#melissa and gabi were right lol me focusing on just one thing makes me so much more productive

[ahtohallan-calling]

chapter 11 of it’s always ourselves we find is here!

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[kristanna / m / modern au / coworkers & enemies to lovers ;) ]

*note-- this is my second update today! please make sure to read chapter 10 first if you haven’t already :)

Anna hadn’t missed the way Kristoff’s eyes had trailed over her that morning when she’d emerged from the bathroom, how they’d widened at first in surprise before traveling from her bare legs to her exposed collarbone before landing at last on her own. The naked wanting in them, that was what had made her shudder, though mercifully he hadn’t seen.

It made her wish his hands had been so bold.

Even the memory of it now made sent a flash of heat rolling like thunder through her, the way it had when he’d taken such care to roll up the sleeves for her and then looked up at her with his eyes soft once more. 

She thought she’d been pushing it too far when she’d kissed his cheek that morning, but now she wasn’t so sure. She was taking far too long now changing into her bikini in the bathroom, but if she was being honest with herself, part of her was wishing he’d knock on the door, ask what was going on, give her the opportunity to fling the door open and see if his eyes darkened again when she--

“Anna?”

“Coming!” she squeaked, her cheeks flaming red as she finished tying the top on, thanking her past self for getting one with padding in it. She turned side to side for a moment, nervously inspecting herself and wondering if he’d mind how pale she was, before giving it up; like it or not, this was what he was getting.

(Assuming he wanted her like that, of course; perhaps she’d been misreading the whole situation-- friends could hold hands, couldn’t they?)

She shook her head to clear it and shrugged back into his shirt; it’d have to do for a coverup. She hadn’t really expected to have time to go down to the beach at all, not with this massive presentation in front of the whole company tomorrow, but it had gone so well her mind was still reeling. Kristoff’s was, too, she was sure, but there was something else plaguing him about it that he hadn’t yet seen fit to share with her.

When she stepped back into the main part of the hotel room, Kristoff was sitting on the edge of the bed, wearing his swim trunks and a t-shirt. His eyes landed on the third button of the shirt-- left loose, so that the shirt gapped lower than it had while they were working-- and a rush of satisfaction flooded her when she saw that same hunger in his eyes when he looked back up at her face.

She dared to step closer then, enough that she could stand between his slightly spread knees. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he gulped and tilted his head back to look up at her as she brushed some of his hair off his forehead.

“Ready?” she asked sweetly, wishing he’d reach out and touch her, too.

He nodded slowly, though it seemed he had no intention to move just yet. “I meant what I said this morning, Anna,” he said, his voice low.

“About what?”

“You keeping this shirt.”

It was her turn to be stunned into silence. If she was braver, she’d lean down and ask him can I keep this, too?, and see if he’d shift forward to press his lips against hers in a silent yes.

Instead she gave his shoulders a brief squeeze before stepping back. “It looks nice on you, too, though,” she said cheerfully as she slid on her sandals. “Maybe I’ll just have to get my own so we can have a matching set.”

“God, can you imagine what everyone would say if we showed up to the office like that on Monday? Matching outfits and everything?”

Anna laughed and picked up the room key before holding the door open for him. “Probably think we’d both lost our minds. Or that they had.”

“Your friends would pester you so much you wouldn’t get any work done.”

She elbowed him gently as he pressed the button to call the elevator. “Me? No, Kris, it’s you they’d be all over. They’d be so excited to find out maybe you weren’t always a grump.”

He glanced down at her as they stood side by side. “What will they say, do you think?”

Anna bit her lip as they stepped into the elevator together. “About what?”

He didn’t reply. She glanced over and saw he was red-faced. “C’mon, Anna,” he muttered. “I..don’t make me say it and embarrass myself if I’m wrong.”

“Oh,” she said, the word rushing out of her as she reached over to catch his hand. “I-- you’re not wrong, Kris, not at all. I was just worried maybe I was.”

He studied her expression for a moment before raising his free hand to cradle her cheek. “You’re not...this is real? You’re not fucking with me?”

She smiled and turned her head to kiss his palm. “I might have been lying about you being my least favorite person. You are still annoying as hell, though.”

He opened his mouth to speak, but the elevator dinged open just then, and they quickly jumped apart for fear that someone else might see them. It was a good thing they had; Hans was passing through just then, still carrying a beach towel slung over his shoulder as he sauntered through the lobby surrounded by his cohort of fellow salesmen.

“Slacking off, Bjorgman?” he called. “Risky move with that presentation tomorrow.”

Anna felt Kristoff bristle beside her. “Thanks for your concern, Hans,” she said cheerfully. “We did a dry run for your brother, actually, and it went so well we’ve decided to take the afternoon off. He’s great, Harry, isn’t he? Really glad I’ve been hearing more lately about him taking over for your grandfather.”

Hans’s eyes narrowed, all pretense of lightheartedness falling away. “Where did you hear that from?”

“Oh, you know,” she said, idly waving a hand. “Helps to have a sister in Harry’s office.”

Before he could utter another word, she floated past him, fluttering her fingers at the small crowd surrounding him. “Anyway, good luck with those sales numbers. Heard it’s been a rough quarter.”

And with that, she took off towards the door that led to the beach, head held high. After a few moments, she glanced over her shoulder to make sure that Kristoff was, in fact, following her. When she saw he was, a proud smirk on his face, and that Hans was out of sight, she grinned and held back her hand for him. 

He caught it quickly, lacing his fingers through hers as they stepped through the door together. It was strange, how familiar his hand had become to hers already, how she missed it when it was gone. It sent a thrill through her to wonder if soon she’d feel the same way about the rest of him.

“Anna?”

“Hmm?” she asked, looking up to see him wearing a thoughtful expression.

“How the hell did we get from picking at each other the whole way up here to this?”

She laughed at that and squeezed his hand the way that was quickly becoming a reflex. “I read one time that if you sleep next to someone, it immediately makes your relationship stronger, ‘cause it means you’re vulnerable around them or something. But also, I think it helps that I’ve already thought you were hot the whole time. And also, I hope you know I still plan to bicker with you, especially if you fuck up my stapler again.”

“That was your fault.”

“Was not!” she said, sticking out her tongue and pulling away from him as they drew closer to the water. “Oh, shit, neither of us thought to bring a blanket or anything, did we?”

“Nah, but we can just sit on the sand or something.”

“But then we’ll be all grainy in...places,” she whined, wrinkling her nose. 

To her surprise, he leaned down and kissed the tip of it. When he pulled away, her eyes were wide, and his cheeks were pink. “Sorry,” he breathed, “I just-- I love when you do that.”

“Cornball,” she said, though she said it with a smile. “Anyway, guess we’ll just have to play in the water, yeah?”

“It’s March. It’s still cold.”

“Wow, Bjorgman, didn’t take you for a chicken,” she teased, already turning away from him out of habit as she began to unbutton the shirt. 

“I’m not a chicken. I just like having feeling in my legs.”

“Excuses, excuses,” she sing-songed as she shrugged the shirt from her shoulders, glancing back at him. When she realized he was watching her every move, a sudden wave of nervousness overtook her, and she kept the shirt hanging over her elbows for a moment. “Don’t look at me.”

“What? Why?”

“Because you still have your shirt on, and it’s-- it’s not fair,” she stammered. 

Without any further encouragement, Kristoff reached behind his neck and tugged his t-shirt off in one motion. “There. Your turn.”

For a moment she stood wide-eyed and unmoving, drinking in the sight she’d imagined more times than she cared to admit, even now-- and god, it was so much better than anything her mind had conjured up. He noticed her staring and crossed his arms, and now she had the flex of his biceps to focus on, and how broad his shoulders were, and--

“Anna,” he said, feigning irritation. “Quit staring at me. It’s your turn.”

She let the shirt fall, turning slowly towards him, and it was his turn to be left speechless. She bit her lip, wondering if he liked what he saw, or if he was just blinded by how pale she was. Without waiting to find out, she took off running for the water, shouting for him to follow after.

He did after only a moment’s hesitation, shaking his head as he loped much more slowly over the sand. When he went out of habit to shove his hands into nonexistent pockets, Anna couldn’t suppress a giggle. 

She waded out until she had to stand on her tiptoes to keep her head above water. Something warm flashed through her when Kristoff came to stand beside her and she saw the waves didn’t quite reach to his shoulders. 

“When I was a kid and came down here,” he said, smiling when she set her hands on his shoulders to help keep her balance, “we couldn’t really afford beach toys and stuff. So we used to just jump right when the waves came and let them roll under us, and we pretended that was real surfing.”

Anna grinned up at him. “I didn’t know you had siblings.”

“I...yeah. Kind of, anyway. It’s a long story. Now it’s just me and my little sister Maggie. Well, and our parents.”

She tilted her head to the side, wondering if he’d offer any more information, but something had changed in his eyes, as if they were windows and he’d just pulled the shutters closed. “Will you show me how?”

“How what?”

“To jump on the waves like you said.”

And there his smile was again, easy and broad and bright, the one that made something in her chest ache in the best way. “Sure. But we can’t be out this deep, or else you’re not gonna be able to jump.”

“Are you calling me short?”

“No comment,” he said with a wink as he sloshed back a few steps towards the shore. When she joined him, he pointed towards an oncoming wave and said, “Okay, jump on one-- two-- three!”

She followed his lead, shrieking with delight when the wave swept under them both. Kristoff laughed at her reaction and reached under the water to grab her hand. “Have you really never done that?”

She shook her head. “We didn’t really do beach trips. We were more of a museum and ballet and cultural vacation family. But, to be honest, I like this way better.”

“Good, because another wave’s coming.”

She lost track of time standing and jumping beside him, still shrieking with exhilaration each time as Kristoff laughed and shook his head. And then, suddenly, her foot caught on something swept up by the tide, and she slipped and was pulled under. Half a second later, Kristoff’s hands were on her waist, pulling her upright again as she sputtered for air and shook her hair out of her eyes.

“You good?” he asked, concerned, as she grasped at his shoulders, suddenly overwhelmed by how sturdy they felt under her hands.

“My hero,” she breathed, any coherent thought banished from her mind at the realization of how large his hand felt on the bare curve of her waist.

“Shut up,” he mumbled, turning red as he began to pull away.

She only held on tighter, her own cheeks heating as the slight softness around his middle gave way to hard muscle beneath the press of her fingers. “No, I-- I’m not trying to tease you this time,” she said with a hurried shake of the head. “That was, um...that was really sweet of you.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, the flush spreading down his neck now. Anna’s breath quickened as her eyes trailed downward with it, to the light coating of golden brown curls on his broad chest, and then to the trail of darker hair that disappeared below the waistband of his swim trunks. 

When she glanced up again, Kristoff’s eyes looked darker somehow. 

“Is this okay?” Anna asked softly.

“Is what okay?”

“Me, um…” 

She trailed off, letting her hands do the talking for her as they slid slowly up his sides before slinking over his shoulders to settle behind his neck. “This. Touching you.”

His hands moved-- a little more hesitant than hers-- to her back, keeping her close against him, enough that she could feel his breath even out until it was in time with hers. He leaned forward, just barely, enough that he could brush the tip of his nose against hers. 

Anna couldn’t help but smile at how tender the movement was, how utterly unlike anything she had ever expected him to do or be. “I’m starting to think that maybe you really don’t hate me after all, Kris,” she teased, letting her fingers stroke gently through the damp waves at the nape of his neck.

“Where’d you get a crazy idea like that, huh?” he murmured, letting his forehead fall against hers.

For a moment she considered replying, but then she thought better of it, angling her face just a little bit, enough that if he did the same--

“Bjorgman! There you are!”

Anna jumped back from him in surprise, her heart pounding at the thought of who might have just seen her on the verge of kissing the man who, as far as everybody else knew, was still her archenemy. Mercifully, it was only Greg, the oldest man in the office, cupping his hands around his mouth as he shouted, “Can you show me how to work the printer?”

“Be right there!” Kristoff shouted back, already moving back towards the sand.

Before he could get too far, Anna caught his hand beneath the water, lacing her fingers through his and giving it a squeeze. He looked back in surprise, and she offered him a shy smile. “See you at dinner?” she asked hopefully.

She’d never seen him grin so broadly.