moment later they were on the ground and Kristoff was maneuvering the plane back to where it was usually parked when it was unloaded with his supplies.  This time however, there were no supplies with them. 

Kristoff killed the engine and sat for a moment, looking through the window at his old life.  “It feels weird to be back,” he muttered. 

“You know, we can just call it off.”

He looked at her and gave a reassuring smile.  “No, Anna.  It’s okay.  I’m ready.  I’m ready to let go.”

They walked to the cabin and Kristoff disappeared into his shed to grab a hammer.  With it he took all the nails off the board he had hammered over the door.  He set the piece of plywood on the porch and opened the door.

The hinges groaned and Kristoff winced.  They were going to need some WD40.   He stepped into the dim cabin and went straight to the fire.  He got it up and running in no time while Anna lit the lantern and started packing his personal items into a duffle bag. 

With the cabin warming, he helped her with the last of it, grabbing his grandfather’s crib board and picking up the wolf pelt, putting them on top of his books, photos and clothes.  The only items left in the cabin were things he would not miss.  Things he no longer needed. 

“This does feel weird,” Anna frowned, looking around the cabin.  “Considering the last time I was here.”

Kristoff chuckled and pulled her into an embrace, caressing her back.  “You know, I was thinking we could give the place a bit of a send off.  One last thing to remember it by.”

“Really?” Anna smirked sensuously.  “What did you have in mind?”

“I dunno, something along the lines of that first night we slept together.”

“Hmmm, that sounds like a great idea.”

“Uh huh.”  He leaned down and kissed her. 

It wasn’t long before they were buried under the covers in the still chilly cabin warming up in the best way possible.  Anna was on top of him, kissing him silly, while they made love.  She had already come once and he was hoping he would make it to when she came again so he could join her.  It was magical when they reached climax together. 

He got his wish and they both moaned and held each other tight through their pleasure.  After they laid there for a long time, basking in the moment and taking the time to say a silent goodbye to the place where their lives had intertwined. 

“That young couple you sold the place to is going to love it here,” Anna said after a long time.

Kristoff sighed deeply, truly satisfied.  “They are.  And I am happy that they are so excited to do it together.  I know all too well how lonely it actually is.  I also know how valuable it is to have someone to help out.” He looked into her eyes.  “That week you were with me with me was the best week I’ve ever had here.”

“Well, it was the best week I’d ever had here too.”  She smirked.

Kristoff laughed.  It had been her only week there, but he couldn’t argue with the sentiment.  “You know, that night the first time we were together, it was… I don’t even have words to describe it.  It was… like I never knew I could ever have something like that, and then realizing that I was never going to have it again.”

“It’s weird you say that because I certainly thought the same thing at the time.  Although, we certainly have had that again.”

“Yes definitely.  It’s just not quite the same, you know.”  He realized how that came out and backpedalled quickly.  “I’m not saying anything bad!   It’s just… I don’t know… how can you compare that first moment to anything else.  The first time being with you… shit that moment is branded onto my soul.”

Anna giggled.  “I understand, Kristoff.  It is on mine too.  Every time we are together is a reminder of that beautiful night.  I will cherish it always.”

He shook his head.  “Boy, we are sappy today, aren’t we?”

She laughed.  “Just cringe.”

“Cringe?” he asked, confused.  He’d heard at least a dozen slang words that he did not understand.  

“Stupid teenager talk,” Anna said through a chuckle and got up.  “Come on Mountain Man, this place is not going to shut itself up.”

They dressed and boarded the cabin back up with the fire securely doused in the stove.   Kristoff had made a deal with the couple that the cabin came with everything except his personal belongings.  He didn’t even want the food anymore.  He left it there for them to start their lives off the grid.  He would be flying them up the next week as a matter of fact.  He’d have to mention to them that they will need to wash the bedding before using it. 

Thoughts of him and Anna dirtying it up made him smile. 

They were standing in the clearing, taking one last look around.  Anna had her eyes to the south, looking towards the trap line one last time, when he decided it was time.  He sunk to his knee, his hand going into this jacket pocket, just as her gaze was sweeping back around to him.

Anna pulled in a gasp when she saw him, and both hands clapped to her mouth. 

He cleared his throat gently, staring into her shimmering eyes.  “Anna, you are truly the most extraordinary person I have ever met.  You amaze me every day.  That storm allowed me to get to know who you are, and I am so incredibly thankful for that.  I want nothing else than to make you happy, Anna.  I want to be the husband you deserve and the best father I can be to our future kids.  I love you more than life itself.  Will you marry me?”

She was full on crying and nodding over and over, squeaking out “Yes, yes, yes!”

Kristoff grabbed her trembling hand and slid the ring onto her finger, his eyes burning with his own tears.  A moment later, they were in a tight embrace, and he pulled the restraints on his emotion and cried with her. 

*****

Anna could not stop staring at the ring.  It was gorgeous. 

She heard Kristoff’s chuckle into the headset.  “I am so glad you love it.  It’s not really a traditional engagement ring in a sense.”

“I adore it,” she said, tearing her eyes away from her hand.  “Kristoff, I cannot wait to be your wife.”

He smiled.  “I can’t wait to be your husband.”

Anna glanced at the ring again and then looked back at her man.  He was so incredible there were times that she could barely believe that such a wonderful person was in love with her.  Then he would go and show her just how in love with her he was, and she was usually left feeling in complete awe.  Either that or trying to recover from mind-melting pleasure.  That man did things to her that she didn’t know were even possible.

“When did you even have time to get this?” she asked, looking back to the ring again.  “We have barely spent a moment apart since you got back.”

He smiled, eyes on his instruments as he changed the altitude of the plane to get ready for their decent.  “When I said I had to wait at the gas station since a refuelling truck was in the way.  There wasn’t one.  I popped into a jewellery store and got it after I fueled up your truck.”

Anna laughed.  “You are sneaky, mister.”

He glanced over at her, looking thoughtful.  “I knew I wanted to propose at the cabin.  I just had to.  The fact that it is the reason for you coming into my life means a lot to me.  And then it wasn’t selling and I was getting a little panicky on trying to think of an excuse to take you up there.”

“Is that why you seemed so elated when it sold?”

He smiled.  “Oh yeah.  I was happy that it sold, but even happier that it meant I could finally propose.”

Again, Anna was struck with the enormity of what an incredible man he was.  Just utter perfection.  “I am making you whatever you want for dinner tonight.  Then I am going to make love to you all night long.”

He let out a low whistle, looking over at her.  “Baby, you are too good to me.”

~ That Summer ~

Kristoff stared at the ring on his finger.  He grinned.  As far as weddings go, theirs had been absolute perfection.

While Sven’s wedding earlier that year had been a blast, Kristoff and Anna’s nuptials were a lot more intimate.  Sven and Haley had at least fifty at their wedding whereas between the people in Anna and Kristoff’s lives at the moment, the guest list topped out at fifteen. 

In the end that was the perfect amount of people to be able to host the ceremony and reception in the back yard of Anna’s home.  Well, their home.  Elsa, upon hearing about their engagement, told Anna she was going to move on and find her own place.  With the inheritance left to her and Anna when their parent died, she was able to afford herself a nice condo near the ocean.   After that, Anna put the house in his name too.

There were five of them still currently awake sitting around the fire in the wee-hours of the morning.  The sun had set only an hour and a half ago and already dawn was just faintly beginning to lighten the horizon.  Kristoff looked over at Anna, engaged in a conversation with Haley.  Sven and Frank were across from him laughing at one of Sven’s jokes.  His heart felt full and he smiled at them all.

He thought back to seeing Anna come down the little aisle in her dress.  That first look at her stole his breath, and tears filled his eyes to see this absolutely stunning woman who was about to marry him.  She was adored in sea-foam green to compliment his light blue suit.  Anna had told him she didn’t want to go with traditional colours and he happily went along with her ideas. 

Her dress was shin length, sleeveless with spaghetti straps and layered into soft waves of fabric down the length.  In her hands a bouquet of white roses.  Kristoff blinked the tears out of his eyes as she approached him and he could see she was doing her hardest not to cry herself and ruin her makeup.  He put a firm grip on his emotion and smiled at her, wiping the tears away with a handkerchief.  Sven, standing behind him, gave him an encouraging pat on the back.

Anna turned to hand her bouquet to Elsa and the Justic of the Peace began their short ceremony.  Only fifteen minutes later they were wed, and the group wasted no time in jumping into the reception part of the event.   A small local mom-and-pop catering business was set up under a little tent in the corner of the yard with a buffet of delicious food.  A lot of it local seafood, caught that morning. There were also plenty of other wonderful things.  So much so that after everyone had had their fill, the caterers told Anna and Kristoff with a laugh that their fridge was stocked with the leftovers and they wouldn’t need to buy groceries for at least a week. 

Everyone ate outside on folding tables pushed together to form one long dinner table.  Conversations were light and happy, and when the DJ started, people flocked to the dancefloor; the concrete slab where the patio usually sat – its furniture moved to the beside the house.  It was the perfect size for all the guests. 

And after hours or dancing and merriment, finally it was the five of them, relishing in the last of what was surely one of the best days of Kristoff’s entire life. 

Anna leaned over and placed her hand on his forearm.  The rings on her finger glittered in the firelight.  He glanced at his own again, incredibly happy to see it there.  

“You okay,” she asked softly.

He looked at her and smiled.  “I have never been more okay in my entire life.”

She grinned back and he noticed out of the corner of his eye that their companions were standing from their chairs.  “Well, we’re gonna head out.  Give you two the rest of your night,” Frank said, rounding the fire to pull Anna and then Kristoff into a tight hug.  He bid them all the best and left through the gate with a wave and a smile over his shoulder.

Sven and Haley said their goodbyes next, the two couples promising each other they were going to get together again soon.  A pilot who bought Franks plane when he semi-retired that Anna had subcontracted when she was too busy, was going to take them back to Juneau the next day.  Since they’d made this trip up, Kristoff promised they’d head down there to see them as soon as they were able.

And now Kristoff and Anna were alone and he was sitting beside his beautiful bride, holding hands and looking up into the night sky.   Suddenly, a streak drew a quick white line against the deep blue, and he heard Anna pull in a light gasp.

“A shooting star,” he marvelled.  “Not that I believe in omen’s but that’s gotta be a good one, yeah?”

Anna giggled.  “Definitely.”

Just then another one shot across the sky in almost the same path as the first.  “Wow,” Anna breathed.

They continued to look skyward, but if there was a meteor shower, that was it.  The sky remained still as it continued to get lighter.

“Huh,” Kristoff said.  “Guess we just got the two.”

“We did.  How about that.  I was just thinking about the two children we plan to have.  Which I can’t wait to start working on by the way.”

He chuckled and looked at her.  “Me too.”

She gazed back at him, her eyes looking whimsical.  “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that maybe… just maybe, that was an omen.  Maybe… that was them.”

Kristoff smiled at her, incredulous at the thought.  “I love that idea.  And I love you, Anna.  I love you so much.”

She smiled as she got up and then settled herself in his lap.  “I love you too, Kristoff.  More than you will ever know.”  She kissed his forehead, his check… his lips.

Kristoff got up with her in his lap, cradled her into his arms, and carried her into their house and to their bedroom.  They came together as their first time being husband and wife, and not long after were sleeping soundly, dreaming of the two little faces they would soon see in their future.

--

Previous Chapter

[kristannafever-fics]

Mountain Man - Fourteen

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: M/EX WC: 3334

Collab with @lukin08

Chapter Index

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Kristoff rode with Anna to work.  He stifled yet another yawn. 

“I’m sorry you didn’t sleep well,” Anna said, glancing over at him.

“It’s fine, Anna.  I’ll get used to it.  Took a bit getting used to sleeping up at the cabin at first too.  Back then it was quietness that was a change.”

“Hmm.”  She paused a moment.  “Can I ask, what it was that made you decide to leave?”

He smiled to himself, remembering.  “I was in bed, I realized I was cold, and that I wanted to be with you instead.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” he said softly, thinking back to how relieved he was to have made up his mind.  “And it wasn’t a thought of just wanting you there, it was needing to sleep next to you for the rest of my life no matter what.  I emptied and stored all my traps, processed the last of the firs, then boarded up and packed out.”

She was quiet a moment.  “Kristoff, you gave up so much for-”

“No, Anna.”  He knew exactly what she was thinking.  “You made me realize that I had absolutely no plan for my future.  No plan for if I got seriously injured or got too fucking old to do that shit anymore.  Where would I be then?  What would I have to show for my life?”

“You were right about the good things about it though,” she said, glancing at him between keeping her eyes on the road.  “I realized when I was up there how peaceful it could be.”

“Yeah,” he nodded.  “And since I’ve been back, I have found that peace with you.  As long as you are with me, I will be happy and fulfilled.”

She smiled, getting misty eyed, and looked over at him.  “I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Anna.  With all my heart and soul.”

They pulled up to the hanger.  “So you’ll have to fill out some paperwork to make this legit.  Wait, do you even know what your social insurance number is?”

Kristoff laughed.  “Yes, Anna.  I did have a job before I left.”

“Good,” she smiled, and got out of the truck.

They walked into the hanger where Frank was already hard at work.  They greeted him and chatted for a minute before Anna took him into her office and sat him down at her desk.  She gave him the paperwork to make him an employee of her company and then went to get to work.

Kristoff took his time filling out the forms.  It had been a long time since he’d had to do anything like this.   When he was done, he went back into the hanger and found Anna loading her plane.

“Put me to work.”  He grinned at her.

Anna told him what to do and he got to it straight away.  They finished loading the crates into the plane and then she showed him exactly how to go through the flight checklist.  When it was complete she told him she was headed over to Anchorage to deliver the goods. 

“You wanna come?” she asked with a cheeky smile.

“Can I?” he asked, loving the idea of going up in the air with her.

“Absolutely.  When we get there, you can unload while I deal with the paperwork.”

-------

Kristoff could not take his eyes off of her.  Seeing her do the thing that she loved, filled his heart and made him long for something he never thought he would.  He’d always assumed he truly was a feet-on-the-ground type of guy.

“I want to learn how to fly,” he said into the headset.

Anna looked over at him and gave him a huge smile.  “I would love to teach you.”

“Think I can hack it?  I mean, this type of thing,” he gestured to the control board,” is pretty damn far out of my wheelhouse.”

Anna laughed, keeping her eyes on flying the plane.  “Absolutely, you can.  I am sure you’ll have no trouble getting the feel for this.”

“That’s awesome.  I’m excited to learn.”  Kristoff turned his attention back out the windows on his side of the plane.  The snow-covered peaks below then were majestic.  He could feel everything Anna had described about loving to fly in the very depths of his soul.

After a moment of silence between them, Anna broke it.  “Hey, Kristoff, I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”

He turned to look at her.  “Shoot.”

“Would you want to go back?  Maybe we can work something out that we live there in the winters or something.  We can trap and when we get back just resume at the airport?  I mean, I have to admit, there was a part of me that really wanted to stay up there with you.  I just… My sister and Frank, they-”

“Anna, it’s okay.  I am at peace with the choice I have made.”

She glanced at him quickly.  “Are you sure?  I mean I know Nome is remote and pretty quiet but its still a far cry from your place in the valley.”

He smiled.  “Anna, you have no idea how sweet it is to try and find some way to compromise with me, but the more I thought about the new path of my life, the more excited I became with it.  Being here with you is what I want.  The only thing I want.  Plus, I can still trap.  I’ll just do it closer to home.  Maybe a side-hustle, like your dad.”

“That’s a great idea,” she said, then adjust some of her instruments.  “Give me a moment.”

Kristoff sat back as Anna communicated with air traffic control in Anchorage, then tilted the yolk, putting them in a slight turn to straighten them out with the runway.   He watched everything she did with rapt interest, taking it all in in preparation for learning it himself. 

After she was done and they were on course to land in ten minutes, she continued talking to him.

“What about your place then?  What will you do with it?”

He shrugged.  “I don’t know.  I thought it might be fun to have it as a cabin.  You know, a place to go on weekends here and there.  Then I thought about how functional of a homestead it is and part of me wants to sell it to someone who can benefit off the land the way I was.”

“A tough decision,” she answered. 

“What would you do?  If you were in my shoes?”

Anna tilted her head back and forth in thought.  “Honestly, I don’t know what I would do.  Take some time to think on it I guess.”

“Yeah,” Kristoff agreed.  “I definitely need to do that.”

*****

As soon as they were done for the day, Anna raced them home.  Her bedroom door was barely shut before she was on him, kissing him with desperation.  He matched her intensity, picking her up and carrying her over to the bed.  They collapsed upon it and decided simultaneously that their clothes were a burden.

Under the sheets, Kristoff had his hands all over her.  His warm palms blazed a trail against her breasts, her hips, her thighs.  He wasn’t leaving a part of her untouched.   Then his hand ventured to her throbbing clit. 

As soon as he touched her, Anna cried out a “Yes!”

Kristoff looked down at her, eyes wide.  “Quiet, Anna,” he whispered.  “Your sister is home.”

She blinked at him.  “Oh, right,” she whispered back.  “Forgot we weren’t out in the woods in the middle of nowhere.”

He chuckled and resumed touching her.  Anna’s head lolled back onto the pillow and she moaned softly, reminding herself to keep quiet.  Which was hard, because only a moment later she knew she was going to come.  She did so with a deep gasp and clung to Kristoff tightly. 

Her eyes opened and gazed into his.  “I want you now.  I need you.”

“I will never get tired of hearing that,” he said quietly and positioned himself over her.  Gently he pushed his cock into her and Anna gasped again. 

There was no better feeling in the world than when he was inside of her.  He fit her so perfectly, giving her such unspeakable pleasure.  Anna savored the feeling of him for a moment, then asked to switch.  He obliged and she lowered herself onto him, taking him in again. 

“Oh, my, god,” she breathed.  “You feel so fucking good.”

“So do you, Anna.  Fuck,” he groaned. 

Anna stared into his eyes as she moved against him.  “You are gorgeous, you know that?”

He chuckled.  “Me?  No way.  You hold that title, baby.  I am passable at best.”

“You are gorgeous,” Anna said through a moan.  “You are the sexiest thing I have ever laid eyes on.”

“No, you are the sexiest thing I have ever laid eyes on.”

Her breathing was getting heavy as she worked his cock.  Anna was just about there and she could tell he was close.  “Fuck, we are so good together.”

Kristoff answered his agreement with a moan.

A moment later Anna collapsed on his chest, her center rolling with pleasure.  She could barely feel his simultaneous orgasm over the power of her own.  They weren’t just good together.  Together they were incredible.

~   ~   ~   ~   ~

“Anna,” Frank called from the reception desk at the front of the hanger near the man door.  “Heads up, we have a couple booked to go to Juneau tomorrow with a return flight the next day. 

“Okay, thanks Frank!” Anna called back.  She turned her attention back to the 100 hours inspection she had been showing Kristoff how to do.  “Next we need to-”

“Sorry, Anna,” Kristoff interrupted.  “I don’t mean to be rude, but can I go with you?”

She looked at him quizzically.  “Yeah of course.  I thought that was implied.  I definitely want you with me.  It’s an eight-hour flight so I’d be staying the night anyway, even if the couple weren’t booked to come back the next day.”

“Okay sorry.  I didn’t want to just assume you’d take me.”

She smiled at him.  “Don’t say sorry.  And you can pretty much always assume that.  We are attached at the hip from now on as far as I’m concerned.”

He chuckled.  “I like the sound of that.  I just had to ask because I wanted to see if my old friend still lives there.  He moved down there after high school.”

“Oh, sure.  Sven, right?”

“Yeah,” Kristoff answered.  “I wouldn’t mind catching up if he’s there.  He was pretty much my only friend growing up.”

Anna nodded.  He had told her all about him and that he was at a sleepover at his house the night that his parents tragically passed away in that fire.  Kristoff had grown a little withdrawn after that, and while him and Sven were still friends, they never hung out as much as they used to.  Then when Kristoff was setting to live off the grid after they graduated, Sven decided to leave as well.

Anna continued with the inspection and Kristoff made notes.  It had been a solid week of working with her and he was learning a lot.  Frank was teaching him a lot too.  It was great to talk to the old man again. 

Anna had finally gotten him out to a restaurant as well.  They went to a little family place the night before that she assured him wouldn’t be too loud.  And it wasn’t, which was a bit of a relief to him, even if he was feeling more accustomed to being around groups of people in the short time he’d been back. 

They finished the inspection that closed out their work day and then he took Anna home.  She’d asked him to drive the day before and now automatically jumped in the passenger seat so he kept the keys assuming that was what she wanted.

They had dinner with Elsa that she had prepared.  She did that often with Anna working long hours at the family business.  It was some sort of beef strew that they ate on rice and Kristoff found it a little reminiscent of meals he used to have up in the mountains.  Although much tastier.  Anna and Elsa had lots of stock, butter and fresh vegetables in the house to make good food.

Afterward, tucked away in Anna’s room, Kristoff asked her to help him find his friend Sven.  While he did somewhat live under a rock the past decade, he wasn’t that far removed to understand that people used computers and phones for social media.  Even Cliff and Linda had told him in their letters that they were a fan of Facebook, whatever the hell that was.

Anna had helped him set up an account, and even made him add a profile picture much to his chagrin.  At least she took a decent photo of him considering what she was working with, and his brand-new Facebook was complete.  Next, she showed him how to search for Sven.  It only took entering his first and last name and searching for anyone who lived in Juneau and they got the one and only result they were looking for.  

Kristoff sent him a message, telling him he was back in civilization and wondering if they could catch up.  Not an hour later, he’d gotten the reply that Sven was trilled to meet up with them for dinner or drinks the next night.   Kristoff was kind of amazing with the whole marvel of being able to reach anyone no matter where they lived through such a thing an internet connection.  He supposed he’d have to get one of those phones soon too.  Not that he had much of a need for one.  The only people he knew that he didn’t talk to on the daily were his parents, and he used Anna’s home phone to call them every couple of days.

Then when it was bed time, him and Anna made love before falling asleep in each others arms, whispering their devotions of love and their excitement for the days ahead.

~   ~   ~   ~   ~

They had stopped in Anchorage to refuel as it was too far to Juneau to make it on one tank of fuel.  While there they grabbed a quick lunch at a restaurant in the airport and then continued on their way.  Anna wasted no time in showing Kristoff the ropes of being a pilot and he started logging in his hours.

The couple they flew up parted ways with them at the airport with the plan to meet back there at nine the next morning.  Anna and Kristoff found themselves a hotel room and then Kristoff used Anna’s phone to call Sven and asked where they wanted to meet.  He chose a Pub that was walking distance to his house and their hotel.

On the way there Kristoff felt all kinds of nerves and anticipation.  He had not laid eyes on him in over a decade and he hoped that they would be able to salvage the time it had been and become close friends again. 

It only took one glance through the crowd of the place and Kristoff spotted him.  He was hard to miss with is brown hair, prominent nose and baby-faced smile.  He was the kind of guy that had the whole room in stitches, and he was talking to some older women who appeared thoroughly amused by his story.

Kristoff approached and Sven seemed to note the movement out of the corner of his eye.  He glanced at him, his goofy smile turning into one of delight, before he looked back to the women.  “Excuse me ladies, but my friends are here now.  Have a good night.”

They bid him a good night as well but he wasn’t listening.  He went straight towards Kristoff and pulled him into a bear hug.  “Kris, brother.  It’s been too long.”

Kristoff hugged him back, his throat tightening with sudden emotion. “Good to see you again, Sven,” he managed. 

He pulled back and held him at arms length for a moment, appraising him.  “Damn, Kris.  When I saw you last you were a gangly eighteen-year-old.  Look at you now, you beefcake! What do you weigh?  Two thirty?”

Kristoff laughed.  “No idea.  Haven’t weighed myself in well over a decade.”

“Well, like I said, bro.  Damn.”

He dropped his hand and his focus turned to Anna who was standing beside him.  “You must be Anna!”  He pulled her into a gentler hug.  “Nice to meet the woman who brought our boy back.”

Kristoff noticed Anna show no hesitation in hugging him back.  “Nice to meet you too, Sven.  Kristoff told me all about you.”

Sven looked between them, his eyes bright.  “You guys wanna grab a meal here and catch up?”

He felt Anna look to him and he knew it was out of concern.  The bar seemed pretty busy and loud even though there were some open tables.  He knew she would be worried about him, but honestly, he didn’t seem as fazed by it as he first had when he was back.  “Fine by me.”  He looked at Anna and gave her a reassuring smile.  She smiled back, relieved.

-----

Kristoff felt a new sort of peace he hadn’t experienced yet being back.  It was the peace of reconnection.

Catching up with Sven had been cathartic.  Almost as much as when he saw Anna again for the first time after she’d left his homestead.  As it turned out, Sven was engaged.  His fiancé was a nurse at the hospital who happened to be on the night shift the day him and Anna were due to be in town, but hearing about her, about how happy Sven looked when he talked about her, Kristoff could not wait to meet the woman who made him that way, and he felt another strange wave of emotion over it.   He covered it well all while wondering in the back of his mind why he was so damn emotional all of the sudden. 

Sven even invited them to their wedding in the spring with zero hesitation.  In fact, he demanded that they be there and take the Thursday and Friday off work before it so that they could fly down and spend some fun times with them before the wedding.  He had graciously accepted and vowed to find the perfect wedding gift for his long-lost best friend. 

And as they caught up on each others lives, he felt Anna’s love in every smile, every glance and every time she tenderly touched his arm, or his leg.  Just a quick little rub of encouragement that left his mind reeling again with how stupidly in love with her that he was. 

By the end of the night, it was Sven who got emotional.  While it may have been magnified by the booze, it was certainly genuine.  He teared up and told Kristoff with a parting hug in the parking lot how good it had been to see him again and that he better promise to stay in touch now that he was back.  Kristoff had hugged him back tightly, no longer trying to hide his own emotion and promised Sven that he would.

And now he was with Anna in their hotel room, basking in the aftermath of their lovemaking.  He had her, her sister, Frank, his parents, and now Sven and his fiancé Haley.  He was becoming wealthy with friends and family, something he never gave much thought to before Anna had come into his life.  He had wondered, when he was on his way back when the going was tough – hell nearly impossible – if he’d long for the days of how he used to live.  Now the thought of it made him cold, and he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt what he was going to do about it.

--

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[kristannafever-fics]

Mountain Man - Thirteen

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: M/EX WC: 2821

Collab with @lukin08

Chapter Index

------------------------

When they woke from their nap in the late afternoon, Anna dressed quickly and apologized to Kristoff that she was going to have to see to some work things before they would have a chance to go home.

Kristoff was struck again by how amazing she was.  There was no doubt in his mind that she was going to take him in and give him food and shelter, and that made him feel more loved than anything he had experienced in so very long, it brought new tears to his eyes.

“Don’t, Kristoff,” Anna warned as she pulled her boots back on.  “I am going to bawl again if you keep that up.”

“Sorry.”  He chuckled and picked up his shirt off the floor to wipe his eyes before he slid it over his head.  “Can I help?  I don’t want to just sit around.”

Anna smiled at him.  “Hmmm, do I know that feeling from somewhere recently?  As a matter of fact, yes.  Yes, I do.”

Kristoff laughed.  “Well alright then.  Tell me what you need a hand with.”

Anna opened the door to her office and stepped out to the hanger with Kristoff on her heels.  “First we can finish the daily plane maintenance routine, then-”

“Already done,” called Frank from the far corner of the hanger where he was hunched over a work bench.

“Oh, okay then…”  She shrugged.  “Thank you, Frank!” she called back over to him.  “I guess instead we can-”

“That’s done too,” Frank called jovially. 

“Let me guess, you didn’t leave me anything I need to do for the rest of the day, did you, old man?” Anna shouted back with her hands on her hips and a smirk on her face.

Frank just smiled and tapped his nose twice.

Anna laughed and jogged over to give him a big hug.  Then she hustled back to Kristoff and grabbed his hand, dragging him out of the hanger towards her pickup.  They hopped in and Anna took off towards town while they both smiled ear to ear.

“I’m taking you home first so you can meet my sister, then we can go grab a huge celebratory dinner.  What do you think about that?”

Kristoff sighed.  “That sounds amazing.”

It wasn’t a very far drive to Anna’s house.  Kristoff asked her a bunch of questions on the drive over, mainly about how their four weeks apart had been.  She kept things lighthearted since they were both happy now, but Kristoff understood it was harder for her than she was letting on.  When she asked him the same question, he knew she was picking up on his misery as well.

They dropped the sadness as soon as Anna pulled into her driveway.  It was exactly the kind of place Kristoff had pictured in his mind.  It was small and quaint, looking more like a cottage, with only one neighbour to the South and the edge of the forest to the North.  She had mentioned to him how her and Elsa went and walked along the nearby stream and explored the open wilderness when they were kids.

Anna burst into the front door and kicked off her boots before running further into the house.  Kristoff was left in the foyer, struggling with his own boot laces when he heard Anna calling out.

“Elsa? Elsa, are you home?”

“In the den,” he heard a similar voice call back.  “Hang on, I’m coming.”

“I have some news.  You’ll never guess-” Anna began before she was interrupted by a gasp.

“Anna!  You’re smiling again!  What happened?”

Kristoff finally got his boots off but hesitated at the door, not wanting to interrupt the conversation.  He suddenly felt very awkward.  Before he could think about what would be the proper action in a situation like this, Anna was in front of him smiling ear to ear and dragging him with her.

“This,” Anna explained, as she pulled Kristoff into the kitchen where Elsa was standing near the table.  “This is what happened.”

Elsa’s eyes went wide before she gave a soft smile of understanding.  “I see…”

-----

As soon as he walked into the place with Anna, he paused at the door.  The bar was very busy and very loud.  Kristoff swallowed hard.  He wanted to have a nice dinner with Anna and talk to her, but this was too much.  He’d been in isolation for so long, that this much ruckus immediately made him feel incredibly anxious.  It was actually hurting his ears.

Anna paused when he stopped and the door and looked back over her shoulder into his eyes.  She was about to open her mouth and question him when it seemed like she understood.  Kristoff thought she might be a little upset that he was unable to do this, then she smiled at him instead before turning and walking back out the door, pushing him along with her back to the parking lot.

“How about a case of beer and a pizza instead?  We can veg out on my bed in privacy and we can watch something on tv.”

Kristoff pushed her gently against the side of her truck and kissed her in answer.  It blew his mind again with how amazing she was.  He didn’t even have to say anything, she just looked at him and understood.   He pulled back from her lips, mind cloudy with desire and fatigue.  Despite napping in her office, he was still exhausted. 

“Come on.”  She smiled at him in a way that soothed his soul.  “What do you like on your pizza?”

Kristoff had to laugh at that.  “I haven’t had a pie in over a decade.  And I’m not picky, so you can decide.”

“Really?” Anna grinned.  “Even if I choose ham and pineapple?  I went out with a guy once who told me I was an abomination for liking pineapple on my pizza.”

“Well, that guys sounds like a fucking idiot who doesn’t understand that people are allowed to like what they like.”

“Right?!  He was a complete moron.  I got up right then and there and left him to pay for the drink I had ordered and hadn’t even gotten yet.”

His smile faltered to realize that he actually had nothing to give Anna.  He had barely a cent to his name, His livelihood was done on trade, managed by Cliff and Linda.

“Don’t.”  Her tone was a warning, as if she could read his mind.  Was he really that easy to read, or was she that intuitive?  Did it really matter?  “Get that out of your head right now, Kristoff.  I mean it.”

He looked down into her eyes and smiled.  She was right.  None of that stuff mattered in the face of love.  He was going to have to get used to this new reality.  Luckily, he had Anna to guide him through it.

He could not help but watch her as she drove them to the pizza place, she was just so beautiful.  His heart ached with love in a way that he never imagined was even possible for him. 

They walked into the place hand in hand and ordered Anna’s all time favourite; ham and pineapple. 

“I just love the combo of it you know?  Although, I also love deluxe with fresh tomatoes on top.  There’s something about that combination of a hot cheesy pizza with a nice juicy cold slice of-”

Kristoff cut her off with a kiss.  He felt bad for interrupting but he could not help himself.  The prospect of this new life, this new future, he never thought there could be so much happiness in the world.

The shout that their order was up brought their lips apart.  The teenager behind the till seemed to be equally embarrassed and mesmerised by the public display of affection.  Anna paid while Kristoff grabbed the pizza and they left.

He sat in the truck while she hopped into the liquor store and came out with a case of beer.  He watched her through the glass facade, smiling and talking to the old shopkeeper.  No doubt this was her usual spot to buy booze.  Just the ease of her, the way she could literally melt into and make the best of any situation, it was amazing. 

The rest of the drive back to her place he had her hand in his.

After talking very briefly to Elsa and bidding her goodnight, they tucked themselves into Anna’s room.  It was the Master bedroom and used to be Anna’s parents.  She told him with a chuckle she claimed it as her own when it became clear that she was going to be the breadwinner for her and her sister.  Elsa had not balked, preferring to stay in her childhood space.

Anna had even converted the double sink vanity in the bathroom to a single to give herself a breakfast station; a coffee maker, a mini fridge and a toaster.  She told him that she liked to skulk around her room in the early morning since Elsa was often up all night and slept during the day.  Being able to make herself coffee and butter some toast in the privacy of her own room was more comfortable for her than worrying about waking her sister as her room was right off the kitchen.  Things were better for Elsa, but she still had periods where she struggled with sleep.

Not that Anna didn’t, she was just able to handle it better than her sister.

Anna put the beer in the fridge and joined Kristoff where he was sitting on the bed with his back against the headboard.

“It’s like a hotel room.”  He smiled at her as she settled beside him and pulled the box over pizza over.

“I know!” she laughed.  “It’s handy when you have a sister that has trouble sleeping.”

She opened the pizza box sitting between them and grabbed a slice as she took the remote and turned the television on.  “What do you want to watch?”

Kristoff shrugged his shoulders, grabbing his own slice.  “It really doesn’t matter to me.  Watch what you like, Anna.”

She flipped through the channels, trying to find something suitable as they ate.  After a moment of searching, she looked sideways at him.  “Do you like the pizza?”

He smiled at her.  “I do.  I’ve never had pineapple on pizza but I like it.  Salty and a little sweet is awesome.”

“Good, I’m glad.”  She turned her attention back to the idiot box and saw Alone on one of the channels.  She had a half a mind to flip to that, then thought better of it given what Kristoff had given up to be with her.  In the end she settled on a hockey game.

They chatted as they ate, mostly Kristoff telling her about his journey back, and Anna was unable to take her eyes off of him.  Actually, they couldn’t seem to keep their eyes of each other, and it wasn’t long before the pizza was tossed onto her dresser and they were kissing each other passionately.

They made love for hours.

-------

Every single noise kept Kristoff awake.  He was used to falling asleep to the muffled sound of fire cracking in his stove and sometimes the wind blowing against his cabin.  Once in a while the sound of animals in the night. 

Now he lay on his back staring at the ceiling, astounded that there were so many sounds in Anna’s house.  The click of the old thermostat in the hallway – heard even through her closed bedroom door – as it called for heat.  The rumble below them as the furnace ignited and the woosh of the warm air being pushed through the ducts, causing the sheet metal to expand and creak.  The old wooden house gave make muted cracks here and there.   And that was just inside.  Outside it was completely different; a car driving by, the sound of a train whistle in the distance echoing off the mountains, a siren blaring on for only a moment before it went quiet.

Kristoff rolled back over and put his arm around Anna, burying his nose into the tangles of her hair.  It would take some getting used to, but she was there to soften every blow of reacquainting with the real world.

He felt it was a little hard for her to hear about his journey back.  It wasn’t pretty, he would be the first to admit that.  Trekking out on his snowmobile, hoping he had thought of everything with his desperate mind to get back that would keep himself alive on the journey.  He aimed to do it as quick as possible, not at all ashamed that he had to consult his map so much.  The last thing he wanted was to journey off course and make it even harder to get back to Anna.

He planned not to sleep, just drive the seven hundred or so miles to Nome in one tiresome trip.  Recent snowfalls however, made his progress much slower than he ever dreamed of.   With all the fresh powder, he had to dig his snowmobile out at least a half a dozen times, each time pushing him to the brink of exhaustion.  Having to stop and sleep, he built the biggest fire he could manage with his fatigued muscles trembling and slept hunched over his snowmobile.  He woke when the fire died for how cold he’d become and decided that even though the sun wasn’t up yet, he’d continue on.

He pushed the machine, going as fast as he could while maintaining his safety.  He made it almost all the way there when his snowmobile finally gave up the ghost.  Grumbling, Kristoff had packed from the sled whatever he figured he’d need into his backpack, threw on his snowshoes, and went on foot for the last forty or so miles.

He trudged on for hours until all of the sunlight drained from the sky and he needed to stop.  He built a fire in near complete darkness and sat down beside it.  He ate the last of his provisions; some mixed nuts, beef jerky and his very last can of peas.  With his stomach somewhat satisfied, he stoked the fire as big as he dared and laid beside it to sleep.  He woke up freezing every hour and needed to throw more wood into the fire.  When daybreak was once again barely on the horizon, he set again.

He finally reached a road by the late afternoon and managed to flag someone down to give him a ride.  Going into Nome his anticipation grew.  He was dropped off at a motel and Kristoff managed to barter with some firs he’d stuffed into his pack for a room.   The innkeeper ended up getting something he could sell for two hundred dollars and Kristoff ended up with the key to a little room that hadn’t been updated since the seventies.

First, he showered, relishing in the heat streaming down his body.  It felt amazing.  After he dried and dressed in some clean clothing and then went to the phone in the room and dialed his folks.  To say they were surprised was an understatement.  After a lot of tears from all three of them, Kristoff finally got to explain where he was and why he was there.  His parents were thrilled with all the news he had for them; that he was back, he’d be seeing them soon, and he was in love. 

After they talked for an hour and promised to wire him some money, Kristoff went to the credit union and got the cash they’d sent him.   He stuffed it in his pockets and walked down the street until he found a barber.  He got himself a shave and a hair cut and then went out in search of food.  Having finished the last of the food he’d packed himself the day before, he was starving.  The first thing he came across was a Subway, so he went in and ordered two sandwiches – glad the place was empty except for one other customer – and took it back to his hotel room.

He ate the sandwiches, not bothering even trying the television.  He would have no idea what to watch anyway.  The meatball subs were good, although very salty to his tastebuds for having eaten rather bland food for so long.  When he was finished, he slipped into the bed and fell asleep immediately.   He woke in the morning, a lot later than he would have expected due to his exhaustion, and left to find Anna.

And now he was sleeping with her in her bed, thinking about how noisy civilization was.  And as much as it bothered him, it was a far cry from the lonely alternative he could have chosen.  He smiled, hugged Anna tighter, and fell asleep not long after. 

--

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Mountain Man - Twelve

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: M/EX WC: 2507

Collab with @lukin08

Chapter Index

-------------------------

That morning, they both started at the crystal-clear sky. 

Neither of them said a word as they cleared off Anna’s plane and readied it.  Kristoff loaded in all the firs and handed her the list for the spring.  She tucked it into a leather pouch with a nod, then he reached into the waist of his pants where he had tucked the item he wanted to give her.  He offered it to her without a word, not trusting himself to speak.

“Oh, Kristoff, I can’t take that.”

“Please, Anna?  I… I want you to have it.”

She nodded, eyes still on the book.  She reached out to take it, hesitated, then curled her fingers around the spine.  She looked at it a second before she opened the leather pouch and tucked his copy of ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ beside his list of supplies.  “I’ll read it and bring it back next time I fly in.”

Kristoff didn’t reiterate that he wanted her to keep it.  He would let her make that decision on her own.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you in the spring then.” She was looking everywhere except into his eyes.

He didn’t blame her.  He had been dreading this moment for quite some time.  “I think it’s going to be a long cold winter.  I hope I’m wrong,” he said quietly, not knowing what else to say. 

“Me too,” Anna whispered to the ground. 

She stayed that way for a long time wondering if he should say something.  He wanted to tell her.  He wanted to tell her so badly, but he didn’t want to utter something that would only end up hurting both of them.

“Well, I better get a move on.  See you in five or six months,” she said, putting her mouth into firm line before she stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist and pushed her head against his chest.  “Thank you for everything.”

She unwrapped her arms and turned to walk away before he was barely able to hug her back.  She opened the door to her plane and paused, looking back over her shoulder at him.  She gave him a strained smile, then hopped up into her aircraft.

Anna pulled on her head set and readied herself, going through the checklist while Kristoff watched on helplessly.  When she was ready, she turned and waved to him.  She wasn’t smiling or even attempting to.

She maneuvered slowly out onto the flat ground that she used as an air strip and pointed the plane in the right direction to take off.  She glanced over at him again as she started to glide forward.  All of the sudden Kristoff could see the tears in her eyes and the heartbreak on her face before she turned her gaze out the front of the window.

Panic gripped him.  “Anna, wait!” he shouted, trying to run after her.  Without his snowshoes in the deep new fallen powder, he sunk down and fell to his knees.

He realized the brave face she had been putting on, that they both had been putting on.  He struggled desperately to get up as Anna’s plane sped away.

The small craft was up in the air before he moved two feet.  He watched with a crushing despair as it moved further and further out of sight.  He stared after her for a long time, even after he couldn’t see the tiny speck in the sky anymore, frozen with defeat.

-------

“Five or six months,” he muttered to himself over and over.  “Five or six months.”

The day Anna had left he could do nothing but stare out the small window by the table in the cabin and think. 

He fiddled with the rope she had made out of her gloves, running his fingers over the braids and knots while his mind was wholly consumed by her.  When it grew dark, he sat there for a while before deciding to go to bed where he stared at the ceiling all night long.

When day broke, he got up and started his daily routine, knowing that if he thought about her any more, he was going to go insane.

He threw himself into his work.  For two weeks straight, all he did was trap and make fir and chop wood and work himself to exhaustion every night just so that he could get a few hours of sleep.   Every beaver he caught made him think of her.  Every marten lured by the bait from the beaver made him think of her.  Seeing the logs that she had stacked in his wood shed made him think of her.  That damn leather rope, that he had tied around his neck, was an ever-present reminder of her.

He worked harder and harder to occupy his mind, until he woke up on the ground in front of his cabin one day, having passed out from exhaustion. 

“Five or six months,” he muttered, getting up, feeling sick to his stomach and making his way inside to sit down.  He sipped some water, staring at the table before barely making it to his bed, collapsing upon it, boots and all.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.  He was supposed to be in isolation with no one on his mind but himself and staying alive.   Then Anna had come into his life.  He wanted to blame her.  He wanted to say that she had disrupted his whole existence and that he would have been better off if he never met her.  Except he knew how big a lie that was. 

He would endure an eternity of hell to never, ever forget about that night. 

He wondered how she was doing.  If she was happy.  If she was enjoying being back in Nome with her sister and other people.  Maybe she had found herself a boyfriend, someone she could have those kids she wanted with.  Maybe she still thought of him.  Maybe a lot of things…

He laid there for hours, dead tired and unable to sleep.  He finally got up and stripped naked, shrugging into his pajamas and settling himself between the covers, determined to get some rest lest he pass out again and really hurt himself.  Or worse.

Instead, he stared at the dark ceiling for a long, long time.  

He felt empty. 

As he tried in vain to push her from his mind, he realized that he was cold, and he was usually never cold in his bed.  He shivered because of it, too distraught to actually go and add more wood to the fire.  He buried his head under the covers and curled himself into a ball to try and warm up.

I wish Anna was here.

He stopped breathing and his eyes went wide at the realization.  For the first time in his entire life, he did not want to sleep alone. 

He made up his mind in an instant.  The epiphany washed over him in wave after wave of relief.   And as he thought about the preparations needed to set his plan in motion, the sleep that had alluded him since Anna had left, took him, and he slept like the dead for nearly a day.

~   ~   ~    ~   ~

“You look like shit, you know that?”

Anna shot Frank a scowl.  “I do, as a matter of fact, know that.”

“You ready to talk about it?”

“Nope.”  She took a sip of her coffee.

“Anna, it’s been nearly four weeks.”

“Don’t remind me.”

Frank sighed.  “Well, you know if you ever want an ear to bend, I’m always hanging around here, right?”

Anna gave him a weak smile.  “I know Frank.  And thank you.  I just… I’m in a really unsure place right now.  I have to sort out my own mind before I can even think to talk to someone about it.”  She sighed, taking another sip of her coffee, wondering when the caffeine was going to kick in. 

She stared at herself in the black liquid of the cup, knowing that no matter what she was going to end up deciding, she was going to have to see him again, and soon.  Even if it was to say goodbye, that she could never stand to see him again lest her heart shatter in a million pieces to have to fly away every time.  She could not continue to only see the man she was in love with two or three times a year.

She knew what her heart wanted.  Her heart wanted to fly up there and never leave, to live with him for the rest of her life.  But she had her sister to think about.  She had a business to think about.  She had Frank to think about, because over the years he had become one of her greatest confidants and she considered him as much her family as Elsa.

She yawned again, lamenting the fact that she hadn’t slept well since she left him.  She suddenly realized that if she didn’t get out to see him before the winter fully set in, that she would be going a couple more months without sleep.  It made her mind up instantly.  There was no way that she could keep living like this.  She had to see him again right away and tell him she would find him a new pilot to take him supplies.  Just a quick trip there and back.  Tell him what she needed to say, and leave.  She wouldn’t even talk to him in his cabin, she would tell him from the window of her plane and fly off again to resist any temptation to stay.

She looked over to Frank to ask what the weather was supposed to be like over the weekend when she noticed him staring over her shoulder at something behind her, mouth hanging open with complete shock in his eyes.  He looked over at her slowly, meeting her gaze and giving her an incredulous smile. 

“I think,” he said flicking to motion behind her, “that someone is here to see you.”

Anna turned around, wondering why her sister had all of the sudden decided it was okay to be around planes again.  Her heart stopped when she met his gaze.

She blinked, her breath stolen as she stared into the familiar brown eyes that she had fallen in love with.  His hair was trimmed into a golden mop that shone like a halo with the morning sun coming in through the open hanger door.   His face was clean shaven and he looked a fraction of the age that he had appeared up on the mountain. 

He was a vision.  An angel. 

The coffee cup fell from her hand and shattered on the floor.  It didn’t make a sound.

Anna suddenly understood that she had died.  It must have been a massive heart attack.  Or perhaps a brain aneurism.  Those things could happen to a 28-year-old; it wasn’t completely unheard of.  How else could he be there in front of her?  Looking like that… looking at her like he was staring into the face of a deity.

“Anna…” he whispered.

She shook her head.  She knew from the way her heart was hammering in her chest that she wasn’t dead.  Just crazy then.  She must have finally gone off the deep end into insanity.  She wondered where her sister would have her committed.

He approached her slowly as she continued to gape at him, frozen with disbelief.   As he got closer, she could see that his eyes were shimmering with tears.  He stopped a couple steps away from her and spoke.

“Anna, I haven’t been able to think about anything else except you since you left.”  His voice was soft but there was an urgency to his words.  “I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep, because you weren’t there, and I realized how crushingly lonely I am without you.  You made everything better, Anna.  You made life life again for me.  You gave me something to want to live for.  Something I need to cherish for as long as I have left in this world.   I can’t even ask if you’ll come back with me because I can’t continue to live the way I was.  Never again.  I realized that I can see bright eyes and rosy cheeks in my future and they are our kids, Anna.  I’ve dreamt about them.  I’ve seen them in my mind and I have to know them.”

Tears were streaming steadily down his cheeks.  Anna had to suppress her own sob with a hand to her mouth as he kept talking.   Her entire body was shaking out of control. 

“I want to have those kids with you, Anna,” he choked, taking a step closer.  “I want to have a family.  I want a family to cook meals for, and go hiking with, and pick out a Christmas tree with.  I want a big family to get together with on holidays, and I want to be able to take weekend trips to see Cliff and Linda, and I want them to feel what it is like to be grandparents.  I want to marry you, Anna.  I want to grow old with you and I want to fall asleep with you every night for the rest of my life.  I love you, Anna.  I love you so much that I simply can’t live without you.”

Anna sobbed and threw herself into his arms, crushing him as hard as she could.  He lifted her, cradling her against him.   “I love you too,” she wailed, and they cried against one another, shocked and relieved and overwhelmed.

That moment stretched on until they finally composed themselves and Anna turned to lead Kristoff into the small office when Frank caught her gaze.  He was smiling at them, tears in his old eyes and nodding at them with happiness before turning and walking out of the hanger. 

-------

Anna ran her fingers along the leather rope that was tied around Kristoff’s neck.  They were shut away in her office, laying naked under a blanket on her couch.  They had intended to talk some more, then broke down and began kissing after only a minute or so.  They had missed each other so much, that their love making was wild and desperate, leaving them both spent.

“I still can’t believe you’re here,” she whispered, moving her palm down his bare chest, caressing his warm skin.

“I am here,” he murmured, his eyes still closed.  “Here to stay.”

Anna smiled and put her head back down on the crook of his arm.  As beautiful as he was, she could see that he was exhausted.  She had no idea how hard the journey back would have been on him.  Once he was rested up, she’d ask him about it.

She shut her eyes and let her own tiredness take over.  It wasn’t long before they were both sleeping soundly, dreaming of the future that they could now have together.

--

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[kristannafever-fics]

Mountain Man - Eleven

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: M/EX WC: 1961

Collab with @lukin08

Chapter Index

-------------------------

The rest of the ride back, putting everything away, and finally in the cabin getting out of their snow gear, had been silent between them.  Kristoff’s mind was filled with troubling thoughts.  Why had he done that again?  He was being incredibly reckless.  Enough for the both of them.

He hung their stuff on the hooks by the stove and then turned around, about to break the ice by asking what she wanted for dinner, only to find her staring at him with a furrowed brow and her arms crossed over her chest. 

“You remember that first kiss.  The one when we were drunk.  Don’t you?”

That surprised him.  “Of course I do.  And I’m sorry for that one too.”

“Why?”

“Why what?” He threw his arms up in exasperation.

“Why can’t you?  What is holding you back?”

He eyed her, getting frustrated.  “You’re kidding, right?”

“No.  I need to know,” she demanded.  “I can’t stop thinking about either of those kisses and I can’t stop trying to figure out how to get you to kiss me again.  I want to be with you, Kristoff.   And I know you want to be with me.  Explain to me why you are holding back.”

“Because I can’t cross that line, Anna!”  he shouted.  “I would much rather continue not knowing than having a taste of what could be.”   How could he tell her in words she would understand that if he got to know, it was going to end up destroying him.  And that was only the concern for himself.  His first and major concern was for Anna. 

“I understand that, but nothing is set in stone, Kristoff.  Maybe things change, maybe they don’t.  Don’t we owe it to ourselves to-”

She did not understand, and warning lights were going off in his mind.  “Anna it’s been a decade since I’ve been with a woman.”

“So?  What difference does that make?”

“Never mind,” he said through gritted teeth and walked over to the chest to get his comfortable clothes on.   The last thing he wanted to do was to say it out loud.  Especially to her.

“No, I need to know,” she said, following him. 

He shook his head, frustrated that she had now backed him into a corner.  “Leave it alone, Anna, please.”

“I will not leave it alone.  I want this, Kristoff.  I want you.  Tell me.”

“Because I care about you, that’s why.”

“You care about me?  Really?” she said sarcastically.  “I mean you kissed me, twice, I kind of figured that out.”

“Anna, just drop it.”  He pushed past her and headed for the door.  This was too much for him to handle and she was absolutely wearing him down.  Every fiber of his entire soul wanted to give up the fight and be with her. 

“No, I will not drop it.”  She followed him to his boots.  “I care about you too, Kristoff.  Why don’t you care about me enough to explain what is going on in your mind?”

He stopped and whipped around to face her.  His nerves were fried and he had had enough.  It was time to shut her down even if it meant telling her the godawful truth.  “You want to know what’s going on in my mind?  You really want to know?  I’m terrified of losing control.  It’s been too long and I can’t because of just how much I care about you.  I can’t hurt someone that I Io-” 

His mouth snapped shut just shy of saying it out loud. 

Anna’s eyes widened and her lips parted to say something but he was not in the mood to hear what it was.  “There,” he spat.  “Now you know.  I am a pathetic, lonely, desperate man who wants you so badly that I am scared I might accidentally hurt you.”

“That is not who you are, Kristoff,” Anna said quietly, taking a step closer to him.

He eyed her.  “That is exactly who I am.”

She smiled gently, taking another step, bringing her directly in front of him.  She slid her hands onto his chest.  He was powerless to pull away. 

“That is not who you are,” she repeated, looking up into his eyes.  “You are kind, and compassionate, and I know that you truly care.  You made sure I didn’t fly around that storm and you opened your home and your life to me, even though I’ve managed to step on your toes once or twice.”

The corner of his mouth twitched up in the faintest smile.  His mind was slowly coming to terms with the fact that this was going to happen between them regardless of his fears.  He just hoped that his eventual heartbreak was something that he could handle.

“I’ve gotten to know exactly who you are.  You are a good man, Kristoff.    The fact that you are so worried about hurting me is proof of that.  I trust you completely.”

His eyes closed.  He was so close to giving in.  So dangerously close.  “I can’t,” he whispered, giving her one more chance to put a stop to this madness. 

“I want you as badly as you want me.”

“Anna, I-”

“I’m strong, Kristoff.  You said it yourself.”

He opened his eyes and looked into hers.  “I know you are.”

“I am confident I can handle you.”  She grinned sensually.  “Even if you do somehow lose control.”

That did it.  He smashed his lips against hers and Anna screamed with delight into his mouth, wrapping her arms firmly around his shoulders and pulling him tightly against her. 

His hands had a mind of their own, and they were pawing at her clothing, taking it off of her with frenzied desperation while his tongue continued to wrestle with hers.  Blindly he made her naked, yanking and pulling at her clothes, unable to pull his lips apart from hers and ran his palms all over her bare flesh, touching every inch of her.  He barely even noticed she had him almost completely naked as well until Anna broke from kissing him for the seconds it took to rip his t-shirt off of his head to finish the job.

He pulled her body tightly against his, the warmth of her pressing into his front and against his cock.  He shuddered out another moan and then pushed her towards to the bed.   As soon as the backs of her knees connected with the edge, he broke the kiss and pushed her down onto it.

She grinned and wiggled her way onto the bed to make room for him.  The only thought on his mind was his desire.  Her knees parted for him, and as soon as he caught her scent, a growl ripped through his throat.  He needed to taste her.  He plunged his tongue into her hot center, wrapping his hands around her hips and pulling her onto his mouth.  Her cry of utter delight was raw and primal, making him want her even more.  His mind went blank as he devoured her. 

Through the fog of his lust, Anna came against his mouth with a guttural scream of pleasure, and it snapped him out of his frantic yearning long enough to get a firmer handle on himself.  That and the fact that she was tugging at his hair.

His lips moved up her body, kissing all the way back up to her neck while Anna writhed with pleasure beneath him.  “I need you now,” she breathed over and over, reassuring him.

He slid all the way into her in one trust and as she gave a loud gasp.  For a split second a thought made it through his hunger that his action had hurt her, then she cried out a boisterous “Yes!”  He took that as answer enough that she was okay, and let himself give in to his desperation once more. 

Within minutes he was there.  The feeling came upon him like a hurricane, and came undone with a final thrust and a wail that rang with longing, even to his own ears. 

“Kristoff…”  she muttered with tenderness, gripping him as tight as she could while his entire body shook.

He got his breathing under control before he slid from her then bent over to kiss her.  He started with her lips, moving down her jaw, her neck, determined to kiss and caress every inch of her beautiful freckled skin.  He had no idea skin could be so soft.  Anna hummed with pleasure as he moved around her contours, pausing to suck gently on each nipple before continuing.  He kissed her ribs, the side of her breasts, not wanting to leave a patch of skin untouched.

He loved this woman.  This strong woman.  Smart woman.  Courageous and determined.  Kind and compassionate.  Soft and heartbreakingly beautiful.  This was the woman who had stolen his heart and the one who was going to break it.

He didn’t even know if he had actually gone soft in between.  All he knew was that his wild desire for her was taking over again and he needed to be inside of her once more.  He had to abandon his work across her body, moving back up to her lips and kissing her with everything he had as he gently positioned himself at her entrance.

“Oh my God, already?” Anna breathed.  “You are amazing.”

He took it as a yes and slid into her, crying out with the overpowering satisfaction, drowning out Anna’s loud moan of approval.  He found a slow rhythm, wanting to take his time and savour her.  Now that his feral need had been met, he could actually concentrate and appreciate all the sensations a little more.

Her body started to pulse around him after only a minute, and she yanked him down on top of her and bit his shoulder as she gave into the orgasm.  Kristoff waited, savoring the feeling, then resumed his movements, knowing that he would never forget this night for as long as he lived.

They continued to make love until both of them were moaning in tandem and clinging to each other as they rode out their next climax together.

*****

Neither of them was able to find sleep.  They laid together, Kristoff on his back and Anna curled around his side with her arm on his chest, staring into the darkness of the cabin. 

They had joined together twice more after the first go around.  Anna had lost track of how many orgasms he’d given her.  It was something she’d never had and would never have again.  It struck her when they were done how much of a mistake it had been to push him to do this.

The things that he didn’t tell her were starting to become apparent.  The word he almost let slip.  The way his arm was around her, his hand gently rubbing up and down her bare arm in the gentlest caress she could have imagined.  Her heart was starting to ache in knowing that their beautiful night together was going to haunt her for the rest of her days. 

“We have to move on like that didn’t happen, Anna,” Kristoff whispered, breaking the silence.  His voice waivered ever so slightly.  “Please.”

“I know,” she said quickly.  “I know.”

Now she understood Kristoff when he said it was better not knowing what being with each other was like.  She wanted a life with her business, a husband, kids, her home, her sister and Frank.  He wanted this life.  As he had told her, he didn’t even think about anything else.  It was this, period.

There was no way anything could ever continue between them, and now they both had to live with that taste of what could be.

--

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[kristannafever-fics]

Mountain Man - Ten

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: M WC: 2997

Collab with @lukin08

Chapter Index

-------------------------

Anna woke up wrapped around Kristoff’s back.  Hazy memories of being half asleep surfaced in her mind.  He had rolled away from her in his sleep, and Anna had chased him, settling her arm around his side and her face pressed into the nape of his neck. 

She pulled in a gentle inhale, breathing in the smell of his clean hair.  Even though she wore the same shampoo since she’d used his, it smelled different on him.  It smelled better. 

Smiling, she remained still so as to savor being this close to him for as long as she was able, when something suddenly clicked in her mind.  It was like everything he had said to her suddenly made sense.  The way he chose to live his life.  The simplicity of it.  She realized that since she’d been trapped up here with him, she had not once thought about her business, or her bills, or even her sister.  All she thought about was the work that needed to be done that day and that in and of itself was a certain kind of peace. 

Could she do it?  Live this life with him?  Absolutely.  Would she?  …No.  And as much as she tried to think of a way that they could compromise; spending winters in the cabin and summers back home, part of her understood that it was likely something Kristoff could not do.  This was his very specific life that he had chosen.  It was either his way, or her way, and neither of them were willing to give it all up.

Kristoff stirred a moment later and Anna backed away from him, worried about her compromising position.  He seemed not to notice and was soon standing beside the bed, stretching out his back.  He turned to look at her. 

“Morning.  You sleep well?”

With you, always.  “I did, thanks.  You?”

He smiled.  “Like a cat in a sunbeam.”

They went about a morning routine that somehow seemed familiar now, talking through it all, even while they ate their oatmeal breakfast.  Kristoff told her he wanted to check the beaver traps that Anna had moved, and then see if there were any martins on the sled line.  He told her since they’d moved the beaver traps to calmer waters where the river split, they didn’t have to snowshoe it since the trees were much more thinned out in that area.

Anna liked the idea of going out with him on the snowmobile again, being able to wrap her arms around his thick, muscular waist.  And she was trilled that she didn’t even have to ask to help.  Kristoff just invited her along. 

They went outside to clear air and high cloud cover.  The storm had almost passed them by.  They gave each other a quick look, neither of them being able to acknowledge out loud what it meant, and trudged to the snowmobile shed.  Kristoff hooked up the sled to the back and they took off to check the beaver traps.

The morning went by quickly.  They pulled the sled along the river checking the traps and Kristoff told Anna about his childhood and how Linda and Cliff had taken him in after his parents died.  He asked her about her parents and sister and couldn’t get enough of her talking about her business.  He seemed honestly intrigued.  No one, besides Frank, had ever been as interested in what she did.

There was something else Anna noticed as well.  Kristoff had a large grin on his face.  It was exactly like the other night when their rum induced laughter filled his small home.  She couldn’t stop looking and at how happy he seemed.  Kristoff caught her gaze more than she’d like to admit.  He gave her a larger smile each time before looking down and away from her. 

Each trap was full and Kristoff’s elation and relief made her bubble over in pride.  As they put the beavers onto the sled, Kristoff looked across to Anna.

“Thank you.”  Those chocolate eyes were gazing at her and Anna’s heart melted a little more for him.  “I don’t know what I would have done without your help.”

Anna could only stare back.  It was suddenly too hard to fight her feelings.  She had a sudden and deeply strong urge to jump over to him, wrap herself around him and beg him to let her stay.  She tore away from his gaze, trying to gain her composure.

“We have to take them back to process now, right?” she asked, getting on the back of the sled.  “Then check the martin line?”

He nodded and got on in front of her and spoke over his shoulder.  “Yeah.  Between the both of us it shouldn’t take long.”

Anna smiled again that she did not have to ask him what she could do to help.  She wrapped her arms around his waist, setting her cheek in the middle of his back and sighing deep with satisfaction as he took off.

Back at the homestead, Kristoff was right.  They processed the furs quickly and loaded up the sled with some new bait for the martin traps and a few extra that Kristoff wanted to set up near the end of the line. 

They baited every trap they passed, still chatting idly about their lives, until they came to the last one on the line.  There had been a Martin in it, just like the first time they had gone out and checked.  Kristoff retrieved it, rebaited it, while Anna grabbed the two traps he wanted to set up near this lucky spot. 

“Um… So where did you say you wanted to set the traps?” she asked as he trudged back to her. 

Kristoff pointed past the snowmobile.  “Not too far.  We can walk if you think you’re up to it.”

Anna crinkled her nose at him.  “Is that a challenge?”

Kristoff’s hand went to his head to adjust his cap.  “Nah, nothing you can’t handle,” he said as he waved his hand down. “You’re strong.”

After hey strapped on their snowshoes and walked in the direction to where Kristoff wanted to set his traps, he asked Anna more about flying.

“So, tell me,” Kristoff said after all the traps were set and they started to make their way back to the snowmobile, “what’s the best part?”

“Best part?” Anna asked, giving Kristoff a side glance.

“Out of everything you told me.  Everything you do.  What is it that keeps you getting in the plane time after time?”

Anna took a moment to think, the crunch of their snowshoes on the fresh powder eerily poignant in their silence.  “I think…”  Anna stopped herself trying to figure out the best way to describe her feelings to Kristoff.  “There’s a ridge.  It’s not all that far from where I take off.  I have to go over it a lot – to get to you as a matter of fact.  It looks so imposing as you approach, just the shear walls of the mountains daring me to cross.  Then right after you pass over it, the whole valley opens up and the mountains seem to go on forever, all capped in this unending white.  It takes my breath away each time.  There’s a beauty being up there that you can’t get on the ground I tell you.  I feel so free every time I see it.” 

Kristoff didn’t say anything, only nodding his head.  He remained quiet, almost in contemplation.  Anna was only able to last a few minutes before she was filling the silence with whatever popped into her head.  It took her a second to notice he had fallen back behind her.  Anna’s words died as she looked back to see Kristoff standing several paces back.

“Can’t keep up with the pace?”  She playfully called back to him.  When he didn’t answer her, Anna asked again.  “Everything alright?”

Kristoff regarded her for a few moments before waving his arm in a beckoning motion.  “Follow me.  I want to show you something.” 

He took a turn off the trail and disappeared into the trees.  Anna had to hurry up to see where he went.  His tracks led to a small clearing between the trees.  It looked like it may have been a trail, but not one that Kristoff could have used much.  After a few more hurried steps, she caught up with him.

“Where are we going?”  No response.  She tried again.  “Kristoff, where are we going?”

He didn’t slow down or look back at her.  “Just wait.  You’ll see in a minute.”

She continued to follow him along the narrow path, growing more impatient by the second.  Finally, the trees started to clear.  In front of them was a grouping of boulders that Kristoff hopped up on.

He stopped and looked back at her, offering his mittened hand to her.  “Are you ready?”

Anna narrowed her eyes at him, and reached out for his hand.  He pulled her up over the cropping of rocks.  After she made sure her footing was secure see looked up and what she saw took her breath away.  In front of her was the entire valley stretching out as far as she could see and framed by mountains.  It was the same view she had been seeing for years from her plane.  Anna stood there, frozen in place as she gazed at the magnificent spectacle in front of her. 

“There’s beauty here too,” Kristoff said. 

“Oh my God, Kristoff.  This… this is amazing!”

Anna looked at Kristoff.  His eyes were already on her, a soft smile on his face.  She sucked in a breath as his fingers grazed her cheek.  He reached up to her only to tuck a stray tendril of hair back under her hat.  He turned his gaze back at the valley and Anna was grateful he wasn’t able to see the look of disappointment washing over her.

Kristoff drew in a large breath before he spoke.  “Even though we may be seeing at it from different angles, in the end it’s still the same view.  Magnificent no matter which way you look at it.”

They could have stayed out there for days as far as Anna was concerned, but eventually Kristoff nudged her, telling her they needed to start heading back before it got dark.  He disappeared behind her, jumping down from the rocks.  She took one last longing look back before jumping into Kristoff’s outstretched arms.

On the way back, Kristoff told her how he stumbled on the view once on an excursion and how he liked to come out here sometimes on warmer days in the summer when the walls of the cabin were starting to close in on him and he needed a moment to relax and take it all in.  Anna listened to him talk.  His voice was like velvet and she could get lost in hearing him talk about absolutely nothing.  It wasn’t until the snowmobile was in sight that she realized her hand was in his.  He looked down like he’d just realized the same thing.  Neither of them let go. 

Anna looked up into his eyes.  He met her gaze for a moment before it flicked quickly to her lips.  Perhaps he did remember that kiss.  The way he was looking at her now was the same way he was looking at her when they were drunk.  She desperately wanted him to kiss her again.

Then, like he suddenly realized how vulnerable he was in that moment, he blinked and slid his hand out of hers and gently cleared this throat.  “We should get back.”

A thought rose up in her and before she could think about it, she blurted out.  “Race you to the snowmobile!”

Kristoff pulled a face.  “What?”

“I said,” Anna straightened and said confidently, “race you.”

“In snow shoes?  I wouldn’t do that.”

“Why not.”

“Have you ever tried to run in snow shoes?”

“No, but there’s a first time for everything.  Come on!”

“You’re crazy.”

“Maybe.  But I’m still going to win.”  She gave him a wicked smile and took off.

“Anna,” Kristoff sighed, but quickly raced to catch up with her.

It wasn’t the running that was hard.  It was trying to stay in a straight line and pick her feet up high enough, and she was determined to beat Kristoff.  Anna flailed through the snow until about halfway to the snowmobile, the front tip of her shoe caught hard, sending her face first into the white powder with a quiet thud.

Anna heard the laughter before she saw him; ten feet behind her and doubled over.  She sat up and crossed her arms over her chest but it only made Kristoff laugh even harder.

“I swear… swear to god that was the fucking funniest thing I’ve ever seen.”  Kristoff stood back up and wiped a tear from his eye.  “Let me catch my breath for a second, but do you think you could do that move-”

Thwak

The snowball burst open on impact with Kristoff’s face, showering crystalline fragments into the air and embedding in his beard.  He stood there in shock until he noticed Anna pumping her fists in the air and jumping up and down in victory.

She caught his smirk a little too late, didn’t see the snowball he had scooped up or that he was waiting for the perfect moment.  She tried to take cover behind a tree, but the snowball hit her in the back of the head right before she ran behind it.  Anna shrieked as fragments of the soft snow fell between the gap of her neck and snowsuit. 

“Oh, game on!  You’re going down!”  Anna called out from behind the tree, trying to form as many snowballs as she could and build up a stash.

The first snowball whistled past Kristoff, just above his head.  He didn’t have time to react before another one hit him squarely in the chest.  “Hey!”  He put up his arms defensively and turned to his side.  More snowballs whizzed past him until another one smacked into his shoulder when he tried to bend down to grab more snow.  “Ow!  No fair if you just stay behind that tree the whole time,” Kristoff said, not able to stop the laugh in his voice.

“Don’t you know?” Anna said, picking up another snowball.  “There are no rules in snowball war.”  She launched another series towards Kristoff then pressed her back against the tree again for safety. 

Her breath was heavy from the adrenaline coursing through her.  Everything was quiet behind Anna until she heard crunching of snow.  She dared a peak around the tree and saw Kristoff heading right for her.  With no place to run, Anna darted out from the tree, releasing as many missiles as she was able to hold onto from her stash.

Kristoff laughed with each of her throws, flinching each time not knowing if the snow would make contact with him or fly past him at a safe distance.  He was more deliberate in his attack, throwing when he knew he had a shot.  Anna couldn’t form the snow fast enough, half of her throws disintegrating before they even came close to Kristoff.

“Give up?” Kristoff asked as he continued to walk towards Anna.  His smile was so bright and he looked like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. 

He pushed them into a clearing near the snowmobile where was no where for Anna to find shelter.  She was open and exposed and a sitting duck for his attack.  Her response was what she always did, throwing herself head on without a second thought.

“Never!” She exclaimed and launched herself at Kristoff.

Anna’s momentum sent Kristoff stumbling back.  She wrapped her arms around his waist as they moved backwards until Kristoff lost his footing and they tumbled into a snowdrift.  They were tangled up in a fit of giggles.

“Okay you win,” Kristoff chuckled. 

Anna was laying back on the snow with Kristoff on top of her.  His arms were on either side of her and he pushed on them slightly to take his weight off her.  As they fought to regain their composure, Kristoff locked his eyes on Anna.  His breath was still labored, his face only mere inches from her.

“You still have snow in your beard.”  Anna reached up and grazed her mitten along Kristoff’s beard.  He didn’t move, but his eyes closed slowly at her touch and she couldn’t bring herself to move her hand away.

Was it minutes? Seconds?  She didn’t know.  Didn’t care.  When Kristoff opened his eyes, there was an intensity to them that she knew she was matching.  They stayed like that, both giving their silent approval yet unwilling to break their gaze.  Kristoff moved first, dropping his head the rest of the short distance between them until his lips met hers.  This was not a drunken impulsive kiss made before they both passed out.  This was soft and deliberate and Anna felt herself smiling as she kissed him back and slid her hand to wrap around the base of his neck.

His lips parted and Anna took that as an invite, sliding her tongue into his mouth.  After a loud groan of approval, he reciprocated.  Their kisses became hungrier and Kristoff’s desperation became instantly evident.  Anna gave into it, lost in the moment of his utter need, when suddenly it was over.

“I’m sorry,” he said, rolling off of her and sitting up in the snow, panting.  “I’m sorry, Anna.  I just can’t do this.”

Her mind was still a little foggy with what had just happened.  She wanted him more than anything and he was not allowing it.  Again.

She swallowed the emotion welling up in her throat, pushing it down for the time being in the swiftly dwindling light of day.  “We better get back.”

“Yeah.”  He nodded, unwilling to meet her eyes.  “Okay.”

--

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Mountain Main - Nine

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: M WC: 2573

Collab with @lukin08

Chapter Index

---------------------

Anna wandered out to the bathhouse.  Kristoff had shoveled the pathway again.  She imagined it was a non-stop battle in the winter to be able to get easily to and from his various buildings when it snowed.

She felt like shit for making yet another dig at how he chose to live his life.  She knew she needed to accept it and move on as much as that seemed to hurt.  It was stupid to get hung up on trying to change someone who did not want to change.

Peering through the door he had his back to her, building a fire in a large stove at the back.  Anna stepped up into the structure.  To her right was the wash basin and drying line for his clothes, and to the left, an antique-looking clawfoot tub.  Above both was a large window with opaque glass, letting in the light without need for a lantern, unless, of course, it was dark outside.

She settled her gaze on Kristoff.  “Can I help?”

His back stiffed a little, then he resumed what he was doing.  “You can fill the buckets with water,” he said quietly.

Anna noticed there were four large metal buckets on top of the stove.  She went over and grabbed one, looking down at his face.  He refused to meet her eyes.

The fire was roaring by the time she was finished with the third bucket.  He passed her on her way back in with the fourth.  A minute later he came in and placed it on the stove with the others.  Then he turned around and grabbed another bucket that Anna just noticed was sitting by the door.  He went outside, filled it, and dumped it in the empty tub.

“Oh, is that because when the water is boiling, it stabilizes out the temperature?”

He finally looked over at her.  “Yeah.”

“I can help you fill it.”

“I got it,” he said, walking past her and heading outside again. 

Anna followed him.  “Is it okay if I borrow some of your soap and shampoo?”

He paused and turned around.  “Yeah, of course.  It’s all in the bottom of the nightstand.  Help yourself.”

Anna nodded her thanks, grateful that some of the softness had returned to his tone.  She turned to get it when he spoke again. 

“All the clothes in my chest are clean.  Help yourself.  Towels are in there too.  And after, leave your dirty clothes on the floor.  I’ll wash them.”

“I can wash my own clothes, Kristoff.”

“I’ll wash them,” he reiterated, and began to pump water into the bucket. 

Anna sighed and went back into the cabin.  She grabbed the soap and shampoo first, set them on the table, then went to the chest to rummage through his clothes.  She found a plain black t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants with a draw string.  She’d be swimming in the clothing but at least they were clean.  She hadn’t realized how dirty she felt until Kristoff brought up having a bath. 

She went back outside and placed the soap and shampoo on a shelf built to hold them, and hung the clothes and towels on two hooks fastened to the wall beside the door.  Kristoff had the tub half full and was keeping an eye on the water in the buckets in the stove.

He looked over at her, his expression blank.  “Should be done soon.”

“Thank you, Kristoff.  I really appreciate this.”

“Don’t mention it,” he mumbled, turning his attention back to the water. 

Anna wrung her hands.  “Look, I’m sorry about-”

His head turned in her direction.  “Just drop it, okay.  I get that you think living this way is insane.  I don’t really need a constant reminder of your opinion.”

He sounded almost defeated and she opened her mouth to apologize again when he turned his body fully towards her.

“You haven’t once taken the time to appreciate what I might enjoy about living this life,” he said.  “And there is a lot.  It’s the peace and the quiet of this place.  The way the sun rises and sets over the mountains.  It’s natures beauty as far as the eye can see, unhindered by power lines or radio towers.  It’s not having to worry about bills or mortgage payments, or dealing with crappy neighbours, or crime, or solicitors knocking on my door.  I don’t sit in traffic for hours to and from work, staring at billboards enticing me to buy things I don’t need.  I don’t have a boss who tells me what to do and when, and gives me a shitty paycheck after it all.  I am extremely fit and I never have to work out.  All you see is loneliness.  I see a life unburdened by all the things that tend to bring people down.”

Anna pinched her trembling lip in her teeth, her eyes stinging with tears.  She nodded, turning her eyes to the floor.

“Don’t cry.”

“I’m not,” Anna choked out, turning around and wiping her wet eyes.  He hadn’t talked with any sort of tone, in fact he sounded at kind of at peace to explain it, and Anna felt bad again for the little digs she’d been taking at the way he lived his life.   

She heard him walk up behind her.  A second later his warm hand was on her shoulder.  “I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to be harsh.”

“You weren’t really, at all” she said, wiping her eyes once more, getting a firm handle on herself.  A deep breath and she was good.  “You were just setting me straight.  I didn’t understand.”

He gave a gentle sigh and his hand slid off her shoulder.  Anna turned around as he walked back to the stove.  “Should only be another minute.  And when you’re done, just leave the water in the tub.”  A pause.  “Please.”

Anna nodded, focusing hard on letting Kristoff, and his way of life, go.  

-------

Anna toweled off her hair, relishing in the warm, steamy bathhouse.  The fire kept the space delightfully warm. 

She felt fantastic.  The temperature of the bath had been spot-on perfect.  Anna lounged in the water for a long time until it started to cool.  There was nothing better than getting clean after a couple of days getting dirty.   

She slipped on her coat and hat, and shuffled through all the snow that had fallen in the pathway since Kristoff had set up the bath.  The ends of her hair not covered with her cap immediately froze.  Inside the cabin was just as warm and nice as the bathhouse.

Kristoff looked up from where he was sitting at the table, looking through a familiar stack of photographs.  “How was the bath?”

Anna let out a delighted moan.  “So good.  Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it,” he said, his cheeks deepening in colour.  He stood and gestured to the stack of photos.  “Dug these out of my chest.  Progress on the cabin when I built it and a few others.  If you’re interested.  Or whatever.”

The way he dismissed himself wormed its way back into her heart for how endearing it was.  How protective he was of his way of life.  “Thank you.  I’d absolutely love to see them.”  It wouldn’t hurt anyone to leave out the fact she’d already snooped at them.  At least now she could take a nice long look.

Kristoff went to the door and began putting on his boots.  “I’m going to have a quick dip then wash our clothes.”

“Okay.  I’ll help you fill the buckets.”

Kristoff paused, finished pulling his boot on, then straightened slowly, looking at her.  “Please don’t think this is creepy, or gross, or anything other than me being tired and just wanting some convenience, but I am just going to hop in the tub, wash, and get out.”

“Oh,” she said, cheeks lighting up with heat.  She had no idea he planned to use the bathwater after her.  She’d assumed she wanted the water left for some other reason for whatever else went on around his homestead.  It didn’t creep her out, but it did embarrass her a little.  What if she was dirtier than she realized and he got grossed out.  “I’m sorry, I… took my time.  The water isn’t very warm anymore.”

“Anna, half the time I take my shampoo to the river in the summer.  Lukewarm water will feel tropical.”

“Still, I don’t mind helping.  You deserve a nice hot bath too.”

He shook his head.  “I am not going to waste a tub of soapy water, even if it is cold.  I’ll be quick, okay.  Make yourself at home.”  He plucked his clean clothes off the back of the chair, tucked them under his arm and went through the door, shutting it behind him.

Home.  How could she make this anywhere near what her actual home was like.  She thought about her running water, the heat in her house, the electricity and the full fridge and pantry with anything she desired because that’s how she shopped.  This could never be home, and that drove the last nail in the coffin that was her maybe thinking someday that it could be. 

She shuffled over to the table and sat on the log, picking up the stack and looking down at the first photo; an impossibly young Kristoff and their friend Frank.  He’d taken it out of the frame so it was apparent he wanted her to see it with the others.  She took her time, flipping through the photos of his progress, trying to take it in through his eyes.  Nearing the end, seeing everything he had accomplished with his own two hands, she thought that she understood him a little better.

Then she flipped to that photo of the purple lupine flowers.  She swore she could smell their sweetness looking at them.  Perhaps the next time she brought him supplies, she’d get him a picture frame and he could hang it on his wall.  Maybe next to the one of him and Frank.

Anna flipped past the picture, thinking she’d be back at the beginning, when her eyes settled Cliff and Linda with a young boy.  One look at his features confirmed that this was Kristoff as a child.  Anna smiled.  He looked so goofy and gangly, smirking that lopsided grin of his.  In his hand was some kind of certificate, only Anna couldn’t make out what it said.  She flipped over the photo.  On the back, scrawled in cursive it said:

Scouts Wilderness Training Certificate

She flipped back to the front and studied it again.  He would have been maybe nine or ten.  Definitely tall for his age based on how he appeared next to Linda, who was herself probably only five feet.  Anna went to the next photo, delighted to see another one she hadn’t looked at before.  

It was Kristoff, as she knew him now, only with a long beard and even longer hair.  He looked seriously at the camera, a shot that he had clearly set up himself.  He was wearing a rugged jacket that looked like he’d made himself and he was standing over the carcass of the largest wolf Anna had ever seen.  She recognized the fur right away.  It was the one now sitting on the floor in front of his wood stove. 

Anna looked at it for a long time, eyes roaming over his as he stared back at her.  Then she flipped the photo and found she was back at the start. 

*****

Kristoff bathed like he did everything else; with efficiency. 

The water was cold, and that really didn’t bother him.  He washed his hair and body, rinsed off by plugging his nose and slipping under the water, then pulled the plug and got out.   He dried himself and pulled on his only other pair of sweatpants since Anna was wearing his favourites, then tugged the long sleeve t-shirt over his head and went about washing their clothing. 

He set up a bucket to get warm and stoked the fire, then filled the wash basin with one bucket of cold water from the well.  He added the two when the one on the stove was boiling, dumped in a bunch of soap, and used the washboard to get them clean.  Once rinsed, he hung them on the clothes line to dry.  Then he pulled the plug on the wash basin, put his damp towel over his head, and trudged back to the cabin.  Inside Anna was sitting on the fur in front of the fire in the stove.  She looked over at her shoulder and smiled.  It struck him in the heart.  Anytime she smiled at him it did. 

“How was your bath?  I hope it wasn’t too cold?”

“It was just fine, thanks for asking.”

“I was going to start dinner,” she said, getting up to her feet, “I just didn’t know what you wanted.”

“What do you feel like?

She gave him an amused look.  “What are my options?”

He chuckled.  “For meat, caribou.  For the grain, I have pasta, rice, quinoa…”  Anna pulled a face at the last one and he had to laugh again.  “Yeah, I know, it sucks.  But it does fill the hunger void.”

Anna nodded, eyes going a little sad again whenever something like this came up.  He had no stock, or butter, or much of anything to make his food taste better.   

She said, “Could we maybe have that dish you made on the noodles with that cheesy tasting stuff in it.  The… nitch?”

“Nooch.  Yeah, I can definitely whip that up.”

“I can help.”

His stomach suddenly twisted in a weird way and he hoped he wasn’t getting sick or anything.  He hadn’t been sick since he moved away from people, but Anna was a person who had germs, and she was sleeping in his bed.

And you kissed her…

He cleared his throat, forcing the thoughts away.  “Sure, can you please start boiling some water?  I’ll grab the meat.”

Anna did as she was asked and he went to the cellar to grab two packages of ground meat, thankful once again that this meal wasn’t going to be rationed.   The night before, when they’d gotten drunk, Kristoff had made them a couple of cans of Chef Boyardee Ravioli his parents sent him; something he rationed carefully and only ever ate as a treat when he was beyond too tired to prepare food.  Anna had of course, thought it was the best thing ever – just like the rum – and they had heated up and devoured his only three cans.   He had even brought the chocolates to the table after.  Between the two of them, mostly Anna, they finished the rest of the top layer, and after every one she popped into her mouth, she gave a rather loud moan of satisfaction.

Another reason why he had kissed her. 

Kristoff shook his head and went back up into the cabin, closing the door and flipping the rug back in place.  They both made the dinner, talking about what tasks they were going to accomplish tomorrow.

After they ate and cleaned up, they were both tired and crawled into bed.  He did not want to push or assume she’d want anything from him, then she asked if he wouldn’t mind holding her so that she would stay warm.  He obliged without hesitation.

--

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[kristannafever-fics]

Mountain Man - Eight

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: M WC: 2750

Collab with @lukin08

Chapter Index

-----------------------------------

“My head hurts.” Anna’s muffled voice came from somewhere under the covers.

“Mine too,” Kristoff muttered, keeping his eyes shut to the light coming in from the window.  While he had half a mind to disappear under his blankets with Anna, he worried that would be too presumptions despite what happened between them the night before. 

“I have painkillers in the first Aid kit in my plane,” she muttered.

“And you don’t want to go get them?”

“Hell no.”

Kristoff smiled and steadied himself to move.  He got up slowly, wincing as his head pounded and the room spun around.  While he had some pain killers in his own first aid kit, he rarely took them and they were a decade old.  Likely not as effective anymore, and if her head hurt as much as his, they would need all the help they could get.

“You’re going to get it for me, aren’t you?”

“Uh huh.”

“Oh my god you are the best.”

Kristoff shook his head, smiling wider and took to his feet slowly.  He dressed in his coat and boots and opened the door.  The snow was somehow still falling.  He breathed in the cold mountain air deep into his lungs, instantly making him feel a touch better and clearing his head a little.

He trudged through the deep snow to where Anna’s plane was and retrieved her first aid kit.  He brought back in the cabin and poured them both a glass of water from what was left in the cold kettle before shaking the pills into his hand.

He sat on the edge of the bed and waited for Anna to slowly emerge from the covers.  She did so with her eyes pinched shut, wincing as she sat up. 

“Here.” He offered her the cup and his open palm.

She took the pills and the water with shaky hands and popped them in her mouth, draining the cup with a greedy gulp.  She handed the cup back to Kristoff and laid back down.

He took his own pills and set the empty cups on the floor and crawled back in beside her.  No sooner was he settled on his back and Anna was curling up to him, throwing her hand over his stomach and nestling her head on his shoulder.  He could feel her breath on his neck and he suppressed a delighted moan. 

“As shitty as I feel right now, that was a lot of fun last night,” she said.

He could hear the smile on her voice.  “It was,” he mused, thinking about just how much fun it was.  He hadn’t laughed so much in his entire life.  His smile faded to remember that the storm wasn’t going to last forever and Anna would be leaving soon. 

“Hey Anna?” he started before he knew what he was doing.

“Hmmm?” 

He panicked.  What was he about to say anyway?  Was he actually going to tell her that last night was the most fun he had ever had in his entire life?  Was he going to admit that he never wanted the storm to end?  That he wanted her to stay there with him forever.  Was he going to tell her that she had taken his heart and he was madly in love with her?

No.  He couldn’t do that.  He couldn’t drag her into this life of isolation.   He couldn’t crush her spirit like that.  Likely couldn’t even have the chance anyway.  She had mentioned how many times she would be unable to live this life.

He thought quickly.  “I’ll give you another opportunity to beat me at crib again tonight,” he said, hoping that it didn’t sound as sad as it made him feel.

Anna giggled, obviously not picking up on his distress.  “You’re on, mountain man.”

*****

They got out of bed in the late morning, too hungry to ignore their growling stomachs.  Kristoff made them oatmeal and opened a can of peaches that he told her he saved for special occasions.  Anna watched him as he made them their breakfast, chatting idly with her like it was the most natural thing in the world for him to be doing.  She could not stop staring.  His handsomeness was so much more apparent with the short beard.  She could see his magnificent jaw line, and she imagined what he’d look like if he’d let her cut his hair shorter too.  Never before in her life had she been more attracted to a man.

She thought back to that wonderful kiss.   More than anything she wanted to have him kiss her again.  She wanted a whole hell of a lot more than that actually.  Then she realized that she would be leaving soon.  She couldn’t stay, couldn’t even entertain the idea.  She had family and too much back in Nome to just throw it all away. 

Yet as she remembered it again, that beautiful soft and tender first kiss he had placed on her lips, she longed to be able to say fuck it and stay with Kristoff.

She pushed the thought from her mind immediately, knowing that it would only lead to heartache.  Why it hurt so much she wasn’t sure.   She managed to forget about the future and focus on the bowl that Kristoff had placed in front of her with a smile.

After their breakfast they both cleaned up, and Anna asked what she’d asked him so many times in the past couple of days.  “So, now what?”

Kristoff looked around his cabin.  “Uh, to be honest I am not feeling up to doing a lot of manual labour today.  I haven’t been that drunk in my entire life.”

Anna cocked her head to the side.  Did that mean he didn’t even remember the kiss?  While it was seared into her mind, maybe he was one of those people that blacked out and didn’t remember anything.  “Yeah, we drank a lot,” she said, not wanting to bring it up in case he really didn’t remember.

“I have some wobbly shelves in the cellar I need to fix.  Some clothes that need mending.  I have to deal with a couple of hides, but that will only take me about an hour.  Uh, what else?” 

He looked around in thought again, so innocent and pure, and Anna’s heart lurched in her chest thinking about that kiss.  How utterly desperate his lips had become, like he’d been under water for a dangerously long time and was finally able to gasp for air.  How it must have felt to him.  And he probably didn’t even remember being so vulnerable with her.

“… tidy my shed up a bit too.  Been putting that off.”

Anna realized she zoned out.  “Oh yeah, sure.  Put me to work.”

His head tilted to the side and he regarded her for a moment.  “Where should we get started?”

“Give me your clothes and I’ll mend them while you deal with the hides.  Then we can do whatever you figure next.”

He nodded, his bloodshot eyes looking at her carefully again.  “Alright.  Thank you.”

-------

Anna picked up the first shirt and looked at it.  A plain black henley that was tattered and getting holes along the shoulders.  He’d told her all the clothes needing mending were clean except for that black henley.  Anna had assured him that she didn’t mind.  And truly she didn’t.  She imagined it on him then looked up quickly to make sure Kristoff hadn’t somehow slipped back into the cabin without her noticing.  Once confirming she was indeed alone, she pulled the shirt up to her face and inhaled.

An involuntary shiver ran up her spine to smell him on the clothing.  It aroused her in a way she was not at all expecting, and she set the shirt back down on the table and shook her head.  Get a grip on yourself, Anna!

She threaded the needle with black thread and began mending.  It was quick work and she moved onto the next shirt, and then the next.  When they were all done, she started on the socks, switching the black thread for the only other colour; white. 

Anna mended his socks, cringing a little at how much it would drive her crazy to step on the mending all day long.  She’d tried it before.  There was only one solution to socks with holes on the bottom; buy new ones.  Something that Kristoff could not do whenever he wanted. 

That made her sad all over again, thinking about his life as she finished the socks.  Next, she moved onto his work pants, two pairs of jeans with holes in the knees and some Carhart’s.  Every pair had holes in all the pockets. 

After the pants the only item left was a hooded sweatshirt with the front pocket ripped on one side.  It was grey, so Anna switched back to the black thread for it to be less noticeable. 

When that was done, she folded all the clothes neatly and placed them back in his chest and put the henley in a small laundry basket he had sitting beside it.  She turned around and surveyed the one at the end of the bed again, thinking about those photos and wanting to look at them once more.  She was just about to, when the front door opened and Kristoff stepped in.  His face was drained of colour.

“Kristoff!  Are you okay?”

He nodded and wobbled a little as he used his feet to take off his boots.  Anna rushed over and grabbed his shoulder just as he leaned far enough over that he was going to lose his balance if she wasn’t there.  She braced herself as his weight fell into her.

“I need to sit down,” he mumbled. 

Anna helped him over to his chair and sat him in it.  Kristoff turned and placed his head in his arms on the table, taking a few slow breaths like he was going to be sick. 

“Are you okay?” she asked again.

“Dizzy,” he murmured from his arms.  “I think I need some water.”

“Of course.”  Anna turned and grabbed a cup from the shelves above his kitchen cupboard and the cold water from the kettle on the stove, then took it over to him. 

Slowly, he pulled his head up, his eyes closed.  After two more deep breaths he opened them, took the glass and drank with a shaky hand.   As soon as he was done, Anna took it from him and filled it again.  With that downed, she filled it once more with all that was left in the kettle.  After giving him back his glass, she took the kettle outside and filled it with water from the well.  She filled his empty up again, then grabbed one to fill for herself. 

“Thank you,” he said quietly as she took a seat on the log across from him. 

“You okay?”

He nodded slowly.  “Just dehydrated from all the booze,” he said, his eyes lifting to finally meet hers.   “Like I said, that was the drunkest I have ever been.  I’ve never been this hungover.”

“I’m sorry,” Anna said, wondering again if he really didn’t remember that kiss. 

“Don’t be sorry,” he said, eyes going back down to the table.  “I just need a minute.  I’m pretty sure when we got up, I was still drunk, and I’m just hitting the wall now.”

“Why don’t you go lie down for a minute?”

His eyes met hers again.  “How are you feeling?  Are you okay?”

Anna smiled.  “I feel kind of like you.  Clearly not as severe.  I’m okay, just sucking at life today, you know?”

He gave her a slight smile.  “I could use a nap.  How about you?”

She thought about being in that comfortable bed with him again and was not about to miss out on the opportunity to be close to him again.  “Definitely.”

They went over to the bed and settled into it, Anna thinking again to that kiss.  “How many games of crib did we even play last night?” she asked, thinking it might give some insight into if he remembered it. 

“I have no idea,” he said, brining up his forearm and settling it against his eyes.  “I can’t remember.”

Anna frowned, and pushed the thought of that kiss from her mind.  It would do no good to keep thinking on it if she was the only one who remembered it happening.

A moment later Kristoff was snoring.  As much as Anna wanted to snuggle up to him, she could not bring herself to do so.  Her heart was heavy with thoughts she had no business having.  Eventually she drifted off and fell into a fitful sleep.

*****

Kristoff woke slowly, blinking into the light of the cabin.  His eyes hurt.  Like his head.  The painkillers had worn off.  He looked over to where Anna was sleeping.  She was facing him, as far away as she could get.  He studied her face, every inch of it, every freckle, every gorgeous feature. 

That kiss…

He pushed it from his mind for the hundredth time since waking up that morning.  He would not, could not, hang onto that.  It was like a taste of things that could be.  Things that would never be.  He needed to let it go for good.  It was far too dangerous not to.

To his relief, Anna was completely fine not talking about it.  Maybe she didn’t even remember it.  Either way, they could move on as if it never happened, which was more than fine with him.

Kristoff got up slowly, getting a little dizzy again.  He put his feet on the floor and hung his head between his shoulders.  He felt the bed shift under him a moment later.

“You feeling any better?”

“A little yeah.”  He sighed.  “How about you?”

“Like a new woman.”  She laughed.

-----

Anna spent the rest of the afternoon following him around and helping him here and there, talking his ear off.  It was amazing how her hands worked, knowing exactly what to do without having to ask.  Her independence and skill were never more apparent to him.  If she ever had the desire, he had no doubt she’d be able to make this life work for her too.  She had all the same instincts as him.

They had just finished with the unstable shelves in the cellar.  While it was the last task that he had wanted to accomplish that day, it still didn’t feel like he’d done enough.  He was feeling better and itching to get more shit done.  This was the first day since he’d been living like this that he’d been lazy, and it was starting to bother him.

As soon as he had the tools back in his toolbox, he brushed the dirt off his hands and looked at Anna.  She was looking down at her own hand, surveying her fingernails with a frown.

“You okay?” he asked, worried she’d injured herself somehow.

She looked up at him, quickly putting her hand back down at her side.  “Oh yeah, fine.  Just have to wash the dirt out from under my fingernails.”

A thought suddenly occurred to him and he was a little embarrassed it hadn’t come to him sooner.  “Did you want to have a bath?”

Her eyes brightened.  “A bath?  That actually sounds wonderful.”  Then her brows furrowed in question.  “Wait, how do you even do that?”

He chuckled.  “What do you think that little building by the well is?”

Anna shrugged.  “Another shed.”

He laughed again.  “It’s the bathhouse, silly.  Despite what you may think I do wash my clothes and bathe.”

“Really?  How often?”  Her smirk was all play.

Shrugging one shoulder he said, “Once a week.”

She playfully scrunched up her nose.  “Ew.”

“Well, to be fair it is a lot of work.”

Her light mood shifted to a touch of annoyance and she rolled her eyes.  “Of course it is.”

Anger prickled him.  These reminders that she thought his life was ridiculous were starting to really get under his skin.  He went for the cellar ladder and ascended without a word or backwards glance in her direction. 

“I’m sorry,” she called after him as soon as he stepped onto the floor.

“Nothing to be sorry about,” he said, his teeth clenched.  “Just going to go get you a bath started.”  He threw on his boots and slammed the door behind him.

--

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Mountain Man - Seven

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: M WC: 3164

Collab with @lukin08

Chapter Index

-------------------------

Kristoff was hungry by the time they got back to the cabin in the late afternoon.   Anna was too.  He had heard her stomach growl a few times on their quiet way back.  Snowshoeing was a lot of work.

After they had moved the last trap, he had thanked Anna for her help.  She said it was no problem and gave him a smile, then the way her gaze began to survey his face made him edgy.  He had to wonder what she had been looking at.  Maybe he had some snot frozen in his moustache or something.  It happened to him all the time.  He had never thought to feel embarrassed about it until just then.

Kristoff took her snowshoes and hung them near his, then followed her into the cabin.  She sighed to be out of her boots and trudged over to the fire to stoke it.  Kristoff had to laugh to himself.  He found the temperature just fine.  If he kept the cabin as warm as Anna liked it all winter, he’d have to chop a lot more wood.

He grabbed a towel he kept near the door and scrubbed his face clean of the frost that had built up in his beard, a little relieved that there didn’t seem to be any snot or anything with it.

Afterwards, he moved the rug and went down into the cellar to grab them a bite to hold off their hunger until dinner.  When he came back up Anna was there to shut the door for him and put the rug back in place.  He took a seat at the table and handed her a piece of beef jerky when she took a seat.

“Oh, yummy!” she exclaimed with exited eyes as she reached out to take it.  She wasted no time in taking a huge bite.

Kristoff had to stifle his laughter at the face she pulled when she tried to chew.  “Sorry, It’s a little tough.  It’s Moose.”

“Ah, I see,” she said, struggling with the piece she had bitten.

Kristoff nibbled on some jerky trying not to watch her.   He took the lid off of a tin of almonds while he chewed and pushed it between them on the table.  Anna smiled her thanks and popped a handful into her mouth when she was finally finished chewing her piece of jerky.

When their small snack was done Kristoff felt the need to express his gratitude again.  He had a good feeling about the placement of the traps.  He hoped to get a good yield to make up for the lack of success at the beginning of the season.

“Thank you again, Anna.  I really do appreciate your help today,” he said, giving her a smile.

She smiled back as her eyes started wandering over his face again.  He realized suddenly, that for the first time in as long as he could remember, he was worried about how he looked.   

Perhaps it was time for a haircut. 

-------

When Anna came back into the cabin from using the outhouse, Kristoff was sitting at the table, scissors up to his face and holding a small round mirror.  She hung up her coat and pulled off her boots and Kristoff felt her eyes on him as he tried to trim his beard.  He imagined it looked as awkward as it felt.   The last time he had trimmed his beard he just starting hacking away until the hair was shorter, not giving a shit how uneven it was and how terrible it looked.  Now though…

“Want a hand?” she asked, pulling the chair beside him and sitting down.

He looked sideways at her.  “No, I’m okay.  Just wanted to trim it a bit.”   She said nothing, only watched him closely.    “Because it get’s too heavy with ice if it’s too long,” he added.

“Of course,” she said in an offhand way, leaning back a little, not moving from his side.

He looked back in the mirror and tried to keep working on it, knowing that she was still staring at him.  He relented, and looked back over to meet her gaze.

She said, “It’ll be much faster if you let me do it.  Then we can get back to whatever other back-breaking labour you have to do around here before the sun sets.”

He chuckled.  He couldn’t help it.  “Alright, here…” He relinquished the scissors and turned his body on the log to face her as she pulled the chair up close. 

She leaned forward and was about to start when she paused and looked up into his eyes.  “How short do you want it?”

“Um… what uh… what do you think?”

She let her eyes wander over his beard before looking back up.  “I think you should trim it short to your skin.  It would look really good on you.”

He swallowed hard, hoping that she didn’t notice.  “Okay then.  Short it is.”

She began working with scissors, starting with his chin before her free hand came up and cupped is jaw to get him to turn his head.  As her fingers left his face, he realized how good her touch felt on his skin. 

She kept trimming, gently pushing his head this way and that.   She put her finger under his chin and tilted his head back, so she could trim the last part.   He felt her warm breath on his neck, and his spine shivered involuntarily. 

When she had worked her way around his entire jaw she moved to his moustache, leaning in so close that she was only a few inches away from his face.  She was being careful not to cut him.  Her hand came up to his lip, gently holding it so that she could trim the short hairs.  His heart was beating so fast he hoped that she couldn’t notice.

She leaned back with a smile as she surveyed her work before meeting his eyes. “You look great, if I must say so myself.”   

He picked up the mirror and looked at himself.  He was a little shocked at the difference it made.  His beard was trimmed so neatly to his face, that he could see the line of his jaw for the first time in a decade.

“Want me to cut your hair too?” She waggled her eyebrows at him and snipped the scissors open and closed a few times in her hand.

He chuckled.  “Not today.”

Anna mocked a pout but got up and put his scissors back in the beat-up coffee can that he kept them in.  He was impressed that she had noticed that.  He went to the porch and grabbed his broom, sweeping up all his trimmed hair and into a dustpan before flinging it off the side of the little deck into the snow.

“So, what now?” Anna asked when he came back in.

“Well, to be honest, I wouldn’t mind taking the night off.  You certainly deserve it with all the help you’ve been.  We could play some more crib.  I even have a stash of Rum if you’re interested?”

Her eyes lit up and he felt a sudden heat in the pit of his stomach.

“Really?  That sounds awesome!  No more work?  And we get to drink?  What fun!”

He understood that she was mocking him and he gave her a sarcastic smile before stoking the fire in the stove.

-------

 Kristoff laughed when he pegged out.

“Shit!” Anna spat, throwing her cards at him with a giggle.  “How the hell are you so good at Crib?”

“I didn’t tell you I was a national champion when I was a kid?”

“You were?”

He laughed.  “No.  I’m just kidding.  My Grandpa taught me to play.  He was the best crib player I ever saw.  I never did beat him in a game.  Not once.”

“Well, I am bound and determined to beat you.  Set it up again while I get more rum!”

Kristoff smiled and did as he was told, watching Anna get up, wobble a little, and make a b line for the bottle on the counter.  He couldn’t take his eyes off her as she poured them each another cup, letting his gaze wander over her shapely figure.

He couldn’t remember having ever smiled so much in his life.  He couldn’t remember a time in his life where he had had this much fun. 

Anna plopped back into the chair and handed him his cup, sloshing the rum over the side a little.   “This is gonna be my game, you wait,” she slurred slightly.

“We’ll see.” Kristoff grinned at her and handed her the deck to deal.

When she was done and they were both looking at their hands, she said something that he did not expect.  “Do you have ant regrets, Kristoff?”

“Regrets?”  Their conversation had been so light all evening, he wasn’t sure where this was coming from.

Anna shrugged.  “Like, living up here in the middle of fuckin’ nowhere?  There’s only one drink left in that bottle.  It’s not like you can go to the store and get another one.”

“Actually, I do have one more bottle in the cellar.”

Anna snorted with laugher making Kristoff smile wider.  “I’ll give you that.  And I’m really glad you have another one.  But consider this, once that second bottle is gone, you won’t have any more until I come back.  What if you’re in the mood one night?  You’re stuck.  What do you do, just go to bed?”

Kristoff shrugged.  “Pretty much.”

Anna was shaking her head.  “How sad.”

They finished pegging and counted their hands.  Anna pulled into a big lead with a phenomenal crib hand and Kristoff chuckled when she taunted him and gave him a devilish looking grin.

“Seriously, though,” she continued as Kristoff dealt the cards.  “Are you happy?  You wouldn’t change anything?”

“Well, to be honest, I don’t think about it too much.”

“Don’t you get lonely?”

Kristoff faltered, accidently flipping the card he was dealing her upright.  He let out a sigh and gathered the cars to re-deal.  “I guess.  Sometimes I miss Cliff and Linda.  Sometimes it would be nice to have someone to talk to.”

“What about a relationship?  You don’t miss being with anyone?”

“I’ve never been in a relationship before.”

“Really?  Wait!  Wait, wait, wait.  You’re not a virgin, are you?”

“No!  And no.  I’ve never felt strongly enough about anyone to give up my dreams of doing this.”

“What about kids?  A family?  You don’t regret leaving all that behind for this?”

“Well,” he shrugged, feeling his heartbeat ramp up in his chest again, “it’s not like I never thought about it.  Maybe once I had an idea I might want kids someday, but it’s not like anyone would want to have them with me.  Any woman I ever talked to before I moved up here could never understand me for wanting to do this.  That’s why nothing lasted much longer than one night, if you know what I mean.  That’s why I’ve never had any kind of relationship.”

“I don’t know how you do it.” Anna shook her head again, looking sad.  “I would be so lonely living like this.  There’s no way I could ever do it.”

“Yes, you’ve made that clear,” Kristoff deadpanned, upset that Anna seemed to have completely missed what he was trying to explain.

Anna blinked at his tone.  “Oh, Kristoff, I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean it like that.  This is your life, not mine.  Don’t mind my stupid babble.  You keep doing you, Kristoff.”

She gave him a sloppy grin and looked at the new cards she’d been dealt and discarded two into his crib.

“What about you, Anna?” he asked, still feeling a little angry at being misunderstood by her again.  “Do you have any regrets?”

She put her cards down and leaned her chin into her palm.  “Probably.  Can’t think of any right now.”

“What about your desire for kids?  You mentioned you don’t have time to date anyone.  Do you regret not changing things to allow that?”

Anna frowned at him, looking like she finally understood what he was feeling.  “Touché.  This conversation is getting way too touchy, isn’t it?”

Kristoff nodded.  Anna turned her eyes to her cards and laid an eight on the table to begin the count.  Kristoff scored the most pegging points and pulled ahead of her lead.

“Ah, you jerk…” Anna smiled, instantly lightening the mood between them.  “You shuffle for me, I’ll get more rum!”

“Uh uh, no way.  It’s in the cellar.  Last thing I need is for your drunk ass to fall down and break a leg.  I’ll get it.”

Anna laughed as she started to shuffle the cards.  Kristoff fetched the bottle trying not to think about how beautiful her flushed cheeks were.  He had meant what he said to her the other day; he had no idea how there wasn’t a line of men banging on her door begging to take her out.   He had never met anyone like her and in all likelihood never would again.

Kristoff splashed some rum into their cups before he put the bottle next to the almost empty one on the counter.   When he sat down Anna started talking about movies as they resumed playing.  Kristoff smiled and asked polite questions even though he had no idea what she was talking about as she prattled on and on about all the great things she’d seen in the theatre.  The last movie he had seen was ‘Dances with Wolves’ on television one of the last nights before he left to build his life up here.

“I wonder if you’d like the Count of Monte Cristo.  I don’t know how close it is to the book.  Sometimes movie makers stray so far off it ruins your favourite book, know what I mean?”

Kristoff blinked at her.  “How… how do you know that’s my favourite?”

“Your copy over there.” Anna gestured with a flick of her head.  “You’ve dog-eared it so many times it has to be your fave!”

Kristoff blinked at her.  She was a hell of a lot more preceptive than he had so far given her credit for.

“Maybe if you ever came back to civilization for a bit you could watch it with me and let me know what you think.  Or maybe I’ll read the book when I get home.”

The thought of sitting on a couch and watching a movie with Anna snuggled to his side, stirred a sudden longing deep within him.   Before he could gather his thoughts, Anna was already talking about something else.  He listened to keep up with her even though the new awakening kept nagging the back of his mind.

When Kristoff won the game, Anna insisted he give her one more chance to win one.  He conceded, telling her this was absolutely the last game.  Their rum intoxicated minds were both having trouble with basic addition.

*****

Anna stared at his card trying to figure out what he had left in his hand based on the cards he had already laid on the table.  If she could stick him with a go, she could peg out with 31 and win.  He was so close behind her that he would win if she didn’t peg out as he’d be counting first.

She laid her Jack.  “Twenty-nine.”  She bit her bottom lip and waited.  It would be just her luck that he would lay an Ace to take it away from her.

Kristoff looked up at her with a sly smile and she knew he had her yet again.  “Go, Anna.”

“Ah, Damn!” Anna made a move to throw her cards when she realized what he said.  “Wait, did you just say go?”

He nodded, smiling wider.  “Go, Anna.”

Anna slapped her two on the table.  “Thirty-One!” she cried.

Kristoff laughed as she leaned over and placed her peg in the winner’s spot then shot to her feet in celebration.  She completely forgot how drunk she was and the room spun around her, and she wobbled, trying to grab the edge of the table to steady herself and coming up a foot short.

Kristoff suddenly had her in his arms, bracing her from falling, until he lost his balance with her.  The shock in his face was priceless as he fell to the floor, dragging her with him.

He landed with a thud on his ass and his back continued until it met the floor.  Anna ended up on his chest, facing him, unable to breathe with hysterical laughter.  She started to bounce up and down on his chest when he started to laugh with her, making her laugh even harder.

She slid off his chest and laid beside him on her back, clutching at her aching sides trying to stop laughing to ease the pain.  She couldn’t remember laughing this hard since she was a kid.  In fact, she couldn’t remember a time she’d had so much fun with another human being.

They had both dissolved into giggles when Kristoff pushed up on his elbow and leaned over her.  “Are you okay?” He chuckled. 

“Yes.” Anna giggled again.  “Oh my God, we are so drunk.”

He nodded.  “We need to get to bed.  Tomorrow is not going to be very fun.”

“No, it won’t…” Anna laughed, looking up into his face.

His smile faded slowly as his gaze moved to her lips.  Before she could say anything on the matter he bent down and kissed her.

Anna instantly wrapped her arms around his shoulders, bringing him against her.  She kissed him back, hungry and ravenous.  She didn’t realize just how much she had wanted to kiss him until he pushed his lips to hers.  His response was immediate and forceful, deepening the kiss to frantic levels.

Her mind was spinning with desire and booze.  She slid her fingers into his hair, pulling his mouth further into hers.  She needed more… just… more.  His desperate kisses were everything.

Then just as quick as it had started, he pulled back, breathing hard with his eyes closed.   “Anna, I can’t.  Sorry, I… I can’t.”

He rolled away from her without meeting her eyes and got up.  He wobbled on his feet, taking a moment to steady himself before he turned around and offered her a hand.  She took it and he hauled her to her feet.  The room swam lazily in her vision and she almost fell back down.

Kristoff hooked his arm under her legs and hoisted her into his arms.  The room spun around again as he did so. 

“Let’s go to bed,” he mumbled, and took her to the bed, set her in it and pulled the covers over them both as he slid in beside her.  The last thing Anna knew before she passed out into sleep, was Kristoff curling himself around her and hugging her tight to his chest.

---

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[kristannafever-fics]

Mountain Man - Six

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: MA WC: 4121

~Collab with @lukin08

A/N: Well, it's now complete! The remaining chapters will be posted semi-regularly. If you have already read the first five chapters of this story, please note that some very minor changes have been made (updated on here and AO3) to make the story flow a little better for what was written after. Those familiar with this story may want to re-read.

Chapter Index

Anna groaned when he left the bed.

He chuckled.  “Not a morning person, are you?”

“Actually, with my job, I am,” she mumbled as she rolled over to where Kristoff’s body had been, trying to stay as warm as possible.  How did that man manage to run so hot in such a cold place? 

“Not by choice, I take it?”

She sighed. “Definitely not.”

“Well, you can sleep in.”

Anna rolled her eyes under her closed lids.  As much as she wanted to, as much as she was sure Kristoff would just assume she would take him up on his offer, she wanted to prove herself useful while he was offering her his precious food and shelter for her stupidity in trying to fly ahead of what was surely one of the biggest storms in Alaska in more than a decade.

After keeping her eyes closed and listening to him change, she reluctantly crawled out of bed.

He was stirring the hot embers in the stove before adding some wood.  The dry logs caught immediately and Anna wandered nearer to the only heat source… well, aside from the heat source that was Kristoff.

He went about making them breakfast, quick cooking oats yet again, and Anna once again chipped some of the impossibly hard brown sugar into her meal trying to make it taste like anything other than what it was. 

They were half way through eating, Anna trying her best not to talk his ear off again because she knew damn well how much it annoyed him, when Kristoff casually looked out the window and froze, his eyes widening.  Anna looked and saw nothing at first.  Dawn was just barely breaking and it was very hard to make out anything outside.  Then a glimmer of the eyes drew her attention, and she finally saw the bull caribou at the edge of the clearing to Kristoff’s homestead.

Kristoff reached over to the lamp on the table and slowly turned it off.  The cabin dimmed into near darkness, the only light coming from the fire in the stove.  “Quiet,” he whispered, getting up silently and walking very carefully to where his rifle hung above the door. 

Anna kept her eyes between the caribou and Kristoff’s movements as he slowly brought down the rifle and carefully opened the door and slipped outside.  Anna realized how much he kept up on his home maintenance as the hinges on the door were silent.  She glanced back at the animal who was still pulling the bark off of a tree, straining to see exactly how he was lined up for the shot. 

Kristoff took very careful steps onto the porch and settled the rifle into position.  Anna could just make him out through the edge of the window.  He was talking deep breaths, clearly concentrating.  A gunshot rang out a moment later, startling her a little even though she was no stranger to rifle fire.  She’d gone hunting with her dad plenty of times.

The caribou collapsed to the ground and Anna knew right away that his shot had been dead on, meaning that the animal was killed instantly, basically eliminating any suffering.  She jumped up from her seat and jogged out the door to stand beside Kristoff.  He was taking deep calming breaths, the rifle loose in his hand, and staring at the downed animal. 

“Great shot, Kristoff,” she said after a long moment, wondering why he was just standing there.  

He nodded absentmindedly.   “I was getting really worried,” he said slowly, his voice quiet.  “I don’t have much meat left.  Every hunting day I’ve had lately has been bad.  The animals have been scarce this fall.” 

“Well, I’m glad you had some good fortune then.” 

He looked over and his eyes surprised her.   It was a mixture of a lot of things with an undeniable softness underneath.  “I have to get to this right away.  Do you mind cleaning up from breakfast?”

Anna nodded and offered her hand out for the gun.  “I can put that back for you.”

He smirked at her.  “Think you can reach?”

She guffawed at him.  “I can use the chair if I can’t, wise guy.”

His smile went all natural.  “Alright.  Thank you.”

“I’ll come out and help you after,” she said, turning to go back into the cabin. 

“Uh, it’s a kind of one-person job.  And it’s pretty messy.  I can handle it.  Thanks anyway.”

Anna tried not to let her face fall.  She hated sitting around.  “Anything else I can do then?”

“No, I think you’re good.  You can read a book or play cards.”

“Okay,” she said, failing to keep the dejection out of her tone, and turned into the cabin to clean up the dishes and then do nothing.

*****

“That was fast.”

He looked at Anna as he shut the door.  She was sitting at the table, playing solitaire.  He’d spent the last three hours dressing and butchering the caribou, taking care in his cuts, preserving certain things for his tanning.  The hide was going to make a suitable replacement for the ripped vinyl on the seat of his old snowmobile.  In the end there was not much that needed to be disposed of. 

“Not my first rodeo,” he replied to her comment. 

“So, what now?”

Kristoff walked over to the kitchen and opened a lower cupboard and pulled out a roll of butcher paper.  “Gotta wrap and store all the meat.”

“Can I help?” she asked, scrunching up her nose like she thought he was going to brush her off again.

He turned around and smiled to himself, not letting her see.  “Sure.”

He pulled out his meat grinder and started with the cuts suitable for ground meat, then wrapped everything else and labeled its date and cut with a black sharpie.  With Anna’s help it took him half the time.  She’d taken over the labeling and her penmanship was gorgeous compared to his messy scrawl.   After she passed him all packages to the cellar where be put them away. 

When all was said and done, Anna looked at her watch.  “Holy crap I swear it’s damn near two in the afternoon.  It’s not even eleven.”

Kristoff chuckled.  “Yeah, that tends to happen when you get an early start.”

“So, what now?”

“I should check my beaver traps today,” he muttered, feeling strangely uneasy about having to leave her out again.  It was clear that she did not like lousing around, which admittedly impressed the hell out of him.  “I, uh, only have one pair of snowshoes though.”

Her smile was so natural, it gave him pause.  “I’ve got my own in the plane, if you want some company?”

“Sure.”  He tried to smile back, only his face would no allow it.  His mind was suddenly contemplating his life’s choices again.

Kristoff followed her outside when she was wrapped up again in her winter gear.  He grabbed his snowshoes from their place on his porch, watching her through the tree line for a moment as she brushed the slow off the nose of her plane as she walked by.  She opened the door and disappeared into the snow-covered aircraft.

Kristoff sat on the steps of his porch to put on his snowshoes.  Anna appeared at his side a moment later, and they walked through the clearing to head up the river.

*****

“So, have you been trapping since you first came up here?”

Kristoff glanced down at her.  “Pretty much.  The first year I was too busy just getting everything in place so I could survive.  I studied up on it before I moved up here and started my second year.  I learned a lot as I went along too.”

“How many traps do you keep out?”

“Only enough to pay for my needs each year plus a little extra for anything unexpected.  I could put a lot more out, but it feels like a waste.”

“Take only what you need.”

“Exactly.”

Kristoff stopped and made a sharp turn down a path by the river.  Anna watched as he checked the trap, yielding nothing.  Frustration on his face was clear as he reset the line and started to move to the next one.  Anna followed him along the bank of the river.  It seemed odd that all his traps were coming up empty.  She tried to remember if there was anything different her father had done, but nothing stuck out.  Kristoff, for what she could surmise, set the traps exactly as her father would have.

“Are your traps always so bare?”  Anna asked.  She tried to stop herself from saying anything, and as usual, she never knew when to keep he mouth closed.  Anna closed her eyes bracing for a biting retort from Kristoff.  Instead, she heard him sigh.

“No,” he answered.  There was a solemn expression on Kristoff’s face.  He looked almost worried.  “The traps have been fairly successful.  That is since the end of summer… Now I’m not catching a thing and I don’t know why.  I keep going over it, trying to figure out what I’m doing wrong.”

Anna knew the firs were Kristoff’s livelihood.  They afforded him the critical supplies he needed each year and without them he could be in dire straights.  They kept moving, checking the traps with no improvements. 

There was something in the back of her mind nagging at her.  She couldn’t shake the thought that there was a remedy to Kristoff’s problem.  Another hour passed until Anna was struck with the revelation.  She stopped in her tracks as the lesson of her father played out in her head.  When she looked up to Kristoff, he was far ahead of her trudging to the next trap.

“Kristoff!” she called out. 

He stopped and turned back to her, the annoyance she was slowing him down clearly showing.

“I know what’s wrong!” Anna said through deep breaths.  She had practically ran to catch up with him through the deep snow.  Anna put her hands on her thighs, leaning over trying to catch her breath.  “Why did I think that was a good idea?”

She looked up again and saw Kristoff staring down at her.  Anna straightened up and proclaimed.  “The weather pattern this summer!”

Kristoff tilted his head.  “What?”

“Don’t you remember?  Everyone was talking about-   No.  No, you don’t.”  Anna threw her arms up in frustration then walked past Kristoff, pushing him out of her way as she looked for the next trap.  “Because that would require you watching the news, or reading about it, or talking to people.”  She turned back at Kristoff.  “Do you remember anything odd about this summer?”

“Not really.  It may have rained more than usual.”

“Yes!  But do remember anything else?  How it didn’t cool off?”

Kristoff thought for a moment.  “It did seem to stay warmer longer, now that you mention it.”

“Everyone was talking about it.  Some crazy weather pattern coming up from the Pacific.  It extended the summer.  It hadn’t happened in over twenty years.”

“So?”

“So, this is your problem!  I remember my dad talking about this when I was a girl.  Warm summers extend the feeding season and there isn’t as large of a need for food right now.  You have to adjust your traps to the calmer waters.  The animals aren’t in their usual spots.  They’ll take the bait if it’s in front of them, but they aren’t searching for food as much right now in the open water.”

Kristoff’s gaze shifted to the river.  “Of course,” he whispered.  “Why the hell didn’t I think of that?”

He turned without a word and trudged back to the trap they had just passed.   After he yanked it from the water he surveyed the bank, looking for a good spot.

“I think we need to go back downstream a bit,” Anna said.

He nodded.  “I think you’re right.”

“You have any more up ahead?”

“Yeah, only one.  Let’s just reset the ones we passed and I’ll do that one another day.  It’s getting late anyway.”

He took off in purposeful strides before Anna could agree, slugging the heavy trap with him.  When they got to the next trap Anna offered to carry it.  He gave her a curious look before shaking his head quickly.  She followed him to the third trap and offered again.  He shrugged and handed it to her before he took off again.

Anna struggled with the weigh of the metal.  Kristoff was carrying two like they weighed nothing.  At least the split in the river was in sight now.  As soon as she had mentioned calmer waters, she knew that was where Kristoff was going to place the traps. 

She stopped beside Kristoff as his gaze swept the river.  “What do you think?”

Anna didn’t even realize he was asking her until he looked down at her in question.

“Oh, you mean me?” she laughed nervously.  “Sorry, I wasn’t… I mean, I didn’t know you wanted…. I just thought you knew where you wanted to place them after I mentioned…”

“Where would your father have put them” he prodded gently.  “I’ve never had an issue like this before.   Honestly, I’m at a loss.”

Anna looked out at the movement of the river.  There was an area up ahead where a tree had come down.  “Over there,” she pointed to what she was looking at.  “That tree that’s still half on the bank?  There’s probably a lot of debris stuck under the water making a calm spot on the other side.”

Kristoff followed her gaze then turned back and nodded.  He trudged ahead and went down to the bank to set the trap.  When he came back up, he grabbed the two remaining traps.  “Where else?”

They walked a quarter of a mile further where Anna found another spot near a natural rock formation.  Kristoff set the trap and they set off the place the last one. 

Anna spotted another great spot almost at the end of the split where the river rejoined itself.  It was tricky to get to and Kristoff had to take off his snowshoes and wade into the river.  Anna was worried he would fall into the icy water but he was more sure-footed than she realized.  He scrambled back up the bank and put his snowshoes back on.

With that task accomplished, they started to head back to the cabin.  Anna was very glad he decided to leave the last trap for another time.   She was getting exhausted from trudging through the deep snow and Kristoff showed no signed of slowing.  She wondered again about what kind of stamina it must take to do this stuff all day long every damn day.

--

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Second Chances - 8

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: Explicit WC: 2584

Chapter Index

----------------

A week later, Kristoff had the ring burning a hole in his pocket.  He was beyond excited to propose to Anna, only he wanted to make it special.  He called his parents to impart their help on that.

The first time they’d met Anna, they were trilled.  His Mom was especially happy that Kristoff was in a serious relationship, and as she confided in him later, with someone who seemed better suited to him. 

It wasn’t that they didn’t like his ex, they just didn’t realize how wrong she seemed to be for him until they met Anna and fell in love with her.  And Kristoff had to agree, knowing the feeling very well himself.  He was growing more and more grateful for ending it with his ex and not trying to talk to her to make things work.  His idea of a family did not include being a single father of a kid the mother had no interest in.  As much as he tired not to think about it, he did know his ex, and if he had mentioned that he was ending it because he wanted a child, she would have told him she wanted the same just to hang onto to something that had been over long before Kristoff put a stop to it. 

The family restaurant, like many in the area, was closed on Mondays.  Not the most romantic day of the week to pop the question, but one that suited his needs quite well.   And as soon as he asked his parents about it, they were thrilled to help him plan. 

They entered the empty establishment and the Matre’d, Chester, gave Kristoff a proud slap on the back after he locked the door and guided them inside.   He’d known the old man as long as he’d known his own adoptive parents and considered him just as much family as them.

It was all laid out in candles, and with the fireplace alight, the small space had the best mood lighting he’d ever seen.  Anna gushed over it, making his choice feel validated that he insisted the only illumination in the place come from a flame.

Their table, the same one they dined at the very first time, the best seat in the house, was decorated by a gorgeous bouquet of red roses.  Chester took the liberty of pulling Anna’s chair out so that she could sit, and then offered Kristoff the seat beside her instead of across the small square table.  It was perfect, as they both sat at an angle facing the wonderfully warm fireplace. 

Chester took his leave to allow them their privacy and Anna looked over at him with shimmering eyes.

He chuckled.  “You know exactly what this is about, don’t you?”

Her smile widened, her eyes blinking back tears.  She nodded slowly. 

Kristoff took a calming breath.  He knew this was going to happen right away and told his family to leave them alone until he brought Anna himself into the back office to share the good news. 

He shifted his chair back and slipped off of it, sinking to one knee as he pulled the ring box out of his jacket pocket.  Anna’s eyes never left his as he moved, and the emotion he saw in them closed up his throat and made the backs of his eyes burn. 

“Anna,” he said slowly, pulling in a shaky breath.  “I am so grateful for you coming into my life.  Despite the first impression not going so well.”  He chuckled.

Anna laughed with him, wiping tears out of her eyes with her fingertips.  He swallowed, his throat restricting to the point that he just had to let go and cry.  He relaxed his fight against it, and tears filled his own eyes. 

“I am grateful,” he continued, “that I met you when I did.  I didn’t know a soulmate existed, until I met you.  You are everything I have ever wanted and needed, Anna.  You are the most amazing person I have ever met.”  He paused, wiping his eyes and swallowing hard.  “My heart, my soul… they belong to you.  Will you marry me?”

Anna nodded slowly, smiling and wiping more tears from her cheeks.  She offered him her hand and he slid the ring on her finger.  A perfect fit. 

She looked from his eyes down to it a moment, and then back at him.  “I am grateful too, Kristoff.  I feel the same way.”

She made the move to slip to the floor with him, only he didn’t want her to kneel with her dress onto the tile, so he stood up, pulling her with him and grabbed her into a firm, gentle, loving hug, as they both broke down into soft sobs of thanking whatever the fuck might be out there to thank that they got their second chances with each other.

-----

As soon as Kristoff kissed her, she forgot about the gorgeous ring on her finger for the first time that entire evening.  They were in his truck in the parking lot of his family’s restaurant, going at it in the back seat.  She wasn’t even sure who had started it as they walked, full and happy from one of the best and most important dinners of their lives, to the vehicle.

“We can’t do this here,” she said between kisses, thinking that the arc sodium’s in the parking lot were not going to conceal what was happening in the truck should someone come out to investigate. 

“I know,” he moaned, and pushed off of her to sit awkwardly in the seat.  His eyes flicked around the cab of the truck as if he was trying to figure out what to do next.  Then he looked right at her.  “You know what?  Fuck it.”

He grabbed her and pulled her against him, kissing her forcefully.   Anna had to agree with him… fuck it.  Because she wanted him to fuck her so desperately that she couldn’t care less if anyone spied on them. 

“At least, your back windows, are tinted,” she said between kisses, as her hands worked on getting his pants and underwear down so that she could have access to his glorious manhood.

“And they are fogging up,” he said with a smile, helping her get his jeans pulled down to his ankles.

As soon as she had what she waned, Anna pushed Kristoff’s back against the back of the seat and crawled into his lap, reaching under her skirt and pushing her panties aside.  When that was accomplished, she lowered herself down onto his cock, moaning loudly. 

Kristoff shifted his hips forward to make more room for her knees, and as soon as he did, she was able to take him in all the way.  She shuddered and started to kiss him again, rocking back and forth.

Amid the pleasure, the ring finally popped into her mind again, and she pulled from his lips and brought up her hand to look at it. 

“I can’t wait to marry you,” she said, eyeing the gorgeous ring, then looking into his eyes.

“I can’t wait either, Anna.”  He smiled, his hands caressing her back as she moved herself against him.

Anna put her left hand on the foggy window behind his head, leaning forward to get a better angle of her body against his.  “It still boggles my mind how much I love this,” she muttered, focusing back on her growing arousal. 

He laughed quietly.  “Probably as much as it boggles mine.  I’ve never been this horny in all my life.  I swear I think about this almost every damn second.”

Anna giggled.  “Honestly, me too.  Like way too much.  I guess that’s why we have so much sex.”

Kristoff moaned softly.  “Yes.  And we’re going to have to do this again when we get home.”

She nodded, her breathing becoming heavier as her lower abdomen began to tighten.  “Definitely.”

There were no more words between them, just steady breathing and occasional soft moans.  It didn’t take Anna long to reach her release, wrapping her arms around Kristoff’s neck and pulling his lips to hers as she came. 

It felt so damn good and she was still absolutely blown away by Kristoff.  Thinking back to her fantasies about having sex with him before they’d actually done it, weren’t even as close to as incredible as it actually was.   She truly had no idea that there could be so much pleasure in making love.  And perhaps the fact that it was love was what made it so special. 

Her ex and her had said “I love you” to each other, only they sounded hollow in her mind now compared to how Kristoff and her said it to each other.  And they said it constantly.  A far cry from the occasionality she’d said it with her ex.  And it was always her who said it to that jerk first.  Not with Kristoff.  She’d be lucky if she got to it before he did. 

“Fuck, I love you so much, Anna,” Kristoff whispered, pulling her from her thoughts.

She smiled at him.  He was too good to be true.  “I love you more than life, Kristoff.”

He kissed her again and she started to move with him when he bucked his hips up.  It didn’t take long for him to reach his climax, and he moaned into her mouth as his cock pulsed deeply and powerfully within her.  Anna savored every one of those strong throbs. 

“When are we going to get married?” she asked him, suddenly thinking that as soon as they were wed, she was going to get her IUD removed so that she could get pregnant.  There was a sudden and overwhelming need to have his children.  How could she not?  He was so amazing and incredible, Anna still didn’t understand how someone as wonderful as him came into her life.

“Whenever you want.”  He smiled.  “We just have to pick a day and plan it.”

Anna grinned back at him.  “I want to do it as fast as we can so we can start a family.”

His eyes remained fixed on hers intently.  “Yeah?”

She nodded.  “Yes!  I can’t wait to have babies with you, Kristoff.”

He stared at her, his eyes starting to shimmer with tears.   He swallowed hard.

Anna knew he was struggling with his emotions, so she grabbed his head gently in her palms and pulled him in for a soft kiss, letting him know that she understood.

He hugged her tightly, resting his chin on her shoulder and sniffing quietly.  They remained in that embrace for a long time, then separated so that they could go home and make love again.

*****

Anna was tracing little shapes on his bare chest.  He laid on the bed with his eyes closed enjoying the feel of her fingertips on his skin. 

“How many kids do you want?” she asked. 

Only a moment before, when they’d finished making love, she brought up her desire to get pregnant as soon as they were married.  It made his heart soar.  He’d never been so in love with someone, and she was ready and willing to make the sacrifices of pregnancy to give him his dream of a family.   If he lived to be a thousand years old, he would never truly be worthy of her. 

“Honestly, Anna, I always just pictured two.  You know, so our kids grow up with a sibling and we don’t go broke.  How many do you want to have?”

“Seven,” she exclaimed.

His eyes shot open and he looked at her.  “Seriously?”

She laughed.  “I’m kidding.  I’ve never been pregnant obviously, but from what I know about it I don’t want to go through that seven times.”

Kristoff chuckled half-heartedly.  “Yeah, I understand.  I can’t imagine even going through it once.” 

Anna regarded him carefully for a moment.  “I see two, definitely.  But maybe I also see three or four?”

He rolled over so that he could look directly into her eyes, becoming serious.  “Anna, I have to admit that as soon as you said you wanted to start making our family, I’ve kind of been sick with the thought of something bad happening.  You know… to you and to…”  He swallowed hard.  He couldn’t even say it. 

Anna reached out and cupped his cheek.  “I understand, Kristoff.  I know there are risks and complications.  But I do not want that to stand in the way of us having the family we both want.”

“Me either,” he said quickly.  “I just… I dunno, it’s all so damn real all of the sudden.  I just…” he shrugged, “I worry.”

Her sweet smile melted his heart.  “Don’t worry, baby.  Whatever happens, we can get through it together.”

“While everything is happening to you though.”  He frowned.  His sudden melancholy was upsetting him but he had no idea how to make it go away.  “It’s so much to deal with.”

“I can handle being pregnant,” Anna said softy. 

“I know.  That’s why men can’t have babies.  There’s no way in hell we could handle it.”

She grinned at him.  “That is true.”

Kristoff heaved a heavy sigh, unable to match her smile.  “I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean for our wonderful day to end like this.”

“End like what?  Having an open and honest conversation?”

“No.  For me brining up negative shit like that.”

Anna leaned in and kissed him softly.  “I am glad that you are being honest with me, Kristoff.  Don’t ever hold back your feelings.  And if it makes you feel any better, I am all for doing this in a hospital surrounded by doctors in case something goes wrong, and getting an epidural so that I can be as comfortable as possible.”

Finally, the side of his mouth turned up.  There was no one who could lift his spirits like Anna.   “No water birth at home?”

Anna chuckled.  “Gross.  No thank you.  And I’ll have you know we are absolutely not doing one of those bullshit gender reveal parties.”

Kristoff feigned a disappointed look.  “No party to announce the gender of the baby?  Why would you deny me of that?”

Anna laughed harder and smacked his bare chest, making him grin. 

She said, “I know for a fact you think they are as stupid and wasteful as I do.”

“Absolute cringe,” Kristoff agreed.

Anna smiled at him, eyes scanning his.  “Make love to me again.”

He nodded and leaned in to kiss her.  His fears were dissipating in her embrace and he vowed to himself that he was going to do everything humanly possible to make sure that Anna had everything she wanted and needed when she was pregnant.

“I can’t wait to dote on you when you’re all knocked up,” he said between kisses.

Anna giggled and pulled her face from his to look at him.  “What if I want ice cream at three in the morning?”

“I’ll go to the all-night gas station and buy all they have.”

“What if you cook dinner and half way through it I start craving mac and cheese?”

“I run to the stove and make that shit for you.”

“What if-”

“Anna,” he interrupted, “I mean it.  Anything, and I mean anything you want or need, I am your man.”

She let out a sensual breath.  “You are my man.  Now make love to me.”

Kristoff kissed her again and didn’t stop until they reached their climax together.

---

Previous Chapter

[kristannafever-fics]

Second Chances - 7

Kristranna Modern AU Rated: Explicit WC: 2115

Chapter Index

----------------

Anna was nervous as hell, walking beside Kristoff to keep up with his long strides as he stalked towards the coffee shop.  It had taken a lot of convincing for him to have her there.  Nearly an argument.  It was Anna’s point in the end that she wanted to flaunt what she had now, that got him to reluctantly agree.

And Kristoff was playing up to that fact.  He wore his work boots with the thick soles that made him a little bit taller than his already impressive stature, dark jeans, black t-shirt and faux-fur lined bomber jacket that he said wasn’t his style but was a gift from his sister.  Anna agreed with his sis; he looked magnificent in it. 

She didn’t really want to do this, ready to blow him off, until she actually went through her jewellery and realized she was missing some.  A bracelet from her mother and a pair of earrings that were given to her by her sister.  She had to wonder if her ex had stolen them or hidden them from her since they were some of her most treasured pieces that she only wore on special occasions. 

Kristoff stopped at the door and opened it for her, following her closely behind into the crowded coffee shop.  She saw him right away, looking up at her and smiling with a little wave.  Then he saw her companion and his smile faltered.

Anna approached the table.  “Can I have my stuff please?”

Her ex’s green eyes shifted from her man back to her.  “Sit a moment.  I’d like to catch up.”

“Catch up?” Anna laughed acrimoniously.    “What the fuck would we have to catch up about?”

Her ex cleared his throat, gaze turning hard.  “Please sit a moment.  I just want to talk.  There was no need to hire a lap dog.”  His eyes flicked back to Kristoff.

“This?” Anna asked, glancing back and pointing at Kristoff.  “This doesn’t concern you.  Yet.  Please give me back my things.”

Her ex clenched his jaw and reached into his jacket pocket and removed a small velvet sachet which he placed on the table directly in front of himself.   “You know,” he said, looking up at her with cool disinterest, “I could have just as easily kept these for myself.  If found them in the old carry-on luggage when I was cleaning out my closet.  The least you could do is sit and buy me a coffee as a thank you.”

Anna felt Kristoff press further against her back and knew he was seething without having to look at him.  She had no idea what her ex was attempting but it wasn’t going to go any further than this.

“Fuck you,” she said, leaning over and grabbing her bag. 

A hand clamped on her wrist as she was about to take it back, then an even bigger hand clamped into her ex’s forearm. 

“Hey!” he shouted, letting go of her wrist immediately.

Anna stepped back as Kristoff was in front of her now, putting his body between her and her ex.  She peered around his shoulder to watch what was happening.

“Let me go!”

“Let’s get one thing clear,” Kristoff leaned in and growled, “I’m no lap dog.  I’m Anna’s man.  And you? You are one fucking pathetic piece of work.”

“Fuck off,” her ex spat, trying to wrench his arm out of the grip.  His other hand came up to try and match the grip Kristoff had, only for Kristoff to quickly clamp his free hand on her ex’s other forearm.

“You and me should go outside,” he said calmly, making her ex stand up and letting go to quickly turn him around, then clapped his hand on the back of the dirtbag’s neck with the other firmly gripped on the back of his arm leading him forward.

Kristoff pushed the other man out through the door without much further protest.  Anna followed, smiling to herself and noting that everyone in the place was watching what was happening with rapt interest. 

Her man was smart enough to know that and steered her ugly mistake around the side of the building where nothing was watching them, the he turned in front of her ex and pushed him against the brick wall of the building, forearm pressed against his neck. 

“I don’t care your motives were for wanting to sit down with her,” he said in a low and threatening voice when Anna approached them.  “I don’t care about you at all.  I will just as easily step on you like I step on a bug if I was so inclined.”

“Fuck you!” Her ex gargled and stared to claw at Kristoff’s forearm to relieve the pressure on his neck. 

Kristoff’s hand came up lightning fast and with an open palm he smacked the struggling man’s temple.  He grunted in pain and Kristoff let go as her ex went limp and shrugged against the building, hands coming up to protect his face. 

“You’re so pathetic.”  Kristoff laughed, and stepped away.

Anna moved forward.  It was her time to shine. 

“It’s more like fuck you,” she said calmly, staring at him with a triumphant smile while he side-eyed her, his hands clamped on his bruised throat.  “Or rather, you can go fuck yourself, because there is no way you know how to actually please a woman.”  She raised her eyebrow.  “Lucky for me I found a man who knows exactly how to do that.”

She turned to walk away, Kristoff waiting patiently a few feet away with his arms crossed, when her ex had one last dig.

“You are so naïve!  He’s lying just to get pussy.  There is no way he actually likes you, Anna.  You are the worst!”

Kristoff’s face twisted with rage and surged forward.  Anna stopped him with a palm on his chest as soon as he reached her.  He stopped immediately, his face relaxing as he looked at her.

“He’s not worth it, Baby,” she whispered to him. 

She turned back to her ex who was still slumped against the building, glaring at her with his hand on his throat.  She was going to say something.  She wanted to say something.  Then she looked back at Kristoff and decided that she was right in the first place.  He wasn’t worth it.  She had her jewellery back and there was no reason to one up someone who fights with nasty lies.

With one final look of pity thrown his way, Anna turned her back and grabbed Kristoff by the arm so that they could go home.  Her ex, not liking this dismissal, had a lot to say about it and launched into a tirade much like she heard when he broke up with her. 

“Shit, he is one delusional motherfucker, isn’t he?” Kristoff said to her with a smirk.

That made her burst out laughing with her ex still spouting out behind them, and she was delighted when Kristoff joined her ruckus laughter, making her ex even madder.  They continued on, and once they rounded the corner of the building, the pathetic man’s ranting was drowned out in the sounds of traffic and people. 

~   ~   ~   ~   ~

As soon as they were back home after their encounter with her ex, Anna was all over Kristoff.   The entire ride home had been torturous for her, replaying the way Kristoff handled the other man with such ease over and over again, being delighted by it in her mind, and more forcefully, her body.  She told her man as much, getting him just as hot under the collar as she was to know that as soon as they were home, it was on.

His lips were ravenous on hers.  His kisses deep and powerful, while his impossibly strong hands handled her gently and respectfully.  Those same hands that had knocked her ex down a peg.  Those big hands that brought her more pleasure than she ever dreamed that hands could. 

As soon as they freed each other of every stitch of clothing, their naked bodies were pressed together under the covers of the bed.   It wasn’t long before Anna was longing to feel him, easily the greatest feeling in the world in her life as of late. 

“I need you,” she breathed, his fingers working magic as his lips travelled down her neck to her collarbone.

He obeyed, shifting his body with hers so that they could come together.  A moment later he was pushing into her, moaning softly, then kissing her passionately.  Anna moved in tandem under him, taking in more and more until there was no room left within her. 

“I will never get tired of this feeling,” she sighed, relishing in the fullness of him.

“Neither will I,” he muttered, moving himself slowly so that they could both savour the sensation. 

It wasn’t long after that Anna craved more.  She told Kristoff she wanted to switch and he quickly separated them and laid down in her place.  Feeling an ache without him, Anna moved even quicker to fix it, sliding herself down onto him, smiling and moaning with relief. 

Anna took her time, her hands braced on his impressive chest, moving in just the right way that brought her so very close.  Then she stopped in the nick of time, her centre pulsing with anticipation.

“That drives me crazy, you know that?”

Anna laughed low.  “I do.”  She started to move against him again, and the feeling returned with so much force she knew she would not be able to get that close to the edge again.  “Oh… Kristoff.”

“Anna,” he moaned her name in return, his big, warm hands caressing every inch of her body. 

A moment later she reached the point of no return and Anna curled up onto his broad chest.  He held her tight as she rode out the heavenly euphoria that spread warmth throughout her entire body.  Then it was over, and she was immediately wanting another one. 

“How close are you?” she asked, not ready to give up the feel of their chests pressed together.   

“Not so close you won’t have another one.”

Slowly Anna pushed off his chest to look at him.  His dark eyes stared up at her, a smirk pulling at the side of his mouth.  “You are incredible,” she said.

He shook his head.  “No, you are incredible.”

She smiled at him.  “Agree to disagree.  You want to change spots?”

“No.  I love this.  I love watching you come undone.  And when you get there, I promise I’ll join you.”

“There is no better feeling than that, is there?”

He regarded her a moment.  “No, there isn’t.”

Anna started moving with him again, going slow until the sensitivity wore off and gave way to pleasure.   She took her time with him again, taking turns from kissing him passionately to moaning out his name.  His sounds echoed hers every time, then when she felt him starting to tense beneath her, she increased her movements to meet him at the finish line. 

Seconds later his cock was pulsing in her clenching walls, and Anna curled up on his chest again as waves of pleasure took over.   It was incredible, the feeling of each other’s climax, and then their bodies slowly uncoiling from the tension.  They remained in the same embrace for a long time after.

Eventually Anna got off of him with a deeply satisfied sigh, and laid down at his side and hugged her arm around his stomach.   “I love it when we come at the same time.”

“Me too,” he said quietly.  Then after a silent moment, added, “And you’re the only one I have ever had that with.”

Her eyes widened in surprise and she lifted up onto her elbow to look at his face.  “Really?”

“Yes, Anna.  You are the only one who’s ever given me that pleasure.”

“Well, you are the only one who’s given me that too, but you know that.”  She smirked at him.  “I’m surprised you never experienced that with your ex.  You’re a magnificent lover.”

His smile was slightly sad.  “It was different with her,” he said carefully.  “Not disappointing per se, but nothing like it is with you.  Not even close.  Not even in the same ball park.”

Anna had to laugh.  “I had that exact same thought.  Ballpark and all.”

His smile became the one she knew and loved.  “Did you?”

“I did.  And you know what?  I think we were made for each other.”

He wrapped his arms around.  “I agree with you on that one,” he said, and pulled her down for a kiss.

---

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Second Chances - 6

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: Explicit WC: 2574

Chapter Index

----------------

Anna followed him into the kitchen with a couple of bags of groceries.  The weather for the long weekend was abysmal with a winter storm so they had decided that they would stay at his place with all the supplies they needed to last them the duration without having to go anywhere. 

Kristoff was beyond excited, whether the weather was going to be shitty or not.  He loved spending time with Anna.  The nights they did not get together had left him feeling lonely without her. 

He set the bags he was carrying on the counter and started to unpack them beside Anna.  He had to laugh at the bag he had grabbed from his truck, loaded with chocolates and desserts that Anna had picked out.  Not only that, she’d bought some whip cream and said it had nothing to do with food, leaving him anticipating finding out where she had planned to use it. 

He grabbed a few items for his pantry and walked into it, placing them on the shelves.  He was about to leave when Anna said “catch”, and tossed a box of cereal at him.  He caught it awkwardly, chuckling at the way she was giggling like crazy. 

He placed it on the shelf and turned back, watching her with a smile as she pulled more items from the bags and placed them on his kitchen island.  Seeing her there, looking so comfortable, was something he was suddenly unwilling to live without.

He walked over to her, looking intently at her even though she wasn’t paying attention.  When he loomed over her, she looked up in question.

Her nose scrunched up.  “What’s with the look?”

“Move in with me,” he blurted.  He had meant instead to ask if she’d be interested.  Oops.  Not that he had many doubts. 

She turned her body fully towards him and placed her hands on his pecks, sliding them up to his shoulders.  “You want me to move in?”

He nodded, swallowing the weirdly thick emotion suddenly burning his throat.  “Yes.  Very much.”

“You know I am going to say yes, right?”

He couldn’t help but smirk.  “I had a feeling.”

“Because I am going to be singing all the time and carrying on and smacking you in the ass whenever I get a chance.  Are you prepared for that?”  Her eyebrow arched up. 

His gaze fell to her lips a lingering moment, then he looked back to her eyes.  “As long as you are prepared for me to fuck you right now in this kitchen.”

Her expression became flushed with desire and Kristoff smashed his mouth against hers.  Frenzied, they pawed at each other’s clothing, making them both naked from the waist down, then Kristoff lifted her up and set her ass on the counter, pushing things mindlessly aside before he did so. 

He continued to kiss her, reaching down and rubbing her clit until she was panting that she wanted him.  A moment later he was sliding into her, groaning loudly.  They’d been together so many times and it still felt as amazing as the first time. 

He shifted her a little further towards him, guiding her legs to wrap around his waist then supporting her as her ass hung over the edge of the counter.  Her hands were gripping his shoulders and her head was pressed back against the upper cabinet, eyes closed and moaning over and over again at how good it felt.

“It feels so fucking good,” he agreed. 

Her eyes opened and blazed into his.  “Fuck me harder,” she demanded. 

Staring right back at her, he did, and she let out a strangled sort of scream.

It was intense and maybe he was tired because he was going to come quickly.  He brought up his hand and rubbed her clit furiously as he pounded in and out of her.  “Fuck, I’m close,” he grunted. 

“Me too,” Anna panted.  “Me too, just a little more!”

He tried, giving it his all, then he was lost as he reached his limit.  Knowing Anna was just about there he kept going through his rolling pleasure, almost dizzy with the intense sensitivity he experienced.  A moment later, she was screaming out with relief, and Kristoff finally slowed and stopped to enjoy every strong pulse of her orgasm against his now hypersensitive cock.  He shivered from head to toe at the feeling, leaning in and grabbing Anna to him in a tight hug.

“I am thrilled you are going to live with me,” he whispered.

“I am happy too, Kristoff.  I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Anna.”

~   ~   ~   ~   ~

With Anna all moved in, they basically fucked like rabbits.  If she didn’t have in IUD – something her fucker of an ex implored her to get – there was no doubt that she would have ended up pregnant by now. 

It was that thought in mind that Kristoff brought up the subject one night when they were watching tv in the living room, literally too tired to have sex because they’d done it twice that morning and once in the late afternoon. 

“I meant to ask you, Anna.  Not that it’s a little late in the game now to be brining this up but…” He chuckled nervously.

“What’s up?” she asked, looking at him innocently. 

“Um, just to be clear, for me… you do want kids, right?”

Her soft smile told him the answer before she spoke.  “Yes.  I know we haven’t come right out and talked about it since that first time it was brought up, but yes.  With you, absolutely.”

He couldn’t help but grin.  His heart was brimming with happiness.  “I am going to marry you, Anna.  Soon.”

Her smile matched his.  “I can’t wait for the proposal.”

Feeling inspired, he slowly shifted off the couch and turned around to sink to his knees in front of her.  He reached out and grabbed her hand as she stared back with emotion written all over her face. 

“I will do this again the proper way.  For now, can I just make you a promise?”

She nodded, eyes shimmering with tears. 

“I promise you, Anna, that you will never receive anything from me aside from love and respect and support.  That I will do everything I can as a man to provide for you and our family.   I swear myself to you, Anna.  Whatever I may be worth.”

Anna sniffed back her tears and sank down to the floor with him, pulling him into a fierce hug.  “Kristoff, you are more of a man then all the one’s I’ve ever met combined.  You are truly the most wonderful person I have ever had the privilege of knowing, and I swear myself to you too.  I swear I will stand by your side no matter what.”

“No matter what,” he agreed, letting go of the tenuous hold he had on his emotional side and allowing himself to cry.  Anna moved him to tears like nothing else on the face of the earth ever could. 

After a moment, Kristoff pulled back from their embrace and kissed her.  There was no better spark to ignite their fire than when their lips were locked together, and the tiredness he felt melted away.

It was not long before they were both naked beneath the sheets, hands and mouths all over each other as they readied to be joined.  Kristoff told her he wanted her on top and she happily obliged him, giving him one of his ultimate pleasures of watching her face contort with ecstasy and her body moving with his.  It turned him on in a special way when he saw her sink down onto his cock, taking him in with her mouth hanging open in a breathy exhale and her eyes looking down into his.  He was a goner every time.

~   ~   ~   ~   ~

Anna’s stomach rolled with nausea as she looked down at her phone.

“What’s wrong?” Kristoff asked, having noticed her sick looking face.

She looked over at where he was sitting beside her on the couch.  “My ex.  He wants to meet.”

Kristoff set the book he was reading down on the coffee table.  “Why?” he asked sharply.

“He says I left some jewellery at his place.  He wants to give it back.”

“Did you?”

“Did I what?”

“Leave jewellery there?”

She shrugged.  “I don’t know.  I don’t think so, but I haven’t really looked either.  I kinda stopped wearing jewellery after…”

She couldn’t look at him.  Not when he got angry and he was clearly angry now.  It was intense.  She recalled when he’d put his fist through the wall when she’d confided in him the truth about her break up, the way she’d walked carefully up to the open garage door, peering inside to see his back to her with his broad shoulders shaking with rage, his knuckles dripping blood into the concrete.  Then she spied the holes in the wall and understood. 

“I’ll meet him,” he offered through clenched teeth.

Anna took a calming breath.  Did his fury turn her on?  Yes… yes it did.  She looked to him.  “We’ll both go.”

He shook his head.  “No. I will go, and I will make sure that he never contacts you again.”

Heat blossomed between her legs.  This was wrong, right?  Being turned on by the thought of Kristoff getting into a conflict, because that was the only way it was going go with her ex if he went alone.

His angry brow relaxed a touch as his eyes studied her face carefully.  “Are you… what are you thinking?”

Anna pinched her lip in her teeth and looked at him sheepishly.  “That for some reason this is making me horny.”

His face morphed into a surprised smile.  “It is?”

“The thought of you kicking his ass?  Yeah.  I dunno… it’s hot.”

“Well then,” he said leaning closer to her.  “What are we going to do about it?”

“Hmm, I am sure we can come up with something,” she said, and then an idea struck her.  “Why don’t we get some of that pent up aggression out of you?”

He swallowed audibly, staring at her intently.  “What did you have in mind?”

“I don’t know,” she said coyly, getting up and taking a few steps away before she looked back at him over her shoulder.  “Maybe something along the lines of you fucking my brains out?”

Anna didn’t wait for a response as she continued down the hall to his bedroom.  She heard him a split-second later, scrambling off the couch and chasing after her with heavy footsteps.  She braced herself and let out a loud squeal when he grabbed her around the waist and threw her up into his arms to carry bridal style to the bed where he tossed her upon it.

Anna couldn’t hold back laughter, landing gently on the bed and excited for what was about to happen.  Kristoff was on her a moment later, grinding his hips against hers.  He kissed her forcefully, ending her giggles in a groan of approval.   She would never tire of having him kiss her this way.

A moment later his lips left hers and he began to take her clothes off and he wasn’t being gentle about it.

“Yes, Kristoff,” Anna panted.  As soon as her pants and underwear were off, he was attacking her blouse, actually grabbing the buttons and yanking them apart, breaking a few.  His lips were on her stomach a moment later, kissing his way up between the swell of her breasts.   He grabbed the cup of her bra and pulled it down so that he could take her nipple into his mouth. 

“Finish what you started,” Anna demanded, yanking him gently by the hair.

He moved quickly, grabbing her shoulders and lifting her up into sitting, then he pulled the shirt down her arms and unhooked her bra, sliding it off and tossing the clothes off the side of the bed.

“You, naked, now,” she growled before he had a chance to kiss her again.

He obeyed, getting off the bed and undressing himself in a similar hurried and rough fashion, then he crawled over her again, pushing her back to lay down on the top of the bed.  He was going to kiss her again when he stopped only a few inches away from her face, losing the intensity in his gaze.

“You like this, yeah?” he asked quickly.

Anna had to laugh.  He was too precious.  They’d done rough before but she wanted this to be something else.   “I love it.  Don’t worry I’ll let you know if it’s too much.”  She winked at him.

He gave her a beautiful smile before his face twisted with mock anger and he smashed his lips against hers.  He grinded himself against her and he was already hard as a rock, giving Anna further inspiration.

“Now,” she breathed.  “Fuck me.”

To her relief, he did not hesitate.  He was pushing at her entrance creating some maddening friction as he made his way into her forcefully, but very carefully.  Anna had no worries in the world that he was ever going to actually hurt her. 

When he finally slipped all the way in, he paused a moment, his hand moving down one arm, grabbing her wrist, and pinning it against the bed above her head.  He did the same with her other wrist, pinning them both together and wrapping one of his big palms around both of them so that she could not escape.

He looked down at her and Anna could see the question in his eyes.  She nodded, pinching her lip in her teeth.  She was ready for this and she wanted it badly.

Kristoff began to move quickly, slapping himself against her with every deep thrust, and Anna had never felt something so intense in the most sensitive part of her body.  She let out a cry of pleasure, and Kristoff went faster and harder, turning her mind upside down.

“Fuck,” Kristoff groaned, never faltering in his pace.

“Holy… Shit…” Anna panted.  Part of her wanted to yank one of her hands free so that she could rub her clit, when he seemed to read her mind.

He stopped and let go of her wrists, then his hands moved down to the backs of her thighs and pushed them down towards the bed.  Anna grinned up at him, understanding, and allowed him to press her legs as far as her hips would allow, which was, if she had to say so herself, quite impressive in their flexibility.

He moaned loudly as he started to fuck her again, hard and fast and this new angle he had her bent in was hitting all the right places inside of her.  She reached a hand down to her clit, only to abandon it after a moment because there was a feeling coming from deep inside of her, rushing hard and fast and sharp.  When it hit her a moment later, she screamed out and writhed against his restraint as the sheer force of the orgasm took her by surprise.

Kristoff let go of her legs as soon as he realized she had reached her climax, and with a cry of his own, wrapped his hands firmly around her waist to hold her tightly to him when he reached his a moment later.

---

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Second Chances - 5

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: Explicit WC: 2583

Chapter Index

_____________

The only thought on Anna’s mind was having sex with Kristoff.   It had even made the fun bowling date he had planned a little hard to enjoy.  There was only one thing on her mind when she watched his glorious back side as he lined up to bowl.

Then he took her back to his place like last time, and aside from the pleasure she was sure she was about to have, she enjoyed it because last time he’d asked her to stay and she had another amazing sleep beside the man she was falling hard and fast for.  They had slept in their underwear and Anna was bound and determined that after she finally experienced him, that she would sleep beside him again only without a stitch of clothing. 

They were in his living room, kissing each other passionately on the couch, when Anna advanced the direction and slid his t-shirt off.  Once unburdened of it, she ran her hands all over his torso, starting with his defined abs and moving around his waist to his back and shoulders while they kissed.

Kristoff’s hands went under her sweater at her back, only he made no move to do anything else.  Impatient, Anna broke the kiss and wrenched the shirt off of her and reached behind her back to undo her bra. 

“Anna, we can still take this slow.  There’s no need to-”

She ignored him and whipped the bra down her arms and off, flinging it across the room.  Kristoff sat stark still, staring down at her chest.  Then his eyes flicked back to hers and he launched at her, grabbing her and pulling her tight against his chest and kissed her again. 

They were both moaning and caressing and just feeling every inch of exposed skin until Anna stood up and dragged him to his bedroom.  The door was shut and Kristoff began kissing her again, sliding a hand up between them and gently grabbing one of her bare breasts.

Anna moaned and relished in it for a moment before she stepped back and hastily undid his jeans.  She freed him of them quickly and pushed him back until is knees connected with the end of the bed and he sat down on it involuntarily.  Watching her intently, she stripped completely naked and stood before him.

His eyes took her in and he let out a shaky breath that made her smile.  She stepped up to him, pushed his shoulders back and crawled over him when he laid back on the bed. 

They were kissing, touching each other all over when Anna felt it was time.  “Kristoff, please.  I need you.”

His body tensed so noticeably that Anna removed her lips from his neck and looked at him.

“Anna, listen-”

“Kristoff, I know you care and are making sure this is what I want.  I need you to know I want this more than anything right now.  More than anything I’ve wanted in a long, long time.”

He nodded slowly.  “Okay.  But you have to let me take care of you first.”

Anna pouted.  “I need you, Kristoff.  I need you inside of me right now.”

He chuckled, only he looked a little worried.  “I need you too, but I need you so much that I am pretty sure I am going to disappoint you if you don’t let me pleasure you first.”

Anna gave a silent ‘oh’ of understanding, then smiled down at him.  She moved off of him so that they could slide under the sheets together, and as soon as Anna was on her back, Kristoff was on his side leaning over her and running his hand up her leg.

“I can use my tongue,” he offered.

Anna shook her head quickly.  “No, I love your touch.  Please, Kristoff.”

He laughed low, putting his lips to her ear.  “Impatient one, aren’t you?”

Her body shuddered with desire, then he put his hands on where she wanted them the most and let out a desperate moan.  Anna wanted him more than anything but fuck if this didn’t feel amazing too.  He teased her, ramping her up, then moved to slowly stoke her opening, letting her know he was going to sink his finger into her.   

Anna opened her eyes.  “Can you just do what you were doing, Kristoff?  I want to wait for you.  I want to feel you stretch me.”

His pupils were so big that his eyes were almost black, even in the low light of the room.  “Of course.”  His head dipped down and he placed his lips on her neck just below her ear.  “By the way, that was one of the hottest fucking things I’ve ever heard in my life.”

She giggled only it turned into a strangled moan when he began working his fingers back on her clit and started kissing her again.  Anna was so keyed up it didn’t take long and she was at that edge, and despite her idea that she was going to stop him beforehand so that she could come on his cock, he pushed her past the point of no return and she came undone as he gripped her tight.

Breathing steadily, she basked in the feeling after the release while Kristoff gently ran his hand up and down her side in the softest, most loving caress she’d ever known.

He said, “I aim to have you do that again with me but please don’t be too disappointed if I can’t make that happen.  Tonight, anyway.  It’s, uh, been a while, and I don’t have a lot of faith in my abilities right now.”

Anna opened her eyes and looked up at him.  He was looking at her in a way she hadn’t seen on him before; a way that she knew she’d looked at him often when they were first getting to know each other. 

“You don’t have to have any worries, Kristoff, no matter what happens.  You can trust me.  With me you will always be safe.”

He gave her an appreciative smile and leaned down and began to kiss her again.  Soon his apprehension disappeared and wild passion took over.  Kristoff moved above her, holding himself up and settling his body between her legs. 

“Are you ready?” he asked.

Anna nodded enthusiastically.  “More than I’ve ever been ready for anything.”

Slowly, he positioned himself and put the tip of his cock at her opening.  They stared at each other, breathing in shallow gasps of anticipation as Kristoff slowly pushed and his cock into her.  They both moaned, still looking intently into each others eyes, then he made his way in a little further and their moans intensified in tandem with their gaze.    

“Oh, shit,” Anna whispered.  “Oh God, I didn’t think that was going to feel this good.”

“Fuck, Anna…” Kristoff dipped his forehead down to her shoulder as he rocked further and further into her.  He had no other words.

He didn’t think it was going to feel that good either.  In fact, he was sure now that he was going to disappoint her, so he stopped and pulled out.  “You should be on top,” he mumbled, moving off of her to the side.

Anna moved with him while he laid onto his back and quickly crawled over him, wasting no time and letting out a soft cry as she took him in again.  His hands ran from her hips up her sides and onto her breasts as she made herself comfortable, finding that position that she liked the most.  When she started rocking against him, Kristoff felt a little relieved that in this way he just might be able to make it. 

Her eyes were screwed shut, her face twisted in pleasure as he looked up at her.  Through the fog of lust, he pictured his future with her again, and knew it wasn’t going to be very long before he told her that he loved her. 

“Kiss me, Anna,” he whispered.

She leaned down and did just that.  It was the best kiss yet and it left his mind spinning with how good it everything was.  How good it felt.  So good, that it didn’t take very long before his end was barrelling towards him and realized he was going to disappoint her after all.

Then she pulled her lips a breath away from his and gasped.  “I’m close.”

“Me too,” Kristoff whispered, and put forth all the mental concentration he could call upon to hold on for a moment longer.  He grunted with the effort, getting so close that he gripped her hips and moved her more forcefully against him because he was coming and there was no stopping it anymore.  Then her center convulsed tightly against his cock for a fraction of a second before it was lost to him as he spilled himself inside of her.  They both cried out softly with pleasure. 

Kristoff wrapped his arms around her as they came together, their bodies quaking with the intensity of it.  It was incredible, and he was left shaking his head at this experience; something he had never achieved with his ex.  Not once.  He’d never met his climax at the same time with another person until Anna.

*****

Anna cried silently as Kristoff, unaware, slept holding her tight. 

The tears were happy, mixed with sad regret.  Regret that what she thought she had with her ex had been love.  Regret that she’d wasted all those years.  Regret that she’d let what he had said get to her for all those months.  And happiness for all of it.  For if she hadn’t gone through all that, she never would have met Kristoff and her life would have likely always remained empty. 

Now she felt full.  Full in her heart, full in her mind, full when he… well, that was the best she’d ever had hands down.  Whatever she’d been doing before, it wasn’t even in the ballpark of close to making love with Kristoff.   Whatever her ex had offered her could barely even be called sex. 

She was amazed that he’d lasted until she reached her second orgasm for how worried he was before that he was going to let her down in some way.   Maybe the sexual part of his past relationship hadn’t been all that great either.  It also dawned on her again how actually bad at sex her ex was.  He was the one with the issue after all, not her.  In her mind, it had been normal for intercourse to two to three minutes.  Imagine her surprise as Kristoff took his time to pleasure her thoroughly beforehand and showed her that sex can last a whole hell of a lot longer than that.  And in his mind that was quick!

Anna wiped the tears from her cheeks, taking a deep breath and calming herself.  It gave her a sense of peace to understand that she was head over heels in love with Kristoff, and her future lay with him.

~   ~   ~   ~   ~

After making love for the first time, they realized they were done with going out on dates.  Now they just went to each other’s places for dinner, listened to music, played games, or watched television, before they found themselves tangled in the sheets.

The second time they made love, Kristoff used his mouth again to give her the first orgasm.  Then she did fail to reach another climax before he met his when they were joined.  He apologized and Anna reassured him with tender kisses, telling him that it was very flattering because he told her point blank that putting his mouth on her made him hotter than what he could respectfully handle.  And of course he didn’t leave her disappointed, taking care of her renewed ache by using his wonderful fingers to get her there.

Then the third time, Anna had reached down under the sheets to touch herself watching Kristoff as he stripped naked beside the bed because she was impatient and he was so sexy it was criminal.

His face went blank and he blinked at her.  “Oh my God.  That… that turns me on in a way I did not expect.”

Anna, feeling flush from his gaze and horny as all hell, slowly tuned back the covers so that she lay bare before him.  “You like this?” she asked, as her hand trailed back down her body. 

His eyes followed it, and when she touched her clit, his cock twitched out helplessly in front of him.  “Fuck, yes.”

She could not take her eyes off him watching her as she did what she’d only ever done in privacy before.  The way he was taking it all in, clearly getting more aroused by the second, spurred her to move faster.

Kristoff reached down and grabbed his cock, stroking it twice.  “Shit, I can’t wait any longer, Anna.  I need to feel you.”

She grinned and spread her legs to accommodate him when he crawled onto the bed.  A second later she was getting stretched by him in that way that was unlike anything else she had ever experienced.  Having gotten herself most of the way there, she was delighted again that when Kristoff was getting closer and closer, so was she, and like the first time, they reached their peak together. 

The next time they made love, Anna experienced another first by making love somewhere other than a bed.  They’d made themselves so horny from kissing, that they’d wiggled out of their clothes and had sex sitting upright on the couch.  It was wonderful with Anna rocking against him and Kristoff caressing her everywhere she wanted to be touched, and that time her first climax was given to her solely from his manhood and nothing else.  After that, Kristoff, still hard as a rock, had her turn around, straddle him again, and held her tightly against him, gripping her breasts as he hammed himself in and out of her and moaning with desperation before he pulsed inside of her. 

His speed and the way he’d quickly kept hitting that spot inside of her brought her close enough again, that when he was finished convulsing, his hand trailed down and worked her clit until she came on his barely softening cock a moment later.  It wasn’t until she no longer felt that any stiffness that he finally pulled them apart and began to kiss her tenderly. 

The time they made love after that, Kristoff said something for the first time that she would never, ever, forget. 

He was on top of her, Anna relishing in the weigh of his body and his incredible manhood giving her all sorts of pleasure, when he stopped, fully seated within her, and pulled his head up to look down into her eyes.

“I am in love with you, Anna.  I love you.”

Her heart skittered in her chest.  “Kristoff, I love you too.”

His smile was warm and full of promises before he dropped his lips to hers.  Anna had never had an orgasm from missionary, but Kristoff grinding his hips against hers with every thrust, gave her just that.  He followed her only a second later, moaning so sensually in her ear that a shiver ran up her spine.

They took a break, had another drink and a late snack since it was the weekend, and found themselves joined again a short time later, crying out each other’s names in euphoria. 

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Second Chances - 4

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: Explicit WC: 1840

Chapter Index

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Kristoff’s mind was clouded by lust.  Three days after he’d had the absolute pleasure of making Anna come undone in his arms, their date – while fun as hell – was nothing compared to her lips on his.  He didn’t even have his front door shut and she was on him, kissing him with incredible passion and making him crazy with desire.

It still pissed him off to think of what she went through with her ex.  The guy had to be fucked in head to say those things about her.  Anna was the most sensual thing he’d ever had the pleasure of being with.  And they hadn’t even had sex yet!  He was sure that would be one for the record books.

“I… need to… touch you,” she said between kisses, pushing him down his hallway towards his bedroom.

He chuckled against her mouth.  “Only if I get to touch you first.”

She yanked her head back and looked at him.  “That wasn’t the deal.”

“What deal?” he shrugged playfully.  “To tell you the honest truth, Anna, I have to admit I am a little too selfish to let you touch me without allowing me that pleasure first.”  He leaned in, his mouth close to her ear.  “And I plan on using my tongue this time.”

He pulled his head back to look at her face and chuckled again with how her eyes were wide with anticipation.  He could tell that she wanted it and shit did that ever make him hot.  Anna pinched her bottom lip in her teeth and nodded, then turned and dragged him to the bedroom. 

They shooed Sven out and shut the door, then Kristoff wasted no time in putting his lips back on hers and reached between them to free her of her jeans.  He had them undone and was sliding his palms down her bare thighs, taking the underwear with them when she pulled away from his lips.

“I actually don’t know if I am ready for this,” she said quietly, brow furrowed slightly. 

“Can I ask why?” he prodded gently. 

“Because… no one has ever… I mean, I’ve never had anyone’s mouth…”

His eyebrows rose in disbelief.  “You haven’t?” 

She shook her head.  “No.  And I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do and-”

Kristoff let out a breathy chuckle.  “You don’t need to do anything, Anna.  You lay down and relax.  And before you tell me you’re apprehensive because I can see that you are, I need you to know that I want to do this so badly I am practically salivating.”

“You are?” she asked, tilting her head down and looking up at him rather seductively. 

He let out a slow breath.  “Yes.  And now that I know I have the honor of being your first, I have to say I want to do it even more.”

Anna swallowed visibly and then nodded.  He smirked at her and pulled her in for another passionate and lengthily kiss, then he finished what he had started and get her the rest of the way our of her jeans and laid her down on the bed. 

He looked down at her, how she was eyeing him with pure seduction.  “You are so fucking beautiful,” he whispered, and leaned over to slid her panties down her gorgeous legs.  Once free, he tossed them over his shoulder and ran his palms up her thighs, twisting them inward and gently pushing her legs apart. 

Kristoff took in the sight of her and it drove him wild.  He had to take a moment and pull back off the bed to free himself of his own jeans for how much his cock was straining painfully against them.  Leaving his boxers on until later, he leaned back down over Anna and took his time, gently kissing and caressing her until she was whimpering for him to begin, so he dragged his tongue up her opening and was rewarded with a gasp of pleasure. 

He did it twice more before he put his lips around her clit and sucked gently.  This time he got a long moan and she said, “Fuck.”  He smiled and stuck out his tongue, letting it dance around her clit before flicking the end of it against her.

Her hands wound up into his hair and tugged gently as he worked his mouth on her.  This was making him harder than he thought possible and he was a little relieved that it didn’t take too long before she was panting and telling him that she was getting close. 

Kristoff shifted and brought his hand up, pushing one and then two of his fingers into her while his tongue worked on her clit.  She swore again and moaned his name, and a moment later she was curled up, caught in an intense orgasm. 

When it was over her whole body fell slack onto the bed.  Kristoff straightened and watched her chest heaving up and down, wishing that she was completely bare so that he could see her breasts.  He had great anticipation for when he might see her fully naked but he was not going to rush anything.  He would be happy even if she wanted to stop the intimacy right now, except the way she was looking up at him made him shudder with desire. 

“Now I get to have fun,” she said as she sat up and shimmied off the bed and pointed at it.  “You, down, now.”

Kristoff chuckled and sat on the edge of the mattress.  “We can stop if you want, Anna.”  It was futile but he still had to say something.

She put her hands on her hips.  “No way, mister.  It’s my turn now.”

A thought occurred to him.  “You’re just going to stick with touching right, Anna?  I don’t want to feel you have to rush into anything.”

Her face turned into a bit of a frown.  “I wasn’t sure… I thought maybe that I would do the same to you.  I… I want to.”

He eyed her and chose his words carefully.  “I want you to do what you feel comfortable with, Anna.  Please, just promise me that you will?”

She smiled at him in a heartbreakingly sweet way and nodded.  Then she leaned over and helped him wiggle out of his boxers.

Anna let out a quick breath.  “Um, can I just say that you are bigger than I thought you were.”

He chuckled.  “Am I now?”

She licked her lips and her eyes went to him.  “Yes.  And you’re gorgeous too.  I, um, haven’t really seen one that’s… um…”

“Uncircumcised?” he asked. 

“Yeah.  If I’m not doing something right, can you-”

“Anna,” Kristoff said, feeling his face heat with anger for thinking about what that piece of shit ex had said to her.  “Promise me you will forget all that shit and just do what you feel comfortable with, okay?”

“Okay,” she said quietly.

“I mean it, Anna.  You turn me on in ways that would make it impossible for me not to enjoy myself.  Fuck, if you just keep looking at me, I’ll probably pop I am so horny right now.”

Anna gave him a big smile shining with humor and he was relieved to see it.  “Alright,” she said, pushing him back onto the bed and crawling over him as he shifted backwards to make room for her.  She sat criss-cross between his spread legs and started dragging her fingertips up and down his cock with a feather light touch.

He moaned softly, and then she wrapped her hand around him and he uttered a strangled “fuck.”

He’d been watching her, making sure she was comfortable, then she started stoking him and his eyes shut on their own as he laid his head back on the bed.  He felt his body melt into the mattress for how good it gelt to have her hands on him.

“Anna… that feels so-”

He felt her tongue dance on the tip of his cock and his eyes opened and his head shot up to look at her.  She grinned at him, and then keeping eye contact, she opened her mouth and took the tip of him in slowly.

It turned his mind to mush.  He watched, feeling helplessly lost in desire as she stopped for a moment and shifted onto her knees between his legs, then went right back to where she left off.  His entire body twitched as she worked her mouth agonizingly slowly down his cock. 

She’d taken half of him in when she started to pull her mouth back, sucking in her cheeks and putting the pressure he desperately wanted on his sensitive and highly aroused appendage.  His head fell back to the bed and he let out a shuddering moan. 

“Fuck… Anna.  Holy shit…”

She started moving the grip she had on the base of his cock up and down to meet her mouth.  Before he knew what was happening, he was a whisper away from coming.

He looked up at her.  “Anna, I’m really close.”

Her eyes flicked up to his through her eyelashes and she smiled around his cock, then resumed what she’d been doing.  Kristoff was helpless to look away as his abdomen tightened and he was about to explode.  A second later he did, and his head fell back to the pillow, letting out a soft cry, drowning in pleasure with the sheets at his side gripped tightly into his fists. 

When his thoughts finally returned to him, he could not believe how good that was.  Any man would be a demented fuck to not find that the most pleasurable experience outside of actual sex.  He sat up slowly, his head swimming as he did so.

He looked at her.  She was smiling at him softly, and he realized that he was in love with her. 

“So, I take it that was good?” she asked quietly. 

Kristoff laughed.  “Anna, that was so good, I’m dizzy.  No joke.”

“Yeah?”

He nodded.  “I have never, and I promise you I mean this, I have never been given a blow job that good. Ever.”

Her smile widened.  “I just did what felt right.”

“Good.  I am glad you did that, Anna.  I always want you to do that, okay?  And please promise me you will tell me if something doesn’t feel right.”

“I will.  And I want you to know that I did what felt right because you make me feel comfortable.  I trust you, Kristoff.  I trust you completely.”

That hit him in a way he was not expecting.  He moved himself so that he was sitting beside her and pulled her into a hug with emotion pressing on his throat.  “I am glad, Anna.  I trust you too.”

She nodded and hugged him tighter.  He pulled her closer as well and thought again about how he was most definitely in love with her. 

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Second Chances - 3

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: Explicit WC: 3867

Chapter Index

----------------

It had been three days since she’d talked to him and she was furious at herself that she was too much of a coward to just call him.

She hadn’t wanted to step away that night.  She waned him to kiss her.  Hell, she wanted a whole lot more than that.  Enough so that she began to really sit down and re-evaluate the reasons she was now so scared of intimacy. 

It started with thinking back to all the times in her relationship with her ex that they had sex.  It was torturous trying to pick apart all the things she had been doing wrong, nothing of which was ever mentioned to her at the time.  In the end it was futile, but she did realize one thing.  If she truly was bad at it, she could always get better at it if she had practice.

Kristoff really was the first man she ever thought she might be able to get into a relationship with despite her deep reservations about getting intimate, and upon doing a bunch of soul searching over a bottle of wine, she decided that she was not going to let Kristoff go.  She was going to throw all caution to the wind and open herself up completely to him.  If she couldn’t do that, there would be no hope of making things work, and she feared if she lost him, she’d never have anything that would work ever again. 

*****

Kristoff hadn’t heard from Anna in a few days, nor did he make any effort to get in touch with her.  The way she acted when he had touched her face made it clear that her ex had damaged her in a way that he was unfamiliar with, and he had no idea what to do about it besides feeling irrationally angry that it had happened to her.   He never had any intention of kissing her if she didn’t want it, then she’d reacted so forcefully, that he now feared that she just wasn’t ready for a relationship.

Part of him certainly did want to keep going with her, and another part knew he might need to move on if he was going to have a chance at the one thing in the world that he wanted the most.  He’d already wasted too much time the past year feeling sorry for himself and he was not getting any younger.  As wonderful as Anna was, could he waste months or years with her too if she had no idea where her own future lay?

Then his phone dinged.

He looked and was – if he was honest with himself – delighted to see it was a text from Anna.  He opened the message and read it.

Hey Kristoff.  I think we need to talk about some things. 

It was straight to the point which made him nervous to realize he did want to make things work with Anna a lot more than he was willing to admit to himself.  He was careful in his response.

Hi Anna.  Yes, of course we can talk about things.

He hit send and no sooner did the screen indicate that she had read the message and she was calling his phone.  “Hello,” he answered.

“Hey,” she said softly.  “I couldn’t wait.  I have a lot on my mind.  Can we meet?”

“When?”

“Now.”

“Now?”  He looked at the clock.  It was only a half hour until he usually went to bed and he had work in the morning.

“Yes, now.  Otherwise, I think I’ll lose my nerve.  You name the place, I’ll head over.”

Kristoff really didn’t feel like talking in a public space so he gave her his address and she hung up after promising him she was headed right over.  He prattled around his little house, tidying up a little bit and making sure he had something to offer her for a drink, and she was knocking at his door not much later.

“Hi,” he said as he stood back to let her in.

She walked in, kicked off her shoes and went into the depths of his house as he shut the door.  He found her standing in his living room, staring at the walls.

Anna turned to him then.  “I do want to get married and have kids,” she blurted.  “I just… right now I’m…”  Her arms went up in exasperation.

Kristoff walked up to her slowly and pulled her into a hug.  The way she sighed into him and wrapped her arms around his waist made him smile just a little despite how distraught she was.  Whatever fears he had about trying to make things work with her were dissipating. 

“It’s okay, Anna.  I think I understand,” he said into her hair.  “That’s why you were so happy when I said I wanted to take things slow, right?”

She nodded but did not answer him directly. 

“Whatever it is,” he reassured her, “it’ll be okay.”

Anna pulled back and looked up at him with deeply pained eyes.  “I think if this is going to work, I need to tell you, even though I told myself I was never going to tell another living soul about it.”

Kristoff swallowed, suddenly feeling apprehensive about where this was going.  Steeling himself, he let her go and led her to the couch so that they could talk. 

“Would you like something to drink?” he asked when she was seated on his sofa, her knees bouncing nervously up and down. 

“No.  Wait, yes!  Yes I do.”  Kristoff turned to get it when she said, “Wait!”

He turned back just as Anna shot to her feet, grabbed him around the neck and smashed her lips against his.  He was too stunned for a moment to realize what was going on, then his body took over and his arms wrapped around her waist and he kissed her back. 

It was chaste at first until he reciprocated, and then her lips parted and she slid her tongue into his mouth.  He welcomed it and returned the favour, moaning softly in the back of his throat for how amazing it felt, and he was lost in the moment of bliss.  Then all of the sudden, she pulled away.

“I’m sorry,” she stammered, taking a seat back on the couch and resumed jackhammering her knees up and down. 

Kristoff was flustered to say the least.  As far as first kisses go, it was the best he’d ever had.  “Why are you saying sorry?” he asked, confused as lusty thoughts swirled in his mind.

“Because I’m not a good kisser,” she said, pulling up her hand and starting to chew on her nails.

“You’re not… what?”  It was hard to concentrate with the kiss still burning deep into his mind.

“I’m bad at kissing.  At everything,” she said, face falling and looking down at the carpet. 

Kristoff moved himself a little to the left and sank slowly to sit on the coffee table facing her.  “Anna… that was amazing.  Honestly, I’m having a hard time not thinking about it.”

Her eyes came up to look at him through her eyelashes.  “You liked it?”

He let out a breathy laugh.  “Yeah.  I liked it a lot. 

“I wasn’t bad at it?”

The things she had been saying were now making it through the fog.  “No.  Why would you…”  His words died when he realized what was really going on.  Her eyes said it all.  He let out a slow breath.  “So, some wine?”

Anna nodded and he stood to get it.  As he wandered into the kitchen, he had even more apprehension about what she was about to tell him.   That anger came back, and he poured her wine and grabbed himself a beer with a clenched jaw.  Then he went back into the living room, saw her sitting there, knees still bouncing, and he softened.  If this was something she needed to say he was going to hear it no matter how much he was going to hate it.

He passed her the wine and took a seat beside her on the couch, making sure to leave enough space between them that she would feel comfortable.  As soon as she looked over at him, she started talking, telling him intimate things about her relationship with her ex and then what he had said to her when he broke it off. 

To his credit, Kristoff was able to remain outwardly sympathetic and compassionate in listening to her strife, and yet inside he was burning up with white hot rage.  So much so, that when she was done talking and let out a long sigh of relief, he excused himself and went out the back door of his house and through his yard to his detached garage and punched several holes in the sheetrock. 

He had an idea what was going on with her but it was nowhere near as awful was what she had actually told him.  Apparently after she had pleaded her ex to talk to her about things, he had gone into more detail about what he thought she was bad at or doing wrong.  It was no wonder she couldn’t see herself in a healthy relationship with things that she wanted.

Standing in his garage, the knuckles on his right-hand bleeding to the concrete, Anna appeared at the open door.  He didn’t look at her, but he knew she was there from the shadow she threw onto the floor where his gaze was fixed. 

Then she pressed herself against his back and hugged his waist.  After a moment, she said, “I knew you were going to be trouble.”

He surprised himself my chuckling.  Then he turned in her arms and wrapped himself around her and laid his cheek on the top of her head.  He tired to call forth some words to say to her but nothing seemed appropriate.  Instead, he held her a little tighter and she did the same. 

They stayed that way for a long time, breathing against one another and Kristoff felt a calm wash over him.  Anna was the one.  Of that he had no more doubt. 

“I am so sorry, Anna,” he said, lifting his cheek off her head and letting her go.  “I can’t imagine how hard that was to talk about.”

“It was,” she said, rubbing her right hand up and down her left arm in a nervous gesture.  “But I feel so much better to just get it out.  And I hope if you want to talk about the pain you when through you that you would feel comfortable.”

He smiled.  “Maybe someday.  But it really doesn’t seem to matter so much to me in this moment.”

Anna’s eyes widened slightly, picking up on his meaning, and she grabbed him around the waist in another hug.  After a moment, she said, “I should head home.”

“You can stay, Anna,” he offered, out of nowhere.

She let him go and looked up at him.  “It’s fine.  I don’t want to impose.”

He shook his head.  “Just stay.  I’d feel better if you did.”

“Okay,” she said slowly.  “I can grab the couch.”

It was impossible to hold back he smirk that played out on his lips.  “No way.  You get the bed.”

“I won’t hear any of that.  It’s your house.”

“Then sleep with me.”

Anna blinked at him.  “Kristoff…”

“Sleep, Anna,” he clarified.  “Just sleep.”

~   ~   ~   ~   ~

Anna woke with a warm body pressed against hers when Kristoff’s alarm started going off.  He let out a groan and rolled away from her and she immediately missed having his front pressed to her back.  It had been a wonderful idea for her to stay over and sleep.  She hadn’t had a rest that good in a long, long time.

He silenced the alarm and flopped onto his back.  “I hate mornings,” he muttered.

Anna giggled and rolled over to snuggle up against his side.  “Me too.”

He let out a long and happy sounding sigh.  A little tabby cat that had been sleeping in a ball at the foot of the bed, stretched out and sauntered up, pushing his way between the two of them.

“Hey Sven,” Kristoff groaned, reaching out a hand and scratching the cat’s head.  Unimpressed, Sven put his butt towards Kristoff’s face and appraised the new visitor, purring and bending down to rub his head against Anna’s arm.

He chuckled.  “I hope you like cats.”

“Oh of course I do,” she said, sitting up and giving Sven the attention he was seeking.  He purred louder. 

Kristoff smiled then took to his feet and stretched out his back. “I wish I didn’t have to work today.”  He turned around.  “Hanging out with you would be much more fun.”

She grinned, unable to take her eyes off his form, even if it was fully clothed.  He was so damn sexy.  “I know, me too.  But I can’t miss work today otherwise I would totally play hooky.”

“Would you like to go out after work?

“I would.”  And she meant it.  Having gotten all that crap out had been one hell of a cathartic experience.  It made her feel more comfortable in taking steps forward with Kristoff, steps which she hadn’t been able to imagine for herself in the past eight months since her ex ended it. 

Not only was unburdening herself of that therapeutic, sleeping in the same bed as Kristoff, even with their clothes on, had made her feel even better about everything that was happening.  It gave her hope and joy for what was to come instead of the loathing she’d been carrying for all those months.  Anna finally felt more like herself again, and that itself was her greatest sense of relief. 

~   ~   ~   ~   ~

They had gone on three more dates and at the end of every one had started kissing more and more.  By the third time, they’d gotten so into it, sitting on Anna’s couch, that when Kristoff put a stop to it and gave her a hug goodnight, she felt his hard length press up against her.  It had sent white hot desire shooting all the way through her body.  Not only that, it made her feel amazing to realize that there was nothing wrong at all with her kissing, which meant there was probably nothing wrong with everything else as well.

Thoughts of taking extra steps with Kristoff had started to consume her mind.  She imagined being with him often, and while it still made her a little nervous, it was something she eagerly awaited.  He was picking her up for another night out and she had every intention of taking that next step with him.

As usual, his date idea had been wonderful and they had a fantastic time.  Anna was starting to feel close to him in a way she realized that she never was with her ex, and she was getting the feeling that Kristoff had similar feelings. 

They had a great conversation all they way home and Kristoff walked her up to her apartment and followed her inside since now it was a given that their dates ended in a make out session.  As soon as the door was shut his lips were on hers and she pulled him eagerly towards the couch, stumbling and bumping furniture until they fell upon it. 

Anna was on top of him, relishing in the feeling of his tongue against hers, and she took the opportunity and slide her hand under his shirt and up his deliciously defined abs.  Kristoff groaned his approval, then a moment later he was breaking the kiss and gently pushing her back. 

Her brow furrowed.  “You don’t want to keep going?”

He smiled and gave her a silent chuckle.  “Doesn’t matter, Anna.  I just want you to feel comfortable.”

“But you would want to keep going?”

His humor faded and he looked at her carefully, scanning her eyes.  “I think,” he said slowly, “that it’s not a bad thing for you that we just take things carefully.  And if I’m honest, better for me too.”

Anna found herself pouting and she pushed off his chest to sit up on the couch.  She tightened her thighs against one another.  The ache between them was intense.

“Are you okay?” he asked, sitting up with her.

She looked at him and nodded.  “Yeah.  It’s just getting harder and harder to stop when we get started, you know?”

“I do know,” he said, his voice low and sensuous.  “And I am being serious about taking our time, but perhaps… well, maybe you wouldn’t mind allowing me to focus on you first?  You know, just one step in that direction.”

Anna’s already quick beating heart sped up.  “What do you mean?”

He reached out and placed his hand on her thigh by her knee and slowly slid it up her body towards where a heartbeat resided between her legs.  “If you were feeling up to it, would you allow me to touch you?”

Anna gulped and her mind screamed with euphoria.  Still, she was a little apprehensive.  So much of her wanted to please Kristoff.  Was it wrong to be the one taking all the pleasure first?

“Only if you want to, Anna.  And if you have any doubts, please know that I want to do this more than you can possibly understand.  But only if you are ready.”

She didn’t have any words so she nodded instead and was met with the most sexual smirk from Kristoff.  He leaned over and began kissing her again, taking his time in moving his arms down her body, then his hand was under her dress and up her bare thigh, coming so very close to where she wanted his touch so much that she shuddered with anticipation.

His lips smiled on hers and he pulled back to look at her.  “Turn around,” he said quietly.

Anna wasn’t sure what he wanted until he scooted back to the arm of the couch to lean against and pulled up his leg off the floor so that there was a place for her to fit between his legs.  She noticed the bulge in his jeans and swallowed hard.  She wanted to touch him so badly but good lord she wanted him to touch her even more.

Moving slowly, she turned and sank down onto the couch.  Kristoff immediately had his hands on her, guiding her to where he wanted her.  With her back against his chest, his hand went right back down to her thigh and traced up it once again under her dress.  In the back of her mind, she applauded herself on her outfit choice for the evening. 

His hand moved slowly, getting closer and closer until suddenly his fingers stroked her through her panties and Anna let out a shuddering gasp.

“Just let me know if you want to stop, okay?”

“Oh god please don’t stop,” Anna blurted. 

He chuckled in her ear and suddenly his palm was flat against the lower part of her belly and sliding down into her underwear.  It was hard for Anna not to squirm with anticipation and then she did just that as soon as he put his fingers where she wanted them the most. 

She gasped as he worked slow circles over her clit.  It was maddening how good it felt, and then a moment later one of his fingers was stroking her opening.

“May I?” he whispered into her ear.

Anna nodded, not trusting herself to talk for fear it would come out a primal scream instead.  Then his finger was slowly sinking into her and Anna let out a guttural moan.  She had never been touched this way before.  Her ex would use a vibrator on her clit when she begged that she wanted to get off first since she was never able to do so with intercourse.

Another finger joined his first and Anna did cry out that time.  She reached back blindly and grabbed Kristoff by the back of his head, holding on for dear life as his fingers worked in and out of her, bringing her closer and closer, stroking that spot inside of her that had never been stimulated in this way before. 

Then he shifted and his other hand came up and gipped her breast gently through the fabric of her dress and his fingertips found her clit again.  Her back arched involuntarily as he started moving faster and faster until she was panting and on the very edge of all that she could take.

“Oh… Kristoff… I’m… c-coming…”

Anna pulled in one last gasp of air before she was tipped over the edge, her center rolling and pulsing with the strongest orgasm she’d ever experienced.   She was physically incapable of speaking in the moment of release, her body was coiled so tightly riding it out, but there was a loud moan of pleasure and Anna realized that it was Kristoff, his own breathing a little ragged behind her. 

As soon as she was able to start thinking straight again, she started to giggle.  “Kristoff… that was fucking incredible.”

He chuckled and then kissed her neck.  “You are fucking incredible, Anna.”

She turned in his arms and gave him a wicked grin.  “Now it’s your turn.”

He smiled at her sweetly and gently moved her so that he could get his leg off the couch and back onto the floor.  “Tonight was all about you, baby,” he said, and got to his feet.

Anna stood with him, frowning.  “You don’t want me to?”

He paused from where he was turning to walk away and turned back towards her, putting his arms gently on her shoulders.  “Absolutely I do.  But not tonight.  Maybe next time.”

“But…” Anna looked down between them at the impressive shape pressing on the front is his pants. 

“Next time,” he reassured her when she looked back up to his eyes.  “Just give me a couple moments in the bathroom.”  He winked.  “I can’t drive home like this.”

He turned away then before she could utter another word, leaving her all sorts of flustered.  Was she disappointed that he didn’t want to return the favour?  Maybe a little.  Was she flattered that he was insistent on her being the only focus of the evening?  Hell yes.  She had to admit, she felt a little relieved that she would have more time before she took that step with him because in the far recess of her mind, although Kristoff never ever made her feel that way, she was still worried that she wasn’t going to do it right.  

It also made her hot all over again to think about his physical reaction to touching her like that.  She imagined it would be similar for her when she was able to return the favour.  Then she pictured himself taking care of his erection in the bathroom and once again Anna’s body flushed with heat.  She was suddenly very eager to stroke him herself, and she was determined that next time there would be no maybe about it.

---

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[kristannafever-fics]

Second Chances 2

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: Explicit WC: 4769

Chapter Index

-----------------

Kristoff walked into the crowded coffee shop and spotted her head of copper hair right away.  It was like that at the bar the other night too.  She had struck him initially with her beauty, and he certainly recognized it again now.  Only this time he was guarded. 

She’d been watching for him and waved as soon as they made eye contact.  Kristoff went over and sat at the other side of the table that was against the window.

“Hi, Kristoff.  Thank you so much for meeting me.”

“No problem,” he muttered, adjusting his large frame on the uncomfortable metal chair.

“I took the liberty of getting you a coffee.  Please tell me if I didn’t guess right and I will buy you whatever you want.”

Kristoff blinked and looked down at the cardboard cup he just realized was sitting on his side of the table.  Slowly he reached forward and pried the lid off.  “It’s black?”

“Did I guess wrong?”

He looked up and was met with some of the widest and most gorgeous eyes he’d truly ever seen.  “No, actually.  This is how I take it.”

Anna visibly relaxed in her seat.  “Oh good.  I wanted to have it ready in case you just want to hear what I have to say and then bolt.”

He found himself smiling.  What the hell was it about her that was so… charming.  “Thank you.  And don’t worry, I won’t be that rude.”  He winked, trying to take some of the tension out of the situation that she was clearly feeling.  What he did not expect, was the delightfully beautiful pink hue that immediately spread out over her freckled cheeks as she smiled back at him.

“I deserve that,” she said through a bit of a nervous giggle.  “So I will start out by saying I am deeply sorry for all those awful things that I said to you.  You absolutely did not deserve that and I was way, way out of line.”

“It’s okay, Anna.”

She shook her head forcefully.  “No.  It was not okay.  I was thinking back and you did nothing at all to provoke me being so mean to you.  As I said, I have-”

“Issues?” he finished for her.

She nodded and looked down at the table, blush deepening.

“Well, you aren’t the only one,” he offered.  “And I get it.  We all have those moments when we just have too much on our plate and we maybe don’t act…”

He was fishing his mind for the right word when Anna said it for him.  “Appropriately?”

He nodded.  “Yeah.”

“So, is it safe for me to assume that you accept my apology?”

“I do.”  He smiled.  “And I really appreciate you giving it to me.  But please don’t worry about it too much.  I have thicker skin than you think.”

Her demeanor relaxed further.  “I can’t thank you enough.”  She sighed.  “I was actually a little worried that you weren’t going to show or something.”

“Hmm.  You assume a lot, don’t you?”

He’d meant it as a quip like the one he used earlier, only it got the opposite reaction that he was expecting.  She frowned and averted ger eyes.  “One of my issues,” she muttered.

“Anna, I am sorry,” he said softly.  “I was just trying to kid around.   I try and make jokes when I’m nervous.  One of my issues, I guess.”

She looked back up at him and the side of her mouth turned up in a soft smile.  “You’re nervous?”

“Um, yeah.  A little,” he said, running his hand through his hair.  “I really don’t date much and sometimes I struggle to think of the right thing to say to someone when it’s one on one.  When in doubt, I make a joke.”  He gave her a sheepish shrug which elicited a bigger smile from her.

“I do that too sometimes.  And if I’m honest I was nervous to meet up with you today again after…” her voice died off with her smile.

He reached across the table and patted her forearm that was resting on top of it.  “It’s fine.  Water under the bridge now.”

Kristoff retracted his hand, curious that Anna watched it as he slid it back to his side of the table.  Then her eyes met his, sincere and beautiful.  “Thank you.”

“So, uh,” he cleared his throat gently, “how do you take your coffee?”

She lit up.  “I love these Caramel Macchiatos.  So good!  I don’t like too much extra floof in my coffee, like all these added pumps of syrup and whatnot, but this one has caramel, which is delicious of course, and whip cream and who doesn’t love whip cream.  And if I have a plain coffee of course I put cream and sugar in it, I don’t think I could drink it black.  Too bitter for me.  I barely like coffee enough for the taste, you know?  Which is silly because coffee beans smell sooooo good!”

The more she talked the more his smile widened, and their conversation carried on to other things, which was exactly what he’d been hoping for when he met her at that bar the other night.  Someone who was real and honest and easy to talk to.  And it did not hurt that she was absolutely stunning. 

They ended up just talking about anything and everything for the better part of an hour and Kristoff found himself thinking he was going to do something that he had no intention of doing when he headed to the coffee shop that morning to meet her. 

He waited for a natural lull and went for it.  “So, Anna, I have to ask if maybe you would like to give a first date a second go?”

She blinked at him.  “Despite what I said, you would give me a second chance?”

It was his turn to blush.  “Well, I’ve had a good time talking with you.  If you are interested, I’d like to take you to a proper dinner?”

Anna was still for a moment and then slowly nodded.  “I would like that.  But only if you allow me to pay for the meal.”

Kristoff smirked.  He really liked her.  “No way.  I have a rule I always pay on dates.”

She shook her head at him, a real smile spreading over her face for the first time.  “Why do I feel like you are going to be trouble…”

His eyes narrowed playfully.  “Funny, I was thinking the same thing.”

~   ~   ~   ~   ~

Anna was nervous.  Holy Hell was she ever nervous.  She paced her apartment shaking out her hands, trying to calm her rampant anxiety.

She did have a wonderful time talking to Kristoff.  In fact, he as the first person she actually felt herself opening up to since her ex had left her.  Aside from her disastrous first impression, he was the first man that she didn’t have immediate reservations about, and yet he was also the first man since her ex that she worried about actually disappointing for real should they begin to start dating.

Grinding her teeth, she cursed her asshole ex for the millionth time.  She’d flip flop with having courage – lacking it way more than having it – and every once in a while, she’d look at herself in the mirror and tell herself that she was pretty, smart, and that her dirtbag ex had no idea what he was talking about.  Then memories would flood her mind of him being lackluster in the bedroom and she’d remember that there was a reason for saying the things he had said.

Her buzzer scared the living hell out of her and she rushed over to the intercom to let him in.  It wasn’t long while she took deep breath after deep breath until he was knocking at her door.

Anna opened it with what she hoped was a natural smile and was met with a bouquet of flowers.   “Oh, Kristoff.  Hi.”

He smiled.  “Hi.  Got these for you.”  He offered her the flowers. 

Anna took them, even though she didn’t feel like she deserved them.  “They are beautiful.  Thank you.  Come on in.”

His cheeks went pink and he stepped into her apartment as she went into the small kitchen directly across the front entrance to fill a vase.  She thought she had one under the sink but it wasn’t there.  Puzzled, she looked up and spotted one on top of the fridge pushed to the back.  Rushing over, she was about to pull a kitchen chair to assist her when he loomed over her.

“I can grab it,” he offered, and reached up to pluck the glass off the top of the fridge.

Anna looked up as he moved, impressed all over again with the size of the man.  She had never been out with anyone of his stature.  He was so broad and thick in the neck it was not a hard stretch of the imagination to think about what the rest of him might look like, and heat spread through Anna’s core in a way that was very foreign to her.

“Here you go,” he said, handing her the vase.

“Thanks!” she squeaked, and went to the sink to fill it with water, ignoring the way her body was suddenly tingling to be so close to someone so imposing.  And hot.

Anna resisted the urge to run her head under the cold water and set the flowers in the vase.  Kristoff was waiting patiently and she rushed to get her shoes on so that they could leave even though he wasn’t giving her any inclination that he wanted her to hurry.

His truck was very clean, like him.  He was in a similar outfit as the first time she’d met him.  A button up shirt with some dark jeans and black Adidas.  Anna was glad that she’d opted for a similar look.  She was always comfortable in jeans and a sweater, although she’d chosen a pair of ankle boots to be just a little bit taller.

They chatted as they drove.  Anna learned that he was in construction and she told him that she worked reception at a local publishing company, which led to asking each other questions about what their jobs were like and before she knew it, they were at the restaurant. 

It was an Italian place, dimly lit and romantic.  She had to wonder this sudden change of first date location from that of a crowded Pub.  Maybe that was his way of meeting on neutral ground before?  Anna was thrilled that he had given her another chance and maybe he was showing her more of him since they’d had their talk at the coffee shop.

They were sat at a table for two tucked away in the corner so that they could talk without too much noise.  The place was packed, and it was ideal for them to be able to hold a conversation.  Which they did remarkably easily.  He was such an easy guy to talk to, Anna found herself thinking of things that she knew she should not.  Like what a body like his would feel like pressed against her own.  She may be bad at it, but she was still a flesh and blood woman who wanted things.  Needed things.  It wasn’t until this handsome and massive man appeared in her life that she realized just how much she needed them.  How much she had been missing them.

They got to know each other a great deal, and when Anna found herself in his truck being taken home after he had insisted on paying like he said he was going to, she had to wonder how she was going to end the evening.  Did she want to kiss him?  Hell yes.  Was she nervous?  Extremely.  Did she think she was unworthy of a man like him… Yes.  No.  Maybe?

He parked on the curb and whisked himself out of his seat to get her door.  He’d done the same thing at the restaurant, actually telling her to wait as he got out.  It was old fashioned and cute as hell.  Was there a chance that maybe Kristoff would be acceptable of her naivety in the bedroom?  Would he be someone who could teach her the ways of lovemaking?

Anna felt herself hoping and praying that this was not going to end in a disaster as she rode up the elevator and walked down the hall with him to her apartment.  

He paused, stepping back to give Anna room when they reached her door.  “I had a really nice time, Anna.  Thank you.”

Her cheeks lit up.  “Thank me?  No I think I need to thank you for giving me a second chance.  I had a really nice time too.  Great time.”

He smirked.  “Mine was actually great too.”

Anna blinked at him, heart hammering away in her chest.  She had no idea what to do next.  She wanted to kiss him, badly.  Would the fact that she was bad at it turn him off?  His eyes regarded her while she stared at him stupidly.

“Would you like to go out again sometime?” he asked softly.

She nodded quickly.  “Yes, I would.”  Would you though?  Even though you know you are going to disappoint him?

“That’s awesome.  How about next Saturday?”

“Sure, sure.  Sounds good.”  Anna was practically vibrating with indecision and worry.  Was he going to kiss her?  Was she going to kiss him?  Would he hate it?

He smiled slowly.  “Can I ask that we take this a little slow though?  I really don’t want to rush into anything.”

Her entire body relaxed.  “I would like to take it slow too.”  Relief washed over her to know that she was going to have some time to figure things out before she was faced with the potential problems that would arise with her complete lack of sexual prowess.

“May I give you a hug goodnight?” he asked.

Is this man real?  Anna nodded.  “Of course.”

She tried not to sigh too much into the hug when he pulled her body against his, but it was hard to restrain.  The sheet size of him made her feel like she’d might have to hold on for dear life if they were ever tangled together in the sheets. 

He let her go after a moment and did a little bow.  “Have a good night, Anna.”

She bid him a goodnight as well and shut the door, turning and leaning her back against it.  “Wow,” she whispered to her empty apartment. 

~   ~   ~   ~   ~

Kristoff regarded himself in the mirror by his closet.  “What do you think, Sven?”

He turned to the grey tabby cat who sat on the edge of his bed, looking at him with his curious feline gaze. 

“Is it too much?”

Sven lifted his front paw and began licking it. 

“I’ll lose the tie.”

The cat ignored him. 

“Okay, yeah, lose the tie.”

Kristoff yanked the knot loose and whipped the tie off his neck.  This was stupid.  He’d already taken her to a romantic kind of place.   What he needed to do was take her on something that was fun.  Like a movie or bowling. 

He worried that he had overstepped in the reservations that he had made.  What was it about her that made him just want to dive in like they had known each other for months instead of weeks?  He had no idea, and he had a lot of time to ponder it on his way to pick her up.

Without flowers this time, she greeted him at the door, slipped on her shoes – heels this time – and followed him out into the hallway without asking him in.  Not that it mattered.  She was still absolutely as stunning as last time, only in a knee-length black dress.

They made small talk as they drove and Kristoff soon pulled up to the tiny hole in the wall place that he was deeply familiar with.   It was something he initially figured would be a while before he showed her, but with Anna things were different.  Everything was different. 

Nervous, he got out and hurried over to her door to open it.  She gave him a brilliant smile and he offered her his elbow as they walked up to the restaurant.

He knew the inside like the back of his hand because he’d grown up here.  It was his parents’ restaurant, and before he’d gone off to get his ticket for constriction, he worked almost every job there was in the place, including that one time he had to take over cooking.

They walked to the Matre’d, and to the man’s credit, he did not give away in his mannerisms that he knew Kristoff very well.  He was there as a customer, after all.  They were greeted and then seated at the best table in the place, a two-seater that was tucked into a little alcove beside the gas fireplace that afforded the little eatery a very romantic feeling.

“Kristoff, this place is lovely,” Anna said quietly after the waitress had given them menu’s and told them what the specials were.  She must have been a new hire because Kristoff had never seen her before.

He nodded.  “It is.  It’s my favourite place.”

Her eyes widened excitedly.  “It is?  What’s good here, then?”

He shrugged one shoulder.  “Pretty much everything.  The pasta is all home made, the steaks are always cooked the way you want them, and despite the fact that we don’t live near the ocean, the fish is always fresh.”

Anna seemed intrigued and eagerly looked down at the menu.  Kristoff held his in front of him and watched her.  He didn’t need to look at the menu; he had come up with half of it.

“I can’t decide,” she mumbled to herself, eyes still scanning the page and the corner of her lip pinched in her teeth.

Kristoff couldn’t take his eyes off her mouth.  The way she’d been so clearly distraught over how to end their first date spoke volumes to him about some of her self mentioned issues, and he really did want to take it slow with her.  For him just as much as her, because Anna was the first woman he’d been out with in a year that he felt he could have something with.  Except, those soft lips of hers… he had to admit to his more primal side that it was going to be hard to take their time.

Anna set the menu down and looked up at him.  “I really don’t know.  There are so many things I want to try.  What are you having?”

“Whatever the chef feels like making me.”

Her eyebrow raised.  “You know the chef?”

“I do.  He’s my dad.”

Her eyes widened.  “Your dad?”

He nodded, smiling despite himself.  “Yup.  This is my parents’ place.”

Anna set the menu down slowly.  “Oh, that’s… wonderful.  It’s a very nice place.”

His smile faded to see that there was suddenly tension in Anna’s movements, like she was nervous.  He realized then that to her this was not taking it slow.  It had never crossed his mind that she might take it that way.

“It’s not like we’re here to visit,” he said quickly, setting his own menu down.  “I just like coming here to eat.  The food is excellent.”

“Oh… yes, I am sure.  Of course it is.  This is...”  Her mouth floundered without words.

He let out a deep sigh.  “Anna, please don’t read anything into this.  I feel comfortable here, and I just wanted to share it with you.”

A slow smile spread on her face and she began to relax.  “Okay.”

He smiled back and the waitress slid up to their table.  “Can I get you some drinks to start?” she asked.

“Um…” Kristoff looked back to Anna.  “You feel like some wine?” he asked.

“Sure.” 

Kristoff ordered them a bottle of red and said that they would take an order of their bruschetta to start.

“Excellent,” the waitress said, committing the order to memory.  “And would you like some more time with the menu for your entrées?”

He was about to ask Anna if she wanted more time when a thought occurred to him.  “Do you mind if I order?” he asked her.

She shook her head.  “Not at all.”

He turned back to the waitress.  “Can you please tell the chef to prepare us whatever he would like this evening?”  She looked at him a little confused, so he cleared the air.  “Don’t worry, he’ll know who’s asking.”

The waitress took the menus as Kristoff handed them to her.  “Alright.  I will have the wine and appetizer out to you shortly,” she said, and walked away from the table.

They started to talk about something random – Kristoff couldn’t remember how it started, only that Anna had said something to get the ball rolling – when the topic of conversation naturally turned to their previous relationships.

“So your sister told my sister you haven’t been in a date in a year?”

He nodded.  “Yeah, I tried but the dating scene is kind of awful so I had to give up for a bit.  I was in a serious relationship that ended badly.  You were too, I hear?”

Anna’s cheeks flushed with pink.  She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and he could see this was directly linked to one of her ‘issues’.   “Our sisters spilling our secrets huh?”

Kristoff chuckled. 

“Yeah,” Anna continued.  “Three years and one day he tells me he’s been seeing other people and we were done.”

He frowned and felt genuine anger that that had happened to her.  “Wow.  That’s awful.”

She nodded.  “How did yours end?”

He sighed.  He thought back to having to end it with his high school sweetheart.  She had never desired to get married as her parents had a brutal divorce, and at the time Kristoff didn’t care one way or the other, as long as they planned to have kids some day.  Which she said that she did.   Then when the timing seemed right, she wanted to wait another year, then had excuse after excuse after excuse.  She became increasingly hostile every time Kristoff would bring it up and then one day he realized that he hadn’t asked in nearly two years and there was a gaping hole in his heart that was missing the family he’d always wanted.  He didn’t even bother asking her one last time.  He ended it instead.

“You were hurt?” she asked quietly, and he realized he’d gotten lost in his own thoughts. 

He nodded.  “Eight years.  I was with her for eight years.  Then one day I realized that she was never going to commit to the things she said she wanted with me.  I had to move on, and it was the hardest thing I have ever done.”

Anna was quiet for a moment.  “Can I ask, what it is that you wanted?”

He looked at her, wondering if he should say something so early into their relationship.  Although, he supposed it would be good to get it out there.

“I wanted a family,” he said simply.  “She said she did and then kept putting it off.”  He shrugged.  “I just had to move on when I realized she had changed her mind.  Clean break.   And I didn’t tell her that it was the only reason.   I just didn’t want her saying she did want kids to try and salvage the relationship, you know?”

She didn’t answer, only nodded with understanding as the bruschetta he’d ordered was placed on the table.  They both helped themselves and began eating without a word.  It wasn’t until the plate was half finished when Anna broke the silence.

“That certainly sounds like a hard break up.  Probably more on you than her.”

That surprised him for the fact that it was absolutely true.  He nodded slowly, heart ramping up. 

“It kind of makes me glad I only wasted three years with my ex,” she said.  “Eight years is a long time.”

“It is.  And… you know, I do still want a family.”  He left it lingering and knew Anna picked up on what he meant right away by the way her eyes widened as she stared at him.

“Kristoff… I…”

He reached across the table and put his hand on her arm.  “Anna, I’m not asking you to tell me right now or anything.  I just wanted you to know.  If you don’t want a family, I don’t want to waste your time.”

She visibly swallowed and turned her eyes to her glass of wine.  “Ever since I was a kid, I’ve known I wanted to get married and have kids.  And… I still do.  I just… I am having a hard time picturing it for myself right now.”

“I understand.  And I’m sorry, I did not mean to spring this conversation on you tonight.”

She laughed nervously.  “You didn’t, we just kind of got there, didn’t we?”

He agreed.  There was something in the way Anna reacted that he feared there was more to her breakup than she was letting on.  It made him angry all over again to think of someone mistreating her.

*****

Anna had the leftovers sitting in her lap as Kristoff drove her home.  The meal had been excellent; surf and turf, with a side of pasta in a creamy lemon sauce.  And Kristoff had paid for it, chuckling that he knew his parents would always let him eat free, but to him it was a business and he a customer, so of course he was going to pay the bill.  If he went in the back door to just mooch in the kitchen though, he told her with a wink, that was a different story. 

He’d gone into the kitchen to say goodnight to his parents, leaving a relieved Anna at the table.  It felt a little too soon to her to meet his parents, and she was glad all over again that Kristoff wanted to take things slowly. 

He parked on the street outside her building and shut the truck off.  She expected him to get out but he remained still behind the wheel.  Anna was about to grab her own door when he looked to her.

“Would it be okay if I asked why you you’re having a hard time picturing a family for yourself?”  He looked over at her, eyebrows furrowed with worry.

It gave Anna pause.  “I don’t know,” she stammered.  There was something in the way he was looking at her that gave her the feeling that he perhaps figured out more than she had wanted him to know. 

“He really hurt you, didn’t he?” he asked quietly. 

She couldn’t look him in the eyes anymore and turned them down to the cardboard box in her lap.  She had no idea what to say to him.  Instead, she swallowed the lump in her throat unable to help thinking back to what her ex had said to her.

“I’m sorry that happened to you, Anna.  I hope you know that I am not like that.  I could never cheat on someone.”

Anna nodded down at the leftovers, tears forming despite the fact that she did not want to cry.  Then a moment later the cool night embraced her skin and she looked over to see that Kristoff had her door open and was holding his hand out to her.  She took it, and let him help her down to the curb.

They walked into the building and rode up the elevator in silence.  Anna was thankful she had reigned in her tears and that she was able to turn and finally look at him when they stopped at her door. 

“Thank you for the wonderful dinner, Kristoff.  Your dad is a fantastic cook.”

He didn’t say anything at first, he only looked at her like he was trying to figure something out.  Then he tilted his head to the side, appraising her closely, as his hand came up slowly and he cupped it to her cheek.

Anna’s eyes went wide and her body instantly coiled with as soon as he touched her face.  She stepped back and his hand instantly let go. 

He lowered his arm slowly, his face morphing with understanding as she looked at him like a deer caught in the headlights. Then he pursed his lips, said goodnight, and disappeared down the hallway.

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