#drtlp
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I’m realizing I never posted bed head Kristoff with his grandpa glasses while he’s face timing Anna in Chap. 5 of Don’t Read the Last Page by @ahtohallan-calling . Maybe I’ll post what he’s looking at later in the replies….
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7. “You’re a terrible liar.” 💕
have some post-last chapter pre-epilogue drtlp fluff!!
Kristoff wolf-whistled and leaned against the doorframe. “Damn. Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?”
Anna rolled her eyes affectionately at him from where she was sitting in the recliner and nursing the baby. “You’re a terrible liar, you know that?”
Grinning, he shut the door behind him with the hand that wasn’t holding a bulging plastic bag. She tilted her chin up expectantly, and he leaned down and kissed her, his lips gentle and unhurried against hers.
“I missed you,” he breathed.
“We missed you, too. How was your first day? And,” she added, eyeing the bag, “what’d you bring me?”
“Chinese food. And it was good, really not that different from doing my clinicals there.”
“Yeah? Ryder didn’t give you too much trouble?”
Kristoff chuckled as he went to unload the bag on the kitchen counter. “He did at first, until I told him I was gonna take away his baby-holding privileges away permanently. Which, speaking of--”
He glanced at her hopefully, and she laughed. “He’s done now. Come on over here and get him.”
He didn’t wait for further encouragement before hurrying over and carefully lifting the infant from her arms. “Hey, buddy,” he said softly, kissing Milo’s forehead. “I missed you.”
Anna was already halfway through making herself a plate, but she did look up long enough to give him a fond smile. “And he really did miss you, seriously. He kept looking around with this big grumpy face. Which he gets from you, by the way. And before you say anything-- I checked, and no, he wasn’t just pooping.”
Kristoff grinned. “Can you believe that?” he asked the baby as he grabbed a burp cloth from the counter and slung it over his shoulder. “That Mommy thinks I’m the grumpy one around here?”
“Watch yourself, mister,” Anna said, narrowing her eyes playfully as she pointed a plastic fork at him. “Or I’ll eat all six dumplings.”
“Go ahead,” Kristoff replied, not looking up from Milo’s sleepy expression. “I got a double order so you could do that anyway.”
A moment later he startled in surprise as Anna flung her arms around his waist and leaned her cheek against his shoulder. “God,” she sighed happily, “I’m so glad I married you.”
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no offense to whomever is casting director in drtlp’s production of the anastasia live action... but casting hans as dimitri is SUCH a disrespect to my mans asdfghjkl
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chapter 24 of don’t read the last page is here!
masterpost
[kristanna / m / multichap / modern au with actress!anna and vetstudent!kristoff]
They all crowded around Anna’s shoulder, waiting with bated breath as she finished choosing a filter for the photo. “Wait,” Kristoff said suddenly, “should we check with Lena about this?”
Anna rolled her eyes. “Fuck Lena,” she said cheerfully, and pressed post.
---
It was, all things considered, not a particularly interesting day when it happened; it had been a scorcher of a late-July afternoon, and when Kristoff came home from the clinic he found Anna in the backyard lounging in a beach chair she’d finally caved and bought at Target when she could no longer get comfortable lying on a towel spread over the grass.
“Hi, honey,” she said around a mouthful of an orange push pop; the empty box had fallen over by her chair.
He laughed and leaned down to kiss her, setting his palm against the swell of her stomach. “Good thing I bought another box of those on my way home.
Anna thought nothing of it when the baby kicked in response; he’d done so for a while now at the sound of his father’s voice, but Kristoff froze, his face only an inch away from hers as his eyes widened.
Worried, she tilted her head. “Is everything alright?”
He swallowed hard. “Did you feel that?”
“Well, yeah, I’ve been feeling a lot of-- wait. Did you?”
He nodded, slowly, and as they stared at each other, stunned, another kick came, sharp enough this time that Anna yelped in surprise. “Okay, you had to have felt that one,” she groused.
Kristoff nodded again, faster this time, as a laugh spilled from his lips. “It’s him,” he said, his eyes still wide. “I-- that’s him, Anna.”
Her eyes softened. “You know, we really ought to think of something to call him. I’m worried he’s going to get offended.”
A third kick came in response, and they both took it as a sign of agreement.
---
Sources say Westergaard has spent the past six weeks hiding out in his summer home in the Hamptons. When asked for comment, his representative told Buzzfeed, “Mr. Westergaard’s previous remarks were taken out of context and twisted by the media. He will be starting an anti cyberbullying foundation in his name. He asks that you respect his privacy during this difficult time.”
Sven looked up from the article Kristoff had printed and handed to him. “Shit, how the hell can anybody have a difficult time at a mansion in the Hamptons?”
“Show a little sympathy. The man’s just had to face the consequences of his actions for the first time in his life,” Kristoff said with a smirk.
“Ought to hang out with a pregnant woman more often, he’d learn his lesson really quickly about the consequences of-- oh, hey, Anna,” Sven said with a grimace. “You, uh, you forgiven me yet for getting onions on the pizza?”
She scowled and crossed her arms, her eyes shooting daggers at him across the room, and he sighed and picked up his phone to order a new one.
---
“Anna?”
She yelped in surprise and tugged the shower curtain back, coming face to face with a frowning Kristoff. “Jesus, you scared me. What’s wrong?”
“Sorry-- it’s just…” He frowned and held up his phone. “How does Twitter know I’m a vet?”
The bubbles in her hair forgotten, she leaned forward and squinted at the screen. “What? It’s just a picture of us leaving Chipotle.”
“Huh? Oh-- shit, sorry, let me scroll down to the replies.”
He pushed his glasses further up his nose as he did so before raising the phone screen again. “Look, they’re all sending me hamsters.”
She knew he was genuinely worried, and she was sympathetic, really she was, but Anna burst into laughter. “A hamster eating a banana.”
“Yeah, and they’re not supposed to even eat that much, so the bad pet ownership is bad enough already, but-- anyway, that’s beside the point, I--” He scowled. “Anna, I really don’t think this is funny.”
“It’s just a meme, Kristoff.”
“But I don’t get it.”
“Look at the picture of us again, and then the hamster, and then get back to me,” she said, yanking the shower curtain closed again.
“But--”
“If you still haven’t gotten the joke by the time I figure out how to shave my ankles, then I’ll come explain.”
Twenty minutes later, when she emerged wrapped in a towel, she peered into the bedroom and saw Kristoff sitting on the bed, his face bright red, as he stared down at his phone. “Solve the mystery yet?” she asked drily as she dug through his t-shirt drawer for something to wear.
“My, uh, my little brother, he uh...he knows about memes, so I texted him, and I...uh…”
She laughed again as she finished getting dressed. “Did he laugh at you, too?”
He groaned and ran a hand over his face. “Pretty sure he’s still laughing.”
---
“Anna! Anna! Miss Arendelle!”
She rolled her eyes and tightened the drawstring of her hoodie. Kristoff put an arm protectively over her shoulders as they continued hurrying out of the doctor’s office. “Miss Arendelle, please, if I could just--”
“You can not.”
“We just want to know if it’s a boy or a--”
She turned on her heel and said drily, “It’s a mountain troll, obviously.” She gestured irritably at Kristoff. “See? Takes after his father.”
The next morning, she woke up to the ding of a text from Sam. Maybe you really are better off being your own PR person.
A link to another Buzzfeed article was attached. Curious, she tapped it.
Watch Anna Arendelle’s Hilarious Comeback To A Nosy Photographer!
“Would you look at that,” she mumbled under her breath.
Next to her, Kristoff stirred and rolled over. “Look at what?” he mumbled.
“Nothing. Go back to sleep, mountain man.”
---
Anna came home from a meeting one night and caught Kristoff piled up in the recliner reading one of her pregnancy books. To her surprise, his face was ghost-white. “Kris,” she asked, concerned, “what’s wrong? You look like you’re going to be sick.”
“Just, you know, reading about the labor part.”
“Is it grossing you out that bad?” She couldn’t help but giggle. “You’re a vet, I’m sure you’ve seen worse. Especially with this stuff.”
He looked up then, and to her surprise, his eyes were solemn behind his glasses. “It’s different when you’re picturing your fiancee.”
All the air in her lungs escaped her in a quiet oh. She crossed quickly to the bed and climbed up, crawling towards him. He set the book on the nightstand and looked up at her, worry still in his eyes, as she settled her knees on either side of his lap. Out of habit, he set one hand on the swell of her stomach, the faintest of smiles appearing on his face when a little foot nudged against his hand.
“It’s gonna be okay, sweetheart,” she said softly, settling her own hands on his shoulders. “It’ll all be fine.”
“Sometimes it’s not, though.”
She winced, and immediately he was apologetic. “I-- shit, sorry, I’m not trying to scare you, it’s just--”
“No, no, you’re right,” she reassured him, gently squeezing his shoulders. “Sometimes it’s not. But it will be. You know me, I’m too stubborn to let anything go wrong.”
“I don’t think it works like that.”
She bit her lip; she had never seen him like this, never known him to be so nervous he couldn’t be comforted. She leaned forward, resting her forehead against his. “What part is scaring you?” she asked, her voice low.
“I don’t want to see you hurting. Especially when I know I can’t do anything to help.”
“You can help. Just having you in there will do so much.”
“But it won’t stop it,” he said, his voice forlorn, and she kissed his cheek, letting her lips linger there as she nuzzled her nose against his temple.
“No. But that’s what epidurals are for.”
“What if--” he said before trailing off, not daring to even give voice to the words.
“Kristoff Bjorgman, you listen to me,” she said, pulling back and waiting to continue until he reluctantly met her gaze. “I have no doubt in my mind that everything will be fine. Okay? I just-- I just won’t let anything bad happen.”
“But you can’t--”
“Have you ever seen anything stop me from doing what I want before?”
She felt him shake his head no.
“So nothing will stop me this time. I’m going to have this baby-- our baby-- and we’re both going to be fine, and you will too, and when we get to hold him, then you’ll forget you were ever worried about this at all.”
---
Anna and the interviewer both threw back their heads with a laugh as Mattias finished telling them both about his first time at the Oscars and how he’d failed to recognize the man who’d just won Best Actor-- twice.
“How about you, Miss Arendelle?” the interviewer asked as Anna finished wiping the last tear of laughter from her eye. “How do you feel about going to your first Oscars next year?”
She felt her cheeks coloring. “Oh, well, we’ll see if we even get there.”
The interviewer laughed. “Modest as always. There’s already lots of Oscar buzz around the movie and your performance in particular.”
Anna shifted awkwardly in her seat. “Um. Sort of like puking, if I’m honest.”
That got them both laughing again. “Speaking of puking, though,” the interviewer said cheerfully, “what’s it like being a first-time mother and a first-time movie star simultaneously?”
“Amazing and terrifying and wonderful and just...so many things all at once,” she admitted. “I really couldn’t do it without my support network, especially my fiance. It’s just...yeah. I can’t thank everybody enough.”
“Speaking of your fiance...are you willing to share your thoughts on where in the world Hans Westergaard has run off to?”
Her lips curled up into a smirk.
---
“Remind me to get more tomato juice at Trader Joe’s today,” Anna called as she pored through another script that had been sent her way-- another period drama, but this one, at least, wouldn’t involve squeezing her recently-pregnant body into a corset.
“We don’t need to,” he replied as he came into the kitchen carrying a basket of freshly dried towels. “You’ve been going through it so fast this week I set up one of those Amazon weekly delivery things. There’ll be three gallons of it on the porch in--” He glanced at his watch. “An hour. Wanna help me fold all this shit and watch HGTV?”
She stared at him for a long moment as he passed her, absentmindedly whistling one of the songs she’d driven him crazy with that winter, and walked into the living room.
It occurred to her, all of a sudden, that some things were worth waiting for-- but that sometimes, there was no longer any worth in waiting.
“Kris?” she said as he set the basket down.
“Yeah, baby?” he asked, raising an eyebrow as she crossed over to him and stood between his knees.
She cupped his face in her hands, studying his expression as he smiled softly and set his own hands on her hips. “Can I say something crazy?”
“You usually don’t bother asking.”
Under normal circumstances, she would have laughed and leaned down to kiss him, but instead she broke into a wide smile. “What if we just got married?”
#olivia this chapter is the reasson me and gabi pisssed ourseslves over your hamster meme hahahahaa#(sorry something is wrong w my s key)#kristanna#drtlp#my fics
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Kristoff hating the paparazzi in Don’t Read the Last Page by @ahtohallan-calling is an entire mood
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chapter 26 and the epilogue of don’t read the last page are here!
masterpost
[kristanna / m / multichap / modern au with actress!anna and vetstudent!kristoff]
Thank you to everyone who has been reading and following along with this fic! Your support means the world to me.
november 1st
On the way home from the movie premiere, Anna was strangely quiet, her head against Kristoff’s shoulder and both hands on her stomach. It wasn’t until they were at home once more and he was helping her out of her gown that she said softly, “I don’t want to have the baby here.”
His hands stilled on the laces. “What do you mean here?”
“In LA.”
“But this is where your doctor is,” he said, frowning as she stepped out of the dress.
“Yeah. But I...I don’t know. Maybe this is crazy, but-- well, he mentioned a while back that in case we were ever up visiting your parents and something went wrong, that he used to practice up there, and he knows someone, and…”
Kristoff moved to stand in front of her, cupping her face in his hands as she looked up at him with worried eyes. “Why don’t you want to have the baby here?”
“Just...they’re all going to be there. All the photographers and reporters trying to be the first to get pictures, and I just...I don’t want that to be part of it. I want it to be just us. Do you think...do you think maybe we can figure it out?”
He kissed her forehead. “I’ll call my mom tonight, see if we can stay up there with them.”
“But you have clinicals--”
“Just a couple more days, then my exams aren’t til the first week of December. And I still have days off allowed, so after the fourth, we’re good to go.”
She heaved out a sigh of relief. “I’ll call the doctor up there first thing in the morning. Are you sure your parents won’t mind?”
“Are you kidding me? They’re gonna be over the moon. Ellie, too.”
“And your brothers?”
“Nate’s already bought him and Liam both ‘world’s best uncle’ t-shirts. And Lilly, honestly, is gonna be pissed that she won’t be home til after he’s born. She’s already talking about just skipping her last week of classes to come home.”
Anna broke into a wide smile. “So...we’re doing this? I mean, assuming Milo doesn’t decide to make an appearance in the next three days?”
“Don’t jinx it,” he teased, leaning down to kiss her.
---
november 8th
Anna had been having a hard time sleeping the last month or so, but the past week had been nearly unbearable. Tonight she’d given up on it altogether and had rolled out of bed a little after midnight. Kristoff, who’d practically been sleeping with one eye open the entire time she’d been pregnant, had sat up immediately, but she’d kissed his cheek and said, “Go back to sleep, honey. You’ll be up all night with me soon enough.”
Now she found herself sitting-- well, leaning, really-- on his parents’ sofa watching Friends reruns and steadily making her way through a pint of pistachio ice cream. A creak came on the stairs, and she winced; preparing to make her apologies for waking up whoever it was. Before she had even turned around, though, Kristoff’s father said, “Only me, kiddo. And I’m up and down all night, anyway.”
After a minute, he joined her on the sofa with his own pint of ice cream. “What’s keeping you up, then?” he asked.
“Aches and pains and a little monster determined to turn my ribs into dust.”
He chuckled at that. “How you feeling besides that?”
She shrugged, not meeting his eyes. “Just...tired, I guess.”
“Understandable.”
The cramp in her lower belly worsened again, and she winced, shifting in a fruitless attempt to get more comfortable. Cliff noticed her movement and wordlessly handed her a throw pillow. “Thanks,” she sighed, setting it behind her back.
For a while, they watched the show in companionable silence, occasional faint bursts of laughter escaping them. When it switched to an infomercial, though, Cliff cleared his throat and looked at her. “You have to excuse me, Anna, for being so quiet. You know I’m not really one for words.”
She winked at him. “It’s alright. Your son takes after you.”
He smiled and reached over to pat her hand. “I think he turned out pretty okay, don’t you?”
“Yeah,” she said softly. “He really did. I hope Milo does, too.”
Cliff nodded slowly. “Are you nervous?”
She’d been doing her best to hide it, but when he looked at her like that with his voice so gentle and his eyes so soft-- “Yes,” she admitted. “About-- about not just, you know, the labor part, but...what comes after. I guess I just...don’t know how to be a mom.”
He gave her another long, thoughtful nod. “Can I tell you a secret?”
She raised an eyebrow, inviting him to go on.
“I still don’t know how to be a dad. And I sure as hell don’t know how to be a granddad. But that’s the thing, kiddo-- nobody really knows. You just do your best to love ‘em and get them on the right path, and then…” He shrugged. “I guess the rest kinda follows.”
Anna felt her eyes begin to sting with tears, and without her having to say anything, Cliff moved to sit closer to her, pulling her into a hug. “And I want you to know, sweetheart,” he said softly, patting her shoulder, “that I think your mom and dad would be just as excited-- just as proud-- as I am.”
They held onto each other for a little while as Anna sniffled into his shoulder, but then another cramp started up, and she pulled back with a hiss. Cliff raised his eyebrows. “How long have you been hurting like that?”
“Oh, since I guess around lunch? But it’s fine, really, I pretty much never stop being achey at this point.”
“I’ve been down here with you for nearly forty-five minutes now, and even without my glasses I can tell it’s been hurting you more and more as time goes on.”
Anna frowned. “Well, that’s how this whole thing kinda works, isn’t-- ow, Jesus fucking-- sorry, Cliff.”
He squeezed her hand until the moment passed. “I think,” he said, his eyes warm, “you better go wake your husband up.”
---
november 9th
“I got here as fast as I could!” Sven panted as he burst into the room. “Tell me I didn’t-- oh, shit!”
“You’re really not supposed to use potty language like that around kids, you know,” Anna said, her eyes bright as she looked up from the bundle in her arms to smile at him.
Sven stood frozen on the doorstep for a moment longer until Kristoff chuckled and said, “You wanna meet him?”
That was all it took for Sven to spring into action, and a moment later he was leaning over the side of the bed, getting as close as he could to the sleeping infant in Anna’s arms. “Shi-- shoot, man,” he breathed. “You got lucky.”
“I know I--”
“He got Anna’s nose.”
Anna burst into laughter. “Kristoff’s nose is just fine.”
“That’s the hormones talking. Can I hold him?” he asked eagerly.
When Elsa returned from the cafeteria a few moments later carrying a tray of coffees, for a moment they glared at each other, eyes narrowing, in a silent debate about whose turn it was to hold the baby, but then he squirmed in Sven’s arms and began to wail.
Sven handed him back to Anna immediately, who rolled her eyes. “He’s just hungry,” she teased. “What happened to you being the most competent godfather of all time, huh?”
“Part of being a good godfather is knowing when it’s time to pass him back,” he said magnanimously as Anna began to feed the baby. “Like right now, because I can’t do that.”
She laughed. “Okay, okay, point taken.”
---
Later, when it was just the three of them again, Kristoff moved to sit beside his wife on the bed. Anna snuggled happily against his side and carefully set the baby on his lap.
“Hey, Milo,” Kristoff whispered, reaching down to trace a finger over his son’s tiny hand. “Happy birthday.”
Milo Clifford Bjorgman-- that's what they'd decided on; his father had cried when they told him as he held his grandson for the first time.
Anna smiled and leaned up to kiss his cheek. “We did a pretty good job, huh?”
“You’re the one who did the hard part. Even if you didn’t know that it was going on until-- what, one A.M.?”
She giggled. “If it wasn’t for your dad, I might have just had him on the kitchen floor.”
“Thank god he found you then,” Kristoff said drily.
“It kinda worked out, though. That meant I was only worried about you passing out for a couple of hours.”
He was distracted from replying as Milo blinked sleepily and peered curiously up at him. “Hey, buddy,” Kristoff whispered. “How’s it going?”
Anna leaned her head against his shoulder. “Do you think he likes us?”
“Judging by how much he’s already eaten today, he definitely likes you.”
She giggled. “He sleeps better when you’re the one holding him, though.”
His lips tugged upwards into a smile. “Do you think so?”
“Oh, definitely. He gets that from his mama.”
Kristoff turned and kissed the top of her head. “Have I ever told you how much I love you?”
“Yeah. But it bears repeating, I think.”
“I love you,” he whispered into her hair. “I love you two more than anything in the world.”
She smiled and turned to kiss him. “Love you back.”
---
epilogue
“You sure you two are going to be okay?” Anna asked as she finished putting in her second earring.
Kristoff leaned down and kissed her cheek. “It’s just an ear infection, baby. I can take care of him.”
She frowned. “Yeah, but you’re still running a fever, and--”
“That’s what I’m here for,” Bulda said cheerfully as she bustled in, Milo in her arms. “Ellie, baby, why don’t you let Anna do that lipstick for you?”
“See?” Kristoff said as Anna turned to help his sister finish putting on her makeup. “I’m more worried about you two and the trouble you’re going to get into.”
“Us? Trouble?” Ellie said, rolling her eyes. “Please.”
“You’re still in trouble for skipping class, by the way,” Bulda said sternly. “And very much re-grounded as soon as tonight is over.”
“Mom!”
As the two of them began to argue, Kristoff took the opportunity to take Milo from his mother’s arms and walk into the kitchen with Anna, moving carefully to avoid stepping on the train of her long, golden gown. “You nervous?” he asked, passing her the baby.
Anna shrugged as she cradled Milo carefully against her chest. “Nah. I know I’m not going to win anything.”
“I mean, between three nominations...odds are good, right?”
“Nah. Musicals never really win the big awards. And considering one Disney movie got two songs nominated in that category, I don’t know why I even bothered working on an acceptance speech.”
“Well, in my opinion, Anastasia was the best movie of the year,” he replied with a wink. “Definitely had the hottest lead actress.”
“Get down here and kiss me before I put my lipstick on.”
He did so with a smile.
---
He’d grumbled all day about his mother coming by to help him out tonight-- “He’s my son, Ma, I can take care of him on my own”, to which she’d replied, “I know you can, but I just want every opportunity to love on my grandbaby, and I’ll be bringing your sister, anyway”, and Anna had interjected, “And he’s still running fever, Bulda, and I caught him trying to mow the lawn, anyway.”
But he had to admit he was grateful for it now as he sat nervously on the edge of the sofa, drumming his fingers against his knee. Anna and Ellie had both looked beautiful on the red carpet-- well, really, Ellie had looked nervous as hell, but when Anna had taken her hand in her own she’d relaxed for the most part-- but this time around, there was more for Anna to do than just look pretty.
“Now performing another of the numbers nominated for Best Original Song,” the host said, “here’s Anna Arendelle, singing ‘Under the Stars’ from Anastasia!”
There was silence for a moment before the slow swell of violins started to play, and then the lights rose to reveal Anna, looking like a goddess in her gown, as she began to sing, and despite himself Kristoff felt tears spring to his eyes.
“Look at her go,” his mom breathed, and on her lap even Milo seemed enraptured.
Anna finished the song to uproarious applause, and damn, he wished he’d protested harder about her telling him in no uncertain terms that he wasn’t going to the Oscars with a fever, because right now what he wanted more than anything was to run onstage and scream, “That’s my wife!”
Fifteen minutes later, when all five of the nominees for ‘Best Song’ were announced, his mother reached over and squeezed his hand as the camera landed on Anna and Ellie in the audience. They waited with bated breath as the announcer said, “And the Oscar goes to…’A Garden Full of Butterflies’ from To Those Who Wait!”
Both of them sat back with a sigh. “It’s alright,” Kristoff said, “there’s still the other two, right? And those are a bigger deal.”
Milo gurgled in agreement.
If he was being honest, Kristoff didn’t really give a shit about the rest of the ceremony-- he’d seen some of the movies with Anna, but in his opinion, most of the shit nominated for these awards was just depressing as hell-- and so he distracted himself from the waiting by tidying up around the house, straightening the rows of toys Milo’s aunts and uncles had spoiled him with and folding the blanket Anna had given him for their first Christmas together and rearranging the pictures on the fridge so that the one of the two of them on New Year’s was right next to the picture of the day they’d brought Milo home.
“Kris!” his mother squawked as he stood back to admire his handiwork. “They’re doing Best Actress!”
He hurried back into the living room just as the announcer for this award-- Hans, to his amusement, who had been nominated for nothing on his own merit-- said, “And the Oscar goes to...Anna Arendelle!”
The two of them erupted into whoops of joy, Milo joining in with a screech of his own. “That’s right, buddy,” Kristoff cheered as he swept his son into his arms, holding him high for a moment to make him squeal with delight before cradling him against his chest. “Mama did it!”
Anna’s eyes were shining even brighter than her gown as she took to the stage and accepted the statuette. “Wow, I-- wow,” she said, and the audience laughed fondly. “I don’t know what to say, I mean-- I wrote the speech and everything, but I didn’t actually study it because I never in a million years dreamed this would happen. I, um-- well, let me start of by saying thank you to everyone who worked on Anastasia with me, especially our wonderful director Destin Mattias. And thank you to my family as well-- my sister Elsa, especially, thank you for supporting me since we were kids.”
She grinned and looked right into the camera. “But most of all, thank you to my husband, Kristoff, who couldn’t be here right now because he’s taking care of our son. I love you more than anything, honey. Thank you for going on this crazy, incredible journey. I wouldn’t be here without you. Here’s to our happy ending.”
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chapter 23 of don’t read the last page is here!
masterpost
[kristanna / m / multichap / modern au with actress!anna and vetstudent!kristoff]
“Now, ah...is that Chinese food on the back of your car?”
“Uh-huh. Double order of egg rolls.”
“Oh, fuck yes,” she groaned, wriggling in his arms until he set her down with a chuckle. “This is why I’m marrying you.”
“Really? I thought it was because it means a lifetime supply of sweatshirts to steal.”
“Oh, I forgot about that,” she said, already rummaging through the bags and cracking open a container of dumplings. “Also how sexy you look in your reading glasses.”
“Can’t believe you’re so hung up on me being a sexy grandpa when I’m not even officially a dad yet.”
a/n: so yes hiatus is over! but this will probably have an erratic update schedule like everything else i do these days, sorryyyyyy
chapter 23: midsummer
“Kris! Kris, thank god you’re finally here!”
He nearly dropped the plastic bags in fright at the sound of Anna’s shout through the open front door. “What’s wrong?” he called, feeling his heart already beginning to pound; there were so many things that could go wrong, things that kept him up half the night, and he’d known this was all too good to be true and--
But then she got close enough he could see she was smiling, and he did drop the bags then-- carefully, though, and not a moment too soon, because she launched herself at him, flinging her arms around his neck as he caught her and hoisted her up so she could wrap her legs around his waist. He couldn’t hold her as close as he used to even a few weeks ago. He’d started to wonder if she was slender enough that she’d ever show at all, and then one day he’d come in to join her in the shower and done a double-take at the sight of her standing there with her hand on the now unmistakable swell of her belly and examining herself in the mirror.
“Kris,” she said breathlessly, bringing him back to the present moment. “Guess what?”
“What, baby?” he asked, knowing he was wearing his dopiest smile as he looked up at her.
“I felt him moving around in there! I thought like-- TMI, sorry-- I thought maybe it was a fart but it kept happening, and I googled it and then I called the doctor’s office and they laughed and were like ‘yeah, Anna, that’s the baby’ and-- and-- and it’s him, Kris! He’s in there!”
“Well-- well, I would hope he’s still in there,” he managed to say, too dazed for a more coherent response.
Anna giggled. “So you admit it? That he’s a he?”
“What?”
Her eyes softened when she realized how stunned he still was. “It’s pretty exciting, huh?”
He hadn’t realized his eyes were welling up with tears until she said that. He managed a nod, and she pressed a kiss to his forehead. “And we’re almost halfway there,” she said softly. “Halfway to meeting him.”
“Or her,” Kristoff managed to whisper.
She laughed and leaned down to kiss him on the lips then, her fingers tightening their hold on his shoulders when he brushed the tip of his tongue just barely over hers. She had just begun to deepen the kiss further when she jerked back.
“It happened again!”
Kristoff’s eyebrows flew up. “Like, right now?”
“Uh-huh! It feels all wiggly in there!”
He swallowed hard. “Do you, uh, do you think…”
He trailed off, feeling suddenly embarrassed, but she seemed to understand all the same, giving him another soft smile as she brushed his hair back out of his eyes. “I don’t think you can feel it this early. But soon, though. And we can try anyway if you want.”
He kissed her again, softer this time. “I love you. And the baby.”
She winked at him. “We love you too. Now, ah...is that Chinese food on the back of your car?”
“Uh-huh. Double order of egg rolls.”
“Oh, fuck yes,” she groaned, wriggling in his arms until he set her down with a chuckle. “This is why I’m marrying you.”
“Really? I thought it was because it means a lifetime supply of sweatshirts to steal.”
“Oh, I forgot about that,” she said, already rummaging through the bags and cracking open a container of dumplings. “Also how sexy you look in your reading glasses.”
“Can’t believe you’re so hung up on me being a sexy grandpa when I’m not even officially a dad yet.”
She shrugged and popped a dumpling into her mouth. “Official enough for me, Pops,” she said around a mouthful of food. “Want some?”
“Nah. Those are all for you.”
She swallowed and let out a dreamy sigh. “Fuck, I really love you.”
---
“You’re sure this is all you want to do for your birthday?” Kristoff asked from behind the wheel as he turned to her.
“Uh-huh.”
“Even though it’s not until tomorrow, so if you want to, you can have two birthdays? I’m serious, I know tomorrow’s Monday and I’ve got work, but I can still get Sven and your sister and--”
“I’m serious,” she insisted. “Even if it wasn’t for the whole still-hiding-out thing, I’d just want to spend today with you somewhere we both love.”
His cheeks colored slightly at that as he looked away from her and started to drive again. “But you like parties. Or going places. Or--”
“Kristoff, baby, I can’t drink right now, I can’t ride anything good at Disneyland, my old cute clothes don’t fit anymore, and I don’t want to do any of that these days, anyway. All I want to do is eat and sleep and, uh…”
Now she was the one blushing.
“And what?” he pressed, glancing back at her with a teasing glint in his eye.
“Remember what we did the first time we went to this beach?”
“Played in the rain?”
“No…”
“Splashed in the water even though I told you it was storming?”
“Kris!”
He laughed and reached over to set his hand on her knee, giving it an affectionate squeeze and leaving it there, the way that still made her heart flutter after a year and an engagement and a house and a baby. “Yes, I remember. And if you’re really up for it…”
“You have no idea,” she muttered under her breath, and when she glanced up again his cheeks were even redder than before.
---
Anna’s car was parked in front of the house when he got home, but there was no sign of her once he stepped inside. She was in the kitchen more often than not these days, or napping in the living room otherwise, but when he didn’t even see her in the bathroom turning side to side and examining her reflection, Kristoff began to get worried. “Anna?” he called.
“Out back,” she shouted, and he went to the window and saw her lying on her back on a blanket in the backyard.
Relieved, he joined her on the blanket, sitting beside her and letting his legs sprawl out. She shifted to rest her head on his lap, giving him a small smile. “How was your day?” she asked.
“Good. Lots of cute kittens. And I took a million pictures for you.”
“Did you cuddle them?”
He chuckled and brushed a stray lock of hair off her forehead. “Yes. All afternoon. And Ryder made sure there’s pictures of that, too.”
Her smile grew just a little. “Good.”
“What about you?”
The smile faded. “It was, uh...I mean, I’ve had worse days.”
Kristoff frowned as he continued stroking her hair. “It was just reshoots, right? Did they not go well?”
“No, no, they were fine. Well, costuming was kind of flustered with how much bigger I managed to get in three weeks, but we made it work.”
He moved his hand to rest on the curve of her stomach, moving gently back and forth in hopes of a response, but he felt nothing. Anna must have seen the disappointment in his face, because she turned and pressed a kiss to the side of his knee. “He’s moving in there right now, I promise. He knows it’s you.”
For a moment, the sudden swell of love in his chest distracted him, and then he saw the droop of her expression once more and frowned. “So what happened, baby?”
She sighed, closing her eyes. “I got papped when I left the set with Adam. There was a whole mob of them, must have known we were doing reshoots there. And Lena texted and said some are already on TMZ, and that Hans already tweeted something else weird and subtweety, and just...I thought it would die down. But it’s not really.”
He nudged her shoulder. “Will you sit up for me?”
“Why?”
“So I can hold you better.”
She let out a resigned huff and complied, though once his arms were around her she nestled close to him, pressing her face against his neck close enough that he could tell she was beginning to smile again.
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. “That it’s happening, and that I can’t do anything to help except this.”
“This is good,” she replied, giving him a kiss in return against his collarbone. “This is all that matters, anyway.”
---
Sven was nearly beside himself with excitement when he flung open the door. “Did it work this time? Could they see it?”
“Jesus!” Anna yelped, a hand flying instinctively to her stomach. “I thought this was just for the Fourth of July, not a surprise party.”
“Do I need to revoke your key privileges?” Kristoff asked drily.
“You say that now, but when you see the ribs I’ve got waiting for you guys out back--”
“Oh, hell yes,” Anna cheered, pushing past him to go see.
“Well?” Sven asked Kristoff expectantly, tapping his foot. “Did you find out or not?”
“Maybe we did, maybe we didn’t.”
“Okay, you definitely did. Because last time when it didn’t work, you were all mopey about it, but I know that smirk, Bjorgman. So it’s official now, right? I’m getting a godson?”
“No,” called Elsa as she came up behind them with a fruit tray in hand, closely followed by Honey and Ryder. “But I’m getting a niece.”
“Okay, okay, this is a cookout, not a gender reveal party,” Kristoff insisted as he finally managed to squeeze past them all and step into the kitchen. “So maybe we won’t even tell you guys today. Anyone else want a beer?”
“I do,” Anna called cheerfully, the back door slapping shut behind her. “But I’ll settle for tomato juice.”
Ryder gagged. “You’re drinking that without it being mixed with vodka?”
“Yeah. It’s disgusting, isn’t it?” she said, reaching past Kristoff to grab the bottle. “But apparently I’m craving this, and chocolate milk still makes me puke.”
“Shit,” he said with a low whistle. “You’re really taking one for the team, huh? Eating all this gross shit just so we get a cute kid to have around.”
“Just to clarify,” Kristoff said drily as he passed around cans of beer, “that’s not the reason we’re having a baby.”
“Nope,” Anna agreed. “But I’m sure he appreciates you saying that. He’s gonna be spoiled, huh?”
The room was suddenly completely silent apart from the sound of Anna gulping down her glass of tomato juice. When she had finished, she swiped the back of her hand across her mouth and frowned. “What? Is it seriously that gross?”
“I-- did you-- is it-- we were-- oh, shit!” Sven stammered out, for once in his life unable to come up with something clever to say.
Anna gasped, her hand flying to cover her mouth, while Kristoff laughed and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. “Well, uh, we were going to announce it in a more, uh, intentional way, but…”
He pulled a sonogram picture out of the wallet and laid it on the counter. Immediately everyone crowded around for a closer look. “It’s a boy. And yes, Anna was right, and no, Elsa, I don’t have the cash on me right now, so I guess I do have to do the ice bucket thing.”
“It’s a boy?” Elsa squeaked, tears already rolling down her cheeks as she flung herself into Anna’s waiting arms.
“Yeah,” Anna laughed, holding her sister as close as she could. “About time we had one in our family, huh?”
“I know I said I wanted it to be a girl,” Elsa said, pulling back enough to swipe at her eyes. “But I changed my mind, because-- because oh my god, a little boy, Anna!”
“I know!”
“And he’s yours. My little sister is having a baby.”
“I promise this is her first beer of the night,” Honey said teasingly, though her eyes were tender as she watched Elsa step back with a watery smile.
“Oh, shit!” Sven said, raising his own. “Let’s like, toast to this. Cheers, everybody, to it being a boy and me and Anna being right and the rest of you--”
“Cheers!” the rest of them called in unison, cutting him off.
Anna laughed and picked up the sonogram as they all drank. “Not naming names, but I think somebody around here owes me money, too,” she said, turning to the fridge. “Which I need, apparently, to buy some new magnets so I can hang this-- oh, shit!”
She’d chosen the worst magnet to remove from the collage of snapshots they had on the fridge, because most of them came cascading down to the floor. Kristoff bent quickly to scoop them up, but when Anna set a hand on his shoulder, he paused, looking up at her.
“Kris,” she asked, her voice low as she pointed at a polaroid on the floor. “What’s that one?”
He held it up to her. “You and me, when you wore that silver dress...what party was that? Why do I remember that--”
His eyes widened as they landed on the orange date printed in the corner. “Oh, shit.”
“I’m not seeing things, right?” Anna breathed. “Like, it actually says January 1st, and it’s definitely you and me, and-- and anyone who saw that would know that, right?”
“Is, uh, is everything okay?” Ryder asked, peering over at them. “Like, if those are special pictures, I promise none of us are look--”
“Oh, shit!” Sven said yet again, and Anna burst into laughter as she glanced up at him, even as tears started cascading down her cheeks. “So if you put that on Instagram or something--”
“It’s over,” she managed to say at last, flinging her arms around Kristoff’s waist when he stood again. “All the bullshit. Things can-- things can go back to normal.”
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chapter 25 of don’t read the last page is here!
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[kristanna / m / multichap / modern au with actress!anna and vetstudent!kristoff]
september 21st
It was, to be frank, not the sort of wedding Anna had dreamed of growing up. For one thing, she didn’t even have any white clothes left that fit; for another, the courthouse still sort of smelled like lemon Pine-Sol.
But her sister was there to walk her in, though there wasn’t really an aisle, and Honey and Ryder and Sven and Kristoff’s parents and siblings were all grinning from ear to ear-- well, crying and blowing her nose, in Bulda’s case-- and she did at least have the bouquet of sunflowers that was her one non-negotiable.
One thing, though, was the same thing-- same person-- she had always imagined, and when he blinked back tears as he slid the ring onto her finger she couldn’t help but think of her teenaged self scribbling furiously in her diary about how she’d wear a ballgown and he’d wear a tux and there’d be sunflowers and confetti and doves--
“I do,” Kristoff said, his voice thick with emotion, and really, that was all that mattered.
“Me, too,” she replied, without even thinking, and when he grinned in response as the officiant chuckled, she knew he was thinking the same.
---
october 17th
Kristoff came home from the clinic and found Anna sitting on the edge of their bed, staring off into space. “Everything okay, baby?”
She nodded. “Just...thinking about the premiere again. They sent the dress over again, said they tailored it for how big I’ll be in a couple weeks. And the doctor said it’s okay. I mean, he wants me to come in the day before, just to make sure, but…”
Anna bit her lip, waiting for a reply. A familiar flicker of protective, instinctive worry flared in his chest, but Kristoff held his tongue and waited for it to settle, the way he’d learned was-- especially now-- so important to making sure she felt heard.
And she kept quiet; he knew she was fighting the urge to ramble to fill the silence, to try and convince him of something before he’d even said he might disagree.
They were still learning, and from what his mother had told him, he knew they still would be for the rest of their lives. And of course there were still the silly arguments over what to watch on TV (usually ending in them watching nothing at all and instead kissing on the sofa while an alien show played in the background) and who was snoring louder (Anna, these days because of the strange poses she struck to try and sleep) and who had eaten the last of the pretzels (which usually ended with them both realizing it’d happened while they were watching the aforementioned alien shows).
But the big things, the ones that mattered-- they were careful, now, more than ever, to make sure that fight was never quite the right word for what transpired.
Kristoff sat beside her, taking her hand. “I mean, there’s no point in me explaining all the things that could go wrong, is there?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I promise, I’ve thought about all of them pretty much, like, nonstop,” she said, and he squeezed her hand in response.
Anna’s gaze drifted over to the emerald green dress hanging on the back of the closet door. Kristoff watched her for a moment before saying softly, “But you still want to go.”
She nodded, biting her lip again.
“Can I ask why it feels this important to you?”
He looked over and saw tears were beginning to sparkle in her eyes. “What if this is my only shot, Kris?”
“Your only shot at what?”
“At getting to do something like this. What if I never get a big movie part again? Or what if the baby comes, and I just decide to only be a mom and never act again? And it’s like...I’m not angry about it or anything, you know? Like I love him, and I love you, but this is still...it’s still what I’ve been working for my whole life. And all the shit I put up with filming this, and the stuff with Hans...part of me feels like it’ll be for nothing if I don’t go. And I know that’s stupid, but--”
“Not stupid,” Kristoff interrupted, and she sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder. “It makes perfect sense.”
“I know it’s, like, scary to think that I could just go into labor on the red carpet. And maybe I’m a bad mom for even--”
“Anna. Don’t even think that, okay?”
She sniffled, and he lifted his arm to wrap it around her shoulders. “You’re allowed to be more than a mom,” he said as she leaned into him. “And you’re allowed to want things for yourself, especially really big important things like this. And I want them for you, too.”
“I know it makes you nervous, though,” she said softly. “That something would go wrong.”
“I’ve been nervous about that the whole time. But it’s up to you, baby. Well-- you and the doctor, I guess, but if he says you’re in the clear…”
She tilted her head to kiss his shoulder. “And it’s only for the red carpet bit. No way am I sitting through a three hour movie in a ballgown. Which, speaking of--”
She hopped up and waddled towards the bathroom, and Kristoff couldn’t help but laugh as he called after her, “Guess I ought to see if my suit from New Year’s still fits, eh?”
---
november 1
“Feels kind of full circle, don’t you think?” Anna mused as Honey carefully swiped blush onto her cheeks.
“What does?” Kristoff asked from where he was seated in the recliner, nervously fiddling with his cufflinks.
“I mean, a year ago today is when my first movie dropped, and now today is my first red carpet premiere.”
“Oh, shit, it’s only been a year?”
Anna giggled. “You’re telling me. I feel like I’ve already been pregnant that long.”
Honey rolled her eyes. “Hold still, Anna.”
“Sorry, sorry! Thanks again for doing this, by the way. I know it had to’ve been a pain in the ass for you to get ready so early and then come all the way up here.”
Her friend shrugged as she sorted through her stacks of highlighters. “More of a pain in the ass if someone who doesn’t know your face like I do messed you up. And anyway, you know the real reason I agreed to this. Come on, spill the beans.”
“I thought Anna was kidding about bribing you with that,” Kristoff said, raising his eyebrows. “I mean, we didn’t even tell Sven yet.”
“She was not kidding, but I think you’ll see my work is worth the price. C’mon, Anna, turn around and show the husband how gorgeous you look.”
She did so, and his eyes went wide. “Oh, shit.”
“Good oh shit?” Anna asked nervously.
Honey snorted. “Do you really have to ask that when it’s me doing this? Turn back and let me do your lipstick.”
Anna held still as Honey carefully daubed the scarlet shade they’d settled on together onto her lips. “So, since Anna’s occupied at the moment...what’d you guys pick?”
“Well, we were trying to find something to watch one night, and we both have the same favorite kids’ movie, and it just happened to be on, so we--”
“I didn’t ask for the story, Bjorgman. What are you naming my nephew?”
He grinned. “Milo.”
---
God, Anna had always been gorgeous, but the color of her gown made her hair gleam even more than usual, and Honey had done just enough makeup to bring out her eyes without hiding the way she was glowing these days-- shit, he’d thought that was just something books said, but--
There was a tug at his sleeve. “Kristoff? Did you hear me?”
He blinked, startled. “What?”
Anna smirked, well aware of what had been distracting him. “Hans just got here. Casey says two more minutes, then we’re up. She says that’s the perfect amount of time to make sure we completely upstage him.
He whistled. “Damn. Do you think Lena would have ever come up with something like that?”
“Absofuckinglutely not.” She grinned and set a hand on the side of her belly. “I think Milo’s excited, too.”
Kristoff laughed and set his hand next to hers; sure enough, there came a brief volley of kicks against the palm of his hand. “As long as you stay in there for a little while longer, buddy, kick all you want.”
“Easy for you to say,” Anna muttered. “Oh-- she just texted again. Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be,” he said as she signalled the chauffeur to open her door.
Kristoff had to admit he was a little bit awestruck at just how gracefully she managed to emerge from the limo; he nearly tripped over his own feet, and he wasn’t even thirty-seven weeks pregnant.
He was by her side immediately, setting a hand on the small of her back, and not a moment too soon; it was as if their arrival was some kind of signal for the hundreds of photographers and reporters and celebrities and fans to all turn at once, Hans Westergaard and all his bullshit entirely forgotten.
“By the way,” Anna whispered as they began to walk towards the crowd, “if you hold my hand, Casey says to make sure it’s the right one.”
“What? Why?”
“So people can still see my rings in the pictures,” she said, putting on her best movie star smile as the first reporter reached them.
The next hour or so passed in a blur; they stayed well away from the crowd of fans at the doctor’s advice-- “never know how handsy they’ll get, you know”-- but it still felt a bit like getting swarmed with what felt like every reporter in LA dying to find out more about the sudden wedding and the impending arrival and whether or not Anna thought she’d get an Oscar nod for her part.
She answered every question with grace and charm, and Kristoff did his best to make sure his smile didn’t turn into a grimace, even when a cameraman stepped on the hem of Anna’s skirt.
The reporters left him alone for the most part, until one of them turned suddenly to him and asked, “So, Kristoff, how does it feel to be the internet’s boyfriend?”
“The...what?”
The reporter grinned and held up his phone, showing him a series of memes. He squinted, trying to make sense of it all as Anna held back a laugh. “You’re built like a brick shithouse and you hold puppies for a living. What’s not to love?”
“Um,” he stammered, looking to Anna for guidance.
“What my husband means to say,” she said, her eyes sparkling with mischief, “is that he’s flattered. And I for one am very grateful I managed to snatch him up before he became such a big star.”
They said their goodbyes quickly after that, and as they continued moving down the red carpet, Kristoff leaned down and muttered, “When were you going to tell me I was the internet’s boyfriend, huh?”
“When you figured out what Instagram was so you could find all the stan accounts for yourself.”
“The...what?”
She giggled and squeezed his hand. “Just smile and wave, honey. And think about the Taco Bell we’re getting after this.”
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if i just. sat down and finished drtlp in like maybe 2 or 3 chapters and they were kinda montagey would yall be mad lmao
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chapter 19 of don’t read the last page is here!
masterpost
[kristanna / m / multichap / modern au with actress!anna and vetstudent!kristoff]
“I, uh, am I supposed to be scared?”
“Are you?”
“...only if I’m supposed to be.”
She laughed and held out her hand palm-up. “Hold on to me. Trust me, it helps.”
chapter 19: six weeks or so
When she saw Kristoff waiting for her by the car, she didn't so much embrace him as crash into him, flinging her suitcases aside to throw her arms around his waist and hold on tight.
He caught her with equal enthusiasm, pressing her so close to his chest she could feel his heartbeat thudding against her cheek.
"I missed you," she choked out, tears already welling over.
"It's okay," he murmured, running a hand over her hair. "You're back now. I've got you."
"Russia is cold as fuck."
"Were you surprised?"
"No, I just-- fuck, it's good to be back in LA."
He chuckled and pulled back enough to get a glimpse at her face. "I take it you didn't sleep on the plane."
"Not even for a minute. I don't even remember what day it's supposed to be."
"February eighteenth. And it's Saturday, so you're stuck with me all day."
"Oh, thank god, I-- wait, you got up this early on a weekend to get me?"
"Well, yeah. I didn't want to wait any longer than I had to to see you."
"Jesus. Are you like, real? Am I actually asleep now and dreaming this?"
He kissed her forehead and pulled back to open the trunk of his car. "No, this is real."
"God, I'm lucky," she said with a happy sigh, admiring the way his arms flexed as he heaved her suitcases into the trunk. "You're hot and you love me. And smart!"
"Did you sleep at all the last day or so?"
"Nope," she said cheerfully. "So the reunion sex has to wait til after I nap this time."
---
“Was it all bad?”
“No, there were some good moments. Like I did have one afternoon to go sightseeing with Honey. I tweeted those pictures, did you see?”
“Mhmm. You looked adorable in that big fur hat,” Kristoff said, leaning over to where she was perched on the edge of the counter to kiss her on the cheek.
“And Honey made it bearable, and the not-Hans people are mostly okay. Oh! And Katerina was lovely, that’s the little girl who plays Anastasia when she’s younger. They’re doing that whole first bit in Russian, and she didn’t really know much English, but she was so cute, look!”
She held up her phone to show him a picture of her grinning ear to ear as she knelt beside a little girl with bright blue eyes, waist-length red hair, and a missing front tooth; they looked so similar that for a moment he had an uncanny feeling that he was looking at a picture of a mother and daughter.
“Yeah, she’s adorable,” he said, unsure why there was suddenly a lump in his throat.
“And she was so sweet with the dog-- I told you they’re keeping that in, right, from the original one? Anyway, by the end they were inseparable. I could tell you would get along with her, too.”
He set down the spatula then and went over to kiss her properly, setting his hands on her waist and tugging her as close as he could without pulling her completely off the counter. She let out a little surprised laugh, though she met him with enthusiasm, and when he pulled away she asked breathlessly, “What was that for?”
“Just because.”
---
There was a loud thump, followed by a hissed, “Fuck, shit that hurt!”, and then another much louder thump followed by something so vulgar he felt himself blush just listening to it.
He sat up, fumbling for his glasses on the nightstand. “Anna? What are you doing up? I thought you said you don’t have to film anything else.”
“I don’t. But I set up a meeting with Lena this morning to talk about options.”
“Oh.”
He wasn’t awake enough to deal with that kind of problem just yet, and so instead he switched the lamp on. “What did you drop?”
“I set my heels on top of the drawers so I would see them and remember to wear them. The tall ones that make me feel like a badass? And then, uh, I tried to get dressed in the dark and knocked one of them onto my foot, and it turns out those heels hurt when they land on you, and then I, uh, I tripped and ran into the dresser.”
“Sounds like you’re going to have a bruise.”
“A massive one that Honey will get annoyed at me for. You wouldn’t believe how much concealer she’s wasted on me doing stupid shit.”
She finished putting her earrings in and clacked over to him, still in the heels. “Have fun at work today, baby, okay?”
“I’ll try. Depends on what shit Ryder pulls.”
She laughed at that and leaned down to kiss him. “Love you.”
“Love you back.”
And he was having fun at work, really, especially when he spent his lunch break playing fetch with the dogs who were staying in the kennels, but then his phone buzzed with a call from Anna.
“Hey, sweetheart, what’s up?” he asked, hoping she couldn’t tell he was already worrying; she never called at work.
“Fuck! I’m so fucking pissed, I-- oh, hello, sorry, I skipped that part. Love you. Anyway, fuck!”
“What’s wrong?”
“So I like, told Lena how shitty Hans was, and that you and I had been talking about eventually going public, and she was all ‘well it’s really good for your reputation to be in the news this much’ and I was like ‘um but I don’t like being in the tabloids’ and she was like ‘but it’s good for your career so really I was thinking we could play this up’ even though I told her at the beginning I don’t want to encourage it, you know?”
“Uh-huh.”
“And then she was annoyed at me, like ‘look at all your Twitter followers now’ and stuff and just like...fuck. Like I know she knows how to do this shit way better than me, but still. I told her no, by the way, still no playing into it. Which I would have done even if I didn’t know it bothers you because it bothers me, so don’t start feeling guilty.”
She knew him too well; he’d been getting ready to apologize already. “I won’t.”
“Well, then, she was like ‘the hype is going to die down til the trailer drops this summer if we don’t do something so next weekend I got you lined up for some talk show stuff, and Hans is doing SNL and surprise, you’ve got a cameo with him on that and also he’ll be on the talk shows too’ and just. I told her how much he sucks, you know? And that I really needed a break from traveling.”
“But this’ll be really good, Anna,” he said, making sure he was out of earshot of anyone who might overhear and put two and two together. “For your career and the movie. You gotta go.”
She sighed heavily. “I know. But like, I haven’t even gotten to see my sister in a month. And they’re probably gonna put me in a hotel with Hans, and he’ll try to come up with some excuse to come talk to me in my room--”
“Can I come with you?” Kristoff asked, surprising even himself. “I mean, if it’s for SNL, it’s on the weekend, right?”
There was a beat of silence, and then she replied, “Oh my god. Oh my god, would you really do that?”
“Um...go on a weekend trip with my girlfriend to a city I’ve never seen? Is that a question?”
“We’d have to leave Friday, though.”
“That’s fine. I get a day off each month, and I haven’t used any yet.”
“You’re telling me it’s March, and you’ve been stressed as fuck, and you still haven’t missed a day?”
“Um…”
“Okay, you’re definitely coming with me. And we’re doing touristy shit the whole time. Well, the whole time I’m not doing dumb interviews or whatever. Anyway, I just got to set. See you tonight?”
“Why did you say that like it’s a question? We live together.”
“I don’t know. Makes it feel more exciting that way, like we’re still in the exciting dating part and not basically already an old married couple.”
“It’s still exciting to me.”
“Aww, Kris,” she said, her voice softening. “You’re too cute. I can’t wait to actually be half of an old married couple with you.”
Unconsciously, his hand went to his pocket, where he was keeping the receipt from the jewelry store. He was picking it up after work today. “Me, either.”
---
“Do you think people can tell this is a wig?”
“No. I barely recognized you when you came out of the bathroom this morning.”
“Liar. But you’re sweet for saying so.”
He laughed and squeezed her hand. She was in the window seat, wearing a brunette wig cut into a bob, a sweatshirt with the hood pulled up over it, and a pair of sunglasses for good measure, and still to be certain she went unrecognized, they had gone through security and boarding separately. Now they were seated in first class, and, mercifully Hans had beaten them there and already attracted all the attention to himself. Except for his own, of course; he had already made excuses to walk past their row twice before the plane had even taken off.
Kristoff heard the engines start up and cleared his throat. “Um. Is it too late to tell you I’ve never flown before?”
“Never? I knew that in high school, but I thought surely…”
“Nope. I, uh, am I supposed to be scared?”
“Are you?”
“...only if I’m supposed to be.”
She laughed and held out her hand palm-up. “Hold on to me. Trust me, it helps.”
He squeezed her hand and felt a prickling at the back of his neck. He turned and met Hans’s glittering green eyes across the aisle. For a moment they just stared at each other; then Hans smirked and returned his attention to his phone.
Kristoff turned to face the front again, grateful Anna’s attention was on the menu and thus that she’d missed the moment of tension. He had a funny feeling that wouldn’t be the only such moment this weekend.
---
“Yes, it’s been a dream come true,” she said with a grin. “I mean, getting to be a literal princess? What girl doesn’t want that?”
“It’s your second time wearing a crown. Do you think this movie will be as successful as Crowned on Christmas?”
“Oh, definitely. I mean, the number of amazing, talented people on set--”
And there was Hans’s goddamn hand on her knee again. “I agree,” he said, smoothly interrupting her. “It’s been such an amazing experience working with Anna.”
She crossed her legs, forcing his hand to fall away. At least it wasn’t on her shoulder again this time; that had taken her a whole minute and a half to shuffle out of. She caught the host’s eye in a silent plea for help, but he didn’t seem to notice.
“And the rumors about the two of you?”
Hans laughed. “It’s flattering, to be sure, to have my name linked with someone like our Anna here. But I like to keep some parts of my life private.”
“Me, too,” Anna said quickly, but Hans’s hand settled over her shoulders again all the same.
When she was finally, mercifully off the set and backstage again, she didn’t even bother with a makeup wipe before grabbing Kristoff’s hand and pulling him out the stage door, heading straight for the car that was waiting for them. Mercifully, no fans had come around back yet, and so she dropped his hand only long enough to get in the backseat.
Neither of them spoke until they were nearly to the hotel, and then she turned to him suddenly, her eyes fierce. “I fucking hate that guy.”
Kristoff only nodded, his eyes dark and unfathomable.
“And I’m gonna take an insanely hot shower until I like, burn away all of him from my skin.”
He nodded again and set his hand over hers, squeezing hard.
The silence resumed as they made their way upstairs, timing it so they wouldn’t be seen in the lobby together. She went first and was already stripped down, the shower heating up, when she heard the door click open. She stepped back out to greet Kristoff, but before she could even get out a hello he was there, his hands tangling in her hair as he kissed her, hard.
“Fuck,” she managed to gasp out, hands already scrabbling at his waistband as he nipped at her lower lip. “Kris, I--”
She trailed off into a gasp. He had already moved down to her neck, pressing kisses hard enough she wondered if he was trying to leave a mark. “I love you, Anna,” he said, his breath hot against her skin.
“I love you, too. Only you,” she emphasized, and she felt him groan against her collarbone. “And I only want you to touch me.”
“Good. Because that’s how I’m planning on spending the rest of the night.”
---
It was too damn hot in the rehearsal room. She had to step out for a moment or she was going to puke up every bite of the room service they had ordered that morning, too lazy and exhausted after spending most of the night tangled in each other to bother even going two feet down the sidewalk for a bagel.
Hans raised an eyebrow as she stood. “You alright, Anna? We’re just about to be to the skit you’re in if you don’t mind waiting another minute for a break.”
She simpered at him, wishing she had the guts to tell him off then and there. “Be right back. Just need a piss.”
He blinked, affronted, but one of the women beside him snickered, which was enough to embolden her. She grabbed her purse from the back of her chair and marched off to the bathroom, locking the door behind her.
She really did need to pee, but after that she dug through the bag in search of a Tums. “Come on, you’re in here somewhere-- aha!” she exclaimed triumphantly, pulling out a foiled packet.
Her smile dropped immediately; it was just her birth control, but as she went to drop it back in something caught her eye. She did some mental math, and then did it again, and then pulled out her phone and looked at a calendar of the last month. No, she thought, panic already rising in her chest, there should only be five. Not six.
She flicked to another app on her phone, the little one with the stupid flower icon. Surely she had just misremembered, it had been the first week in Russia and it’d only been, what, five or six weeks--
Twelve days late.
---
By the fountain. The big one. The one she had sent him a Google Maps pin for. He had checked three times; this was the right place. And it was the right place, too, with the first of the season’s flowers blooming around it, and surprisingly few people, and the sun was gorgeous and warm and sparkling on the water, and seriously, there was so much green. When would he have a chance like this in California?
He kept taking the box out of his pocket and opening to double check it, just to make sure it was still there. It felt unreal somehow, even though he’d had it for the last two weeks, just waiting at the back of the sock drawer.
He still couldn’t help but worry she wouldn’t like it, that it wouldn’t be enough for her. It was kind of small, really, not at all what you’d expect a rising starlet to wear. But he’d picked it out himself because he thought it was her style, and he’d paid for it all up front out of his savings, and he hoped that was enough to make up for its size.
Which was ridiculous to even worry about, because this was Anna, and all she had ever wanted from him was himself, which was maybe even more ridiculous than that.
He heard footsteps and quickly shoved the box back in his pocket, worried she might have caught a glimpse, but it was only an old man passing by and leaning on his cane who gave him a wink. “Good luck with that, kid,” the man said, and Kristoff offered him a weak smile and a nod.
And then there she was, radiant in the midafternoon light in a white sundress. He was struck suddenly by the thought of how she’d look coming down the aisle to him in something similar, and a smile broke out across his face, one that she didn’t return. In fact, as she drew closer, he realized that she looked exactly like she had on their trip to Disneyland after their third time in a row on Space Mountain.
“Kris,” she said the moment she came up to him, not even taking a moment to hug him, “I gotta tell you something.”
“Oh, uh--” He gulped. “I, uh, I kinda wanted to tell you something too. Or, er, ask you.”
“Oh-- oh! Oh, fuck! You go first, then.”
“Well-- I don’t know, it was supposed to be a surprise--”
“Do you want me to walk away and come back?”
“I...yeah, that, uh, that would be good.”
She did, and this time when she came over she was giving him a bright smile, her eyes already shining with emotion even before he got down on one knee.
“Anna,” he said as she drew closer to him, “you’re the most extraordinary person I’ve ever met. You’re the love of my life, and I know I kind of asked this before, but I want to ask it officially. Will you-- oh, fuck, baby, why are you crying so hard? Did I fuck it up?”
She let out a sob. “I think I’m pregnant.”
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Did I quickly as fast as lightning draw @ahtohallan-calling 's DRTLP Sven and @kristoffbjorg 's wedding? You bet your ass I did.
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chapter 21 of don’t read the last page is here!
masterpost
[kristanna / m / multichap / modern au with actress!anna and vetstudent!kristoff]
“Happy birthday, Kris.”
He reached into the bag and pulled out a square of fabric; he let it fall open and, after reading what was on the front of the t-shirt, looked at Anna with a mixture of shock and amusement.
Ellie squinted at it from the far end of the table. “Best dad ever? Why does it say that? I don’t get it.”
march
"Call me as soon as you're done, okay?"
"What if you're in the middle of saving a bunny's life or something?"
"I won't be. I'll probably still be at lunch."
Anna sighed in relief and stepped closer, leaning her forehead against his chest. "Oh, good. I'm nervous as fuck."
"Why?" he asked, settling his arms around her.
"I don't know. Just...now that I'm excited about it, I'm worried it'll be a false alarm after all or like...that something's wrong."
Kristoff kissed the top of her head. "It's going to be fine, baby. I'm sure of it."
She tilted her face up towards him, propping up her chin on his chest. "Why does everything sound so reassuring when you say it? Tell me something else that'll make me feel better."
"Uh...like what?"
"I don't know. That I'll never get morning sickness and only be in labor for five minutes."
"I don't think either of those things can really happen. But," he said quickly, seeing the disappointment on her face, "it'll be worth it. Because then we'll get to meet our baby. Who, just saying, is going to be the coolest kid of all time and will definitely be a Mario Kart prodigy."
She smiled and raised up on her toes to kiss him. "Love you."
"Love you back."
And then, because that seemed to be the way of things in his life these days, he had had to miss lunch in order to help out with an emergency surgery and missed lunch. The dog in question, thankfully, was completely fine, but his heart was pounding as he scrambled to check his phone. Ryder raised an eyebrow at the way he rushed into the break room. “All good, man?”
“Great,” Kristoff said absentmindedly as he flicked open his texts from Anna.
hey no worries that you didnt pick up sure u just got busy but congratulations dad🎈🎉👶
nov 12 is the due date but they said prob will be late since its our first
!!!!!!!!!!!!!! love you
For a moment he just stared down at the screen, hardly daring to breathe. So this was really happening; by the end of the year, he’d have a one-month-old baby. He was going to be a father.
“Stop mooning over the girlfriend and come help me in the kennels,” Ryder called.
“Fiancee,” Kristoff said absentmindedly before typing out a quick response, ignoring the exaggerated gasp of shock from the doorway.
I can’t wait. Love you back :)
---
“Kristoff?”
“Distractions won’t work this time,” he replied through clenched teeth.
“I’m not even racing this time, dumbass. What’s in 209 days?”
“Huh? I-- fuck!” he shouted as he drove right off the edge of the track, to Anna and Ryder’s delight, and promptly fell to last place.
“Watch out, Nattura,” Anna growled. “I’m coming for your ass.”
“Was she always like this?” Honey asked, amused, from where she was sprawled across the armchair.
“Yes,” Elsa replied from her spot on the floor, not looking up from her phone. “It was worst when we played Candyland, because there’s not even a point to being competitive at that.”
“Hello? Does anyone care about this ominous countdown on the fridge?” Sven asked again, huffing when he was drowned out by Anna’s cheering as she threw a banana peel in front of Ryder’s kart and secured a last-second victory.
Kristoff, at last, glanced at him. “Will you get me a beer while you’re over there?”
“Yes, if you tell me what the fuck is in 209 days and if I need to like, buy a Geiger counter or something.”
“Anna?” Honey asked suddenly, sitting up. “Everything good?”
“Fine,” she said distantly, suddenly the same shade of white as her t-shirt.
Ryder, his eyes wide, put an arm around her shoulders to keep her from swaying off the sofa. “Jesus, is winning Mario Kart that exciting?” he asked.
“That’s like, November…” Sven said, frowning. “Why is Thanksgiving making you pass out?”
“I’m not passing out,” Anna said, her voice distant, and Kristoff swore under his breath, hastily getting to his feet and crossing to the kitchen himself to get a glass of water. “I’m pregnant, though.”
No one reacted until Elsa’s phone hit the floor, and then they all burst into a cacophony of questions.
“You’re what--”
“How long have you--”
“What the fuck--”
“I think I am going to actually pass out if you don’t all shut up,” Anna said, her voice suddenly nearly a shout, and they all froze and turned to look at her.
Kristoff handed her the glass of water then, and she took a long gulp before meeting her sister’s gaze. “I was going to tell you tonight, Elsa,” she explained, “you know, family and all. And the rest of you guys in a few more weeks when, you know, it’s less…” She waved a hand. “Risky. But...yes. We’re, uh, we’re having a baby. November 12th, mark your calendars for Anna Arendelle’s performance of a lifetime.”
Sven was the first to speak. “Damn,” he said, taking a sip of the beer he’d finally regained the sense to crack open, “you’re really gonna do that to some kid?”
“Do what?” she asked with a slight frown.
“Make him be a goddamn giant and a ginger.”
--
april
“You don’t have to stay up with me,” Anna said hoarsely as he passed her a glass of water. "You only signed up for morning sickness duties, not every hour of the day and night sickness watch."
“I won’t be able to sleep knowing you don’t feel good.”
“Yeah, but now you won’t be able to stay awake at the clinic tomorrow.”
“That’s what coffee is for,”
She sighed and wiped her hand across her mouth. “I think it’s over for now.”
Kristoff leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her temple. “Are you sure?”
“No. But I hope it is.”
“Me, too,” he said, getting to his feet before reaching down and offering a hand to help her up. She stumbled slightly, and he caught her, eyebrows knitting together with concern. “Come on, let’s get you back to bed.”
“I wanna brush my teeth,” she said, yawning.
He waited while she did, and she couldn’t help but smile at him in the mirror when he let out his own yawn, rubbing sleepily at his eyes under his glasses. “I love you,” she said around the toothbrush, and he laughed.
“Even though it’s my fault you’re sick right now?”
“Both of ours, really. Your fault for being so handsome, and my fault for taking full advantage of that,” she said, cheerful again now that the nausea had passed as she bounced back to bed. “Or maybe it’s the baby’s fault.”
“We’ll have to give her a stern talking to,” Kristoff replied, lifting the blankets for her as she clambered in. “Put her in timeout and everything.”
Anna laughed, nestling against his chest the moment he was beside her once more. “You really are convinced it’s a girl, aren’t you?”
“Mmhmm,” he said, kissing the top of her head. “Who’s going to look exactly like you.”
“I don’t know,” she hummed. “I’m kind of hoping for a little boy.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I just...sometimes I think about what it’ll be like when they’re here, and I just...I keep imagining how it would feel to look over and see you holding a little boy and think ‘that’s him, that’s our son’.”
Suddenly there was a lump in his throat. “Well...well, I guess that would be okay, too.”
---
Sam was surprisingly misty-eyed when she told him. “Look at you, kiddo,” he kept saying, over and over, and she was half-tempted to get up and walk around his desk to give him a hug around the neck.
Lena, though, was so efficiently business-like that Anna just sat silently in her chair, grateful for Kristoff’s hand in hers. “Do we have a timeline?”
“Yes, November twelfth is--”
“Not that. For when you want to go public. Although that does give us a firm deadline.”
Anna let out a surprised little laugh, but Lena just raised an eyebrow; apparently that hadn’t been a joke. Kristoff squeezed her hand and said, “The sooner the better. Might as well get it over with.”
“Well, if we go ahead and go public now, it’s going to hurt Anna’s engagement numbers and detract from the film’s first trailer coming out next week. If we wait until, say, June, it’ll fall perfectly in the lull between the first and second trailers and give us time to start setting the narrative on track well before the press tours. I’ll see what I can do to make sure anything out of state is done before you’re not allowed to fly. When’s the wedding?”
Anna blinked for a moment, trying to process the rapid-fire stream of information. “Um. We didn’t set a date yet.”
“Hmm,” Lena said with a frown. “Well, let’s try to get on that. People will want to know. Too bad you’re not already married, I’d say release a picture of you in the dress and you’d be on the cover of People. For now, though, just a picture of both of you is enough.”
“We don’t want to do that, though,” Anna said quickly before Kristoff could start to get nervous. “Just let them know that he, you know, exists. I don’t want to make it easier for them to find him.”
“Alright. I’d suggest social media, since your fans feel very close to you and will appreciate hearing it directly. But an interview is always a good default if you want a pro’s help putting it in the best way possible.”
She shifted slightly in her seat. “Um. I’m kind of...out of my depth here. Sam?”
He blinked. “Oh, sorry, I was just-- do you remember the day you wandered into my office for the first time, kiddo, with those roller skates?”
“Of course I do,” she said fondly.
“Anyway. I’d do the interview. Better safe than sorry.”
Lena nodded. “Right. Let me find someone willing to do a feature on you,” she said, diving back in to her laptop.
The rest of them sat in awkward silence for a moment before Kristoff cleared his throat. “So,” he began, “what do I need to do?”
Sam shrugged. “Be on good behavior. Don’t do anything that would embarrass her. Don’t go out in pajamas or get a DUI or anything. If the fans are getting too pushy, help her get out. If paparazzi starts shouting, don’t ever shout back. Even if they say--”
“Done,” Lena announced suddenly. “Tomorrow afternoon downtown. No lunch required, just tea, so no need to worry about getting sick.”
“I haven’t been that sick,” Anna said defensively, and beside her Kristoff coughed.
Sam grinned again. “Look at you, kiddo,” he said again.
“Look at me what, puking?”
“Getting ready to be a mom,” he said, and suddenly she felt a little misty-eyed, too.
---
may
“Jesus!” Anna yelped. “I was dead asleep!”
“Sorry,” Kristoff mumbled as he sat down on the warm spot on the sofa she’d just been evicted from, settling her on his lap and promptly burying his face in her shoulder.
She frowned, carding her fingers through his hair. “I was having a very good dream, I’ll have you know,” she said, though there was no real irritation in her voice. “About puppies, I think.”
“You can go back to sleep,” he said, his voice muffled against her shirt.
“I will when you tell me what’s wrong.”
His arms tightened around her waist. “Give me a minute.”
She hummed her agreement and turned to press a kiss into his hair, relishing the feel of him so close against her, enough that their breathing was slowly syncing up as their chests rose and fell together. Worry was tugging at her, to be sure, about what could have upset him enough to not bother with even a hello, but it helped more than a little to know that he would tell her before long so she could help fix it, instead of letting it linger like an untreated wound in his heart.
“Sorry,” he said again, pulling back with a sigh to rest his forehead against hers. “Just needed a second.”
“‘S’okay, baby. No rush.”
He closed his eyes, moving the hand that wasn’t supporting her back to rest against her still-flat stomach. “At the store...there was stuff in the tabloids. About this.”
“But I...how would anyone know?”
“It said ‘a source from the set of Arendelle’s new movie’.”
“Fuck. I knew people were going to start being suspicious of me being sick all the time. Well, they were going to find out soon enough anyway, weren’t they?” she said, hoping she sounded reassuring despite the pit that had just opened up in her chest.
“It said the baby is Hans’s,” he said bleakly, and a little gasp slipped out from her before she could hold it back.
For a moment they just held each other, letting the news sink in. Anna ran a hand up and down Kristoff’s back, and he sighed, still keeping his forehead pressed against hers. “I’m sorry you had to see that, Kris,” she said quietly.
“I know with...with you being famous and stuff, you’re always going to kind of belong to other people. But the baby...she’s just ours. And I guess it was stupid of me, but I was kind of hoping it would always be like that. That the whole time people knew about her, they would know the truth.”
“About him,” Anna said, and he huffed out a laugh. “Sorry, too soon to be teasing you?”
“No. It helps. You’re definitely wrong, though. I’m certain of it.”
She laughed then, too, and kissed him. “The interview will be out soon. And then everyone will know it’s been you all along, and that it’s your son in there.”
“Daughter. And...okay. If you’re sure.”
“Yeah. I’m ready for this part to be over. I know it’s gonna be hard on you, and I’m sorry you’ll have to deal with the bullshit, but...damn, it’s been hard keeping you a secret. I just want to parade you around town and be like ‘hey guys, guess who got lucky and convinced the hottest guy in the world to marry her?’”
“Now you’re just being corny to cheer me up. Literally last night you called me Grandpa again when I put my glasses on.”
“Yeah, but you’re a sexy grandpa. Which is how we ended up in this mess in the first place.”
“Not a mess. Just an...unexpected journey.”
Anna grinned and kissed the tip of his nose. “Is that your way of asking me if we can have a Lord of the Rings marathon tonight to cheer you up?”
“You know me too well. And yes.”
“Did you get popcorn?”
“Mhmm. Think you can keep it down?”
“Nope,” she said cheerfully. “Good thing I have a fiance to hold my hair back, eh?”
---
“Wait!”
Everyone turned and looked at Anna as she dug through her purse. “I want to take a picture of this,” she explained. “So I can remember the face he makes.”
Kristoff raised an eyebrow, one hand still in the gift bag. “Should I be nervous?”
“No, just--” She grinned and held up her phone. “You’ll see.”
“Can I open it now?”
She nodded, bouncing on the balls of her feet with excitement. “Happy birthday, Kris.”
He reached into the bag and pulled out a square of fabric; he let it fall open and, after reading what was on the front of the t-shirt, looked at Anna with a mixture of shock and amusement.
Ellie squinted at it from the far end of the table. “Best dad ever? Why does it say that? I don’t get it.”
And then she did get it all at once, her eyes going wide as she clapped a hand over her mouth. “Oh!”
Kristoff’s mother was already weeping and throwing her arms over his shoulders, and his brothers looked awkward but pleased all the same as they clapped him on the back, and Ellie was already squealing and tugging on her sister’s hand and spouting off something about names, and beside Anna Kristoff’s father smiled and set a hand on her shoulder.
“Congratulations,” he said, his eyes kind and full of warmth, and suddenly she was wishing her own father was here, wondering what he would have said, how broadly he would have smiled.
“Thank you, Mr. Bjorgman,” she said, and when he saw her lip start to wobble he pulled her into a tight hug.
“You can call me Cliff, you know,” he said softly. “Or whatever else you’d like. Shoot, might as well go ahead and help me get some practice in, start calling me Grandpa if you want.”
She laughed at that. “Cliff for now, I think.”
“Fine with me,” he said, gently patting her back. “I hope you know we’re here to help both of you with whatever you need. And that you’re welcome up here anytime, with or without him. Don’t even have to call ahead, just come right in the back door and tell me you want pickles or something, whatever it is. Don’t have much experience in this department of parenting, but I’ll try my best.”
“Thank you,” she said, holding on tighter for just a moment before pulling away to face the rest of them.
---
june
look it’s official
lena had a copy mailed to the house
He squinted at the photo she had texted him, scrolling through the full-page article dedicated to Anna’s rapid rise to fame. He couldn’t help but grin at the mentions of her tampon commercial and unexpected viral fame; she had to have been irritated at that being brought up again. There were photos of her in that blue gown, too, the one she’d worn for the Netflix movie and been so excited to show him. And then there, at the end, was the all-important “what are you doing now” section, the one she had rehearsed with him over and over the night before the interview.
“What’s next for you, Anna?” I ask, and she gives me a bright smile as she sets down her cup of (herbal) tea.
“Well, I’m going to wrap up filming for the sequel, of course, but then I’m going to take a step back from the spotlight for a little bit to focus on my family.”
“Your sister?”
“My fiance Kristoff, actually, and our first baby. We’re really excited,” she adds with her trademark bright smile, and I can’t help but smile back at her.
He grinned and closed the picture so he could type back a response, but before he’d even started a phone call came through. He frowned; it was just a number, no name, but it looked familiar somehow. “Hello?” he asked, expecting it to be a telemarketer.
“Kristoff? It’s Sam.”
“What’s up?”
“I, uh, I don’t know if you saw yet, but just...don’t panic.”
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chapter 1 of don’t read the last page is here!
kristanna / m / multichap / modern au with actress!anna and vetstudent!kristoff / basically the opposite of a slowburn but there’s still drama just you wait
2
“Oh,” he said, blinking in surprise. “You’re that Anna. Hello.”
She heaved out an exasperated sigh. “Goddammit. I thought the hat would be enough. Do you want my autograph or a selfie? Please say autograph, I have this seriously massive pimple coming up.”
He blinked again. “I was just going to ask how you’ve been doing--”
“Oh, god, you’re one of those, aren’t you--”
“Since high school,” he finished.
“When you sat by me in bio class freshman year and I helped you, and then tenth grade when you sat by me in lit and helped me, and then junior year when neither of us had a date to prom so--”
Her eyes went wide.
“Well-- anyway. You are that Anna, right? I mean, you’ve got the Buchanan High hat on and everything.”
“Oh. Oh my god. Kristoff?”
“Yeah. Here’s your coffee, by the way.”
----
She came back that afternoon.
“That Anna again. Hello.”
“Hi, look, I just wanted to say sorry again about this morning when I didn’t recognize you and just assumed you were being, you know, a creep or a fan or something, it’s not that I don’t remember you, it’s just that you’re a lot wider than you were back then, like in a good way, and so I didn’t realize at first but now I do and I’m just really really sorry, and I want to make it up to you so. Um. How can I do that?”
“Did you actually want this latte or not?”
“Oh, god, yes, I’ve got an insanely long script to memorize just for this one stupid audition so I expect I’ll be up all night.”
“Okay. I was worried you thought you needed to order something else to talk to me.”
“....did I?”
“No.”
She bit her lip, the same way she always had. “Really? Even though I was being kind of a bitch?”
“I saw your commercial when I went out for my break and walked past the Best Buy. Don’t blame you for being on your guard.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I’m Anna, and trust me, these tampons changed my life. Now I can play tennis and do cartwheels on the beach all day long. Here, let me do a flip right now so you can see the string dangling out and everything and how happy I am about all that!”
“I don’t think that’s how it went, exactly.”
“Well-- close enough.”
“Everyone will forget about it in a week. Someone will trip at an awards show or catch their cat speaking Japanese or something, and the world’ll move right on along.”
“God, I hope so. But really-- let me make it up to you.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I want to.”
“I really did just want to know how you’re doing these days.”
“Well, I want to know about how you’re doing. Let’s get dinner or something, yeah?”
“I thought you had lines to rehearse.”
She waved a hand. “It’s fine. I’ll do that after dinner.”
“I get off in ten minutes. We can get takeout and catch up at my apartment. Or yours, if you’d rather sit somewhere besides a ratty sofa. And I’ll help you run lines.”
She bit her lip again, and he tried not to stare. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. It’ll be just like high school, when we had to do that scene from Much Ado About Nothing in English class, and you helped me get through all the weird words. Except this time I’ll do the helping. At least I hope I will.”
She laughed. “I can’t believe you’re even sweeter than I remembered.”
Another customer came in, and he shrugged as he reached for an empty paper cup. “You’re even prettier.”
She was blushing as she walked away and sat at an empty table.
---
“So you finally settled on what you wanted to be.”
“Yeah.”
They were on the floor because the springs in his couch had been weak even before going through three owners, and when they’d first sat down with Chinese takeout boxes in hand they’d nearly fallen straight through. At least the coffee table he’d gotten off Craigslist was the perfect height for a five-star floor dining experience.
“How’d you decide?” Anna asked, slurping up a long noodle.
A bit of sauce flicked off the end and landed on her chin. Kristoff leaned over and brushed it away with his thumb. She blushed, and he smiled; he was getting sort of fond of that shade of pink.
“I always liked animals. And science was my best class. So I took some classes in undergrad, did good enough there, applied to veterinary school, and now here I am.”
“How much time do you have left?”
“God, you make it sound like I’m dying or something.”
She elbowed him affectionately. “You’re just dramatic.”
“Year and a half. Almost there.”
“That’s amazing, seriously. Imagine if Ms. Carlton could see you now.”
“She has. I went home for Christmas and ran into her in Target. She asked if I still remembered the Krebs cycle, and I said, ‘well, ma’am, I sure hope so’, and then my mom made me actually explain to her what I was doing with my life.”
Anna snorted. “Is she still teaching?”
“Nah, retired last year. Surprised she didn’t quit right after she got done with having you in class.”
“Me? Oh, come on, I wasn’t that bad.”
“You faked fainting so well on dissection day that someone else fainted, too.”
“Well, it turned out well enough for me, at least. Maybe they’ll ask me to be in a Life Alert commercial next or something. I’m still very good at falling. Want to see?”
She set her carton aside and stood up before he could even respond. “Watch this!”
Her hands flew to her side, and she let out a moan. “Oh, mon dieu...I ‘ave been shot, cherie, au revoir….adieu…”
She stumbled forward, then back, then forward again, and then fell all at once, so easily that for a moment he really was scared. He scooted forward a little so he could get a better look at her face. Her jaw was slack, a strand of hair falling limply over her eyes and dangling into her open mouth. He moved it aside, his hand gentle against her freckled skin.
She blinked and turned to look up at him, her eyes bright. “Was that good?”
“Very.”
She sat up, putting one hand on the floor and turning slightly so they were face to face. “Remember when you danced with me at prom?”
“The last dance, because that was how long it took me to get up the courage to ask you?”
She nodded slowly, her eyes watching something deep inside him. He watched back, wondering what she saw. “Even though we’d both showed up alone, and we talked to each other every day, and you always ate lunch with me and shared your apple slices even though the rest of the hockey team saved a spot for you.”
She leaned closer, just barely, and the tip of her nose brushed against his. “Why were you so nervous, Kris?”
“Because you were a pretty girl, and I was me.”
“And what about now?”
“Well. Some things never change.”
Her lips brushed over his, just barely, but he held still, just in case it was a mistake. He felt her mouth curve into a smile. “You don’t have to be so shy this time. You can kiss me back if you want to.”
“Are you sure?”
“I wanted you to kiss me at prom.”
“I thought you were just leaning on me that much because your shoes hurt.”
“Silly boy,” she whispered, leaning so close that her lips moved over his as she spoke and then he did kiss her like he wished he had seven years ago except maybe it was for the best that he hadn’t til now because really, this was more than worth the wait.
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don’t read the last page masterpost
kristanna / wip / modern au with actress anna and vet student kristoff / the opposite of a slowburn bc i’m trash for cuddling / rated m (tumblr links are t-rated) / currently 30kish words and not quite halfway done
read on ao3
read on tumblr:
1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18 / 19 / 20 / 21 / 22
the drabble this started from
tag if you want to see asks/headcanons related to the fic
#sorry im just now getting around to doing this and that ive never done it for a fic before#i miiight update tonight djfakl;#it's been a lot of fluff the last few chapters so it's time to dive back in to more Dramatique Shit yay#drtlp#my fics
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chapter 10 of don’t read the last page is here!
[kristanna / m / multichap / modern au with actress!anna and vetstudent!kristoff]
“I was a Boy Scout,” he mumbled, “I learned shit about tying knots, not…this.”
“You FaceTimed me just fine when I was in Romania.”
He glanced down at her as she kept giggling helplessly, then looked back at the phone, a faint flush rising on his cheeks. “…Sven helped me.”
chapter 10: twits
October dragged on, the only bright spot the easy afternoons and sweet mornings she spent with Kristoff on the few days a week he didn’t go to school by day and work at night. The studio that had been so excited to cast her in the Anastasia remake was dragging its heels, even when the trailer to the Netflix movie had dropped and immediately been a hit.
“This is normal,” her agent had reassured her. “They want you, kiddo, they just are waiting to make sure.”
“Sure of what, Sam?”
“Not gonna mince words with you, Anna. That you can carry a movie on your own. You’ve got the acting chops, but they need to know people will stay and look at you for two hours straight.”
“No pressure.”
“Honestly, there shouldn’t be. You already filmed it. Nothing to do now but wait.”
And wait she had for the last four weeks, trying not to think about it all too much during the still-agonizing days of sitting around waiting for Elsa to get off work or Kristoff to finish class or Sven to text her sure, come over, I’ll have the Wii ready and waiting.
Her one lucky break had come in the form of a night off for Kristoff the night before the movie was released. He still had classes in the morning, but at least if she had to spend the night lying awake with worry she wouldn’t do it alone.
“You need to sleep at least,” she told him as she brushed her nose against his as they huddled together under the blankets, both of them too torn between exhaustion and nervousness to do anything else. “You still have that lab in the morning.”
“I just don’t want you to be up all night stressing out alone.”
“It’s a good thing you live in LA, Kris. You’re so goddamn sweet the rain would melt you anywhere else.”
He snorted at that. “Can’t believe you call me the corny one.”
Anna giggled and gave him a quick peck on the lips. “Thank you, though. But I’m serious, just, y’know, snuggling and shit will help enough.”
“I’m serious, too.”
As it turned out, neither of them needed to be; when she had turned over in his arms so he could spoon her, the slow rise and fall of his chest against her back and the gentle kisses he kept placing on the crown of her head were enough to lull her to sleep in minutes.
She woke up to the beeping of his alarm; somehow in the night she had ended up with her head tucked back under the blankets and her legs tangled around Kristoff’s. She groaned and buried her face in his chest. “Godfuckingdammit it’s today.”
“Morning to you, too, my love,” he laughed, lifting the blanket to get a peek at her scowl.
“Nooo, put the blanket back. Leave me here to perish in my cave of darkness and solitude.”
“I would, I really would, except Sven would kill me for letting his favorite Mario Kart buddy waste away.”
She huffed against his bare skin, wrapping her arms around his waist. “He only likes me more because you don’t lose to make me feel better anymore.”
“So? It’s still true. And anyway, I’m sure people loved the movie. It came out at midnight New York time, right? So maybe there’s already some reviews.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
Giving up on trying to coax her out from under the blanket, he dropped it again and instead reached under to begin teasing the tangles out of her hair with his fingers. “Want me to check them for you?”
“Honestly, I just need to know what Twitter says. That’s the important thing these days.”
“Want me to hand you your phone?”
“No! Oh, god, no, I don’t think I could stand to read all the shit people are probably saying. This is Tampongate 2.0, I’m telling you already.”
“Okay, so I’ll make my own Twitter and check for you.”
“But you don’t do social media.”
“Will it make you feel better if I read things for you and tell you what people say?”
“…yes,” she admitted, pressing a kiss to his ribcage and smiling when he squirmed; he was ticklish there, something she liked to take full advantage of.
“Okay, then I’ll do it.”
He rolled over then so he could fumble with the lamp and grab his phone. She moved to lay her cheek against his chest, trying not to wince when she felt him raise his arm to look at the little screen. With his other hand he was still stroking her hair, and between that and the fact that he was always so warm, she had nearly fallen asleep again when she heard him huff out a frustrated sigh.
“Damn it,” he swore under his breath, and at last she crawled out of her blanket cocoon just enough to peek up at him.
He’d put his glasses on but had brought the screen up nearly to the tip of his nose as he tried to puzzle it out. “Why do I have to give it my contact list? I just want to see your stuff.”
Anna couldn’t help but laugh as she sat up. “Okay, Grandpa, just hand it to me, and I’ll do it.”
“No, I need to fight this battle myself,” he muttered, deadly serious as he tapped to the next screen. “Goddammit! Why do I have to put a picture?”
Now she was laughing so hard there were tears in her eyes. “You don’t have to. Just hit skip again. Kristoff, how have you survived this long?”
“I was a Boy Scout,” he mumbled, “I learned shit about tying knots, not…this.”
“You FaceTimed me just fine when I was in Romania.”
He glanced down at her as she kept giggling helplessly, then looked back at the phone, a faint flush rising on his cheeks. “…Sven helped me.”
“Oh my god. Oh, Kristoff, baby…”
Another fit of laughter overtook her and only grew louder when he gave a grumpy little huff upon finally reaching his still-empty feed. “Goddammit, why is it blank? Anna, quit laughing and help me find you on here.”
“Just search for me. Surely you’ve seen search bars before, you have to have done something online in your life–”
“Ha ha. Okay, yes, I see it now.”
He started scrolling through the long list of Annas, his brows furrowed in concentration, and she burrowed back under the blankets, resting her face against his stomach and pressing absentminded kisses to it whenever she heard him make little noises of confusion. He was so focused on the phone that he didn’t even notice when her lips drifted lower, her kisses starting to linger longer as she reached his hipbone.
“Aha!” he shouted suddenly, just as her phone buzzed on the nightstand, and Anna jumped in surprise as he flung the blankets off of her head.
“Jesus, Kris, you nearly gave me a heart attack,” she teased, pressing one more kiss just below his navel, but his only response was a grin of satisfaction as he passed her her phone.
“I did it,” he said proudly. “I twitted.”
“Tweeted.”
“I like twitted better.”
“You’re lucky I’m already madly in love with you,” she muttered, ignoring her phone in favor of returning her attention and her mouth to the little spot right above the waistband of his boxers that always made him squirm beneath her touch.
Next to her head, his fist clenched around the sheets. “Read what I said first,” he said, his voice strained but determined. “I didn’t go through all that for nothing.”
“Fine,” she said with a heavy sigh as she took her phone in hand and sat up, swinging one leg over him so she could straddle his lap as she read.
His hand was on her thigh now, stroking slowly up and down and making it hard to stay focused as she flicked the notification open and waited for the app to load. At last it did, and she clicked the notification with a smile.
One new mention:
@anna_a_actress I love you, baby! :) - @kristoff123456789
Suddenly her vision was a little blurry. “How are you so fucking adorable?” she asked, dropping her phone so she could lean down and kiss him. “Oh my god.”
He chuckled a little as he kissed her back. “Wow, first you call me grandpa, now you call me adorable…you really know how to get a guy going.”
“Well, I was trying to–”
His hips rolled up against her as he nipped at her bottom lip. “Do that?”
“Took the words right out of my mouth.”
“I thought you wanted me to check Twitter and see what people–”
Anna groaned against the already-flushed skin of his neck before pulling away. “Oh, fuck, I forgot about that.”
“Sorry– that was a mood-killer, wasn’t it?”
“Tragically, yes.”
He patted her hip. “I’ll make it up to you later. Here, show me how to look up what people are saying.”
She did so quickly and bit her lip. “You gotta promise to tell me the truth. Even if everyone hates it. Just don’t tell me, like, specific things, I don’t need to know if I’m a meme again or—“
He was already looking. “Do you want me to tell you now, or—“
“No! God, no, there’s no way I can face this before breakfast. Let me at least get some coffee down.”
She kissed his cheek before clambering out of bed. “Do you want anything?”
“‘m good,” he said, already back to scrolling.
Anna smiled to herself as she pulled on the pair of old sweatpants she’d brought back from his parents’ house and kept here ever since for the nights she stayed over— more for Sven’s sake than anyone else’s. Even tightened, they hung low on her hips under her stolen t-shirt as she went into the kitchen, trying to think about anything but the inevitable failure of this movie.
She had only planned on making coffee, but then waiting for the pot to brew was leaving her too much time to think, and so by the time she returned to Kristoff’s bedroom she was having to draw on every reflex from her waitressing days as she carried in a plate full of scrambled eggs and toast, two mugs of steaming coffee, and a bottle of whiskey she’d pulled out of the cabinet just in case.
“Do you think this is the real Ellen Degeneres?” he asked, holding his phone up to her; his eyes widened in surprise as he took in the feast she was setting on the bed. “Wow. You really did appreciate me getting a Twitter, huh? Breakfast in bed and everything.”
“There’s tabasco on your half,” she said, taking his phone. “Oh my god, it is the real Ellen.”
“Oh, cool,” he said, already taking a bite of toast. “Will you get me her autograph when you go on her show? That’s her second twit about it, by the way, the first one said she loved it. So did all the other ones.”
She set the phone back down; her fingers were trembling so badly she was worried she might drop it in her coffee. “All of them?”
He had been trying to contain his excitement, probably for the sake of her nerves, but it spilled over now as he grinned and nodded at her, his hair flopping in his eyes. “I told you. You’re a star, Anna.”
They couldn’t linger long over breakfast, as much as she wanted to; Kristoff had a nine A.M. class, and Anna had errands to run before having Honey over for dinner that night. “I think it’s a date,” she explained to Kristoff as she got dressed. He had been on his way to the shower and stopped to watch her appreciatively, as if it were the very first time. She took her time rolling up her tights, his eyes tracking every inch of progress. “They set it up through me, but like, they both texted me at the same time asking ‘hey, what about dinner tomorrow with the three of us’ so, uh, kind of obvious, if you ask me.”
He came over to help her tuck her sweater into her skirt and let his hands linger on her hips as he leaned down to kiss her, slow and scorching. When he pulled away, she couldn’t help but pout a little. “Later, baby. I promise.”
“You’re lucky I’m already dressed, Bjorgman.”
“Really? Feeling kind of unlucky, myself. Could’ve used some company in the shower.”
He left her with a quick kiss on the cheek before heading down the hall to the bathroom. She smoothed her skirt back out, smiling to herself as she padded into the kitchen. Sven had already left for the day, but he’d left a post-it note on the counter that said, “Thanks for leaving me a cup, Anna :)”
“You’re welcome,” she said aloud, then winced at the mess she’d made of the counter. Well, it was their apartment, but she’d been the one who’d somehow used three pans to make scrambled eggs, and so she rolled up her sleeves and got to work scrubbing the dishes.
She was nearly finished when she felt Kristoff come up behind her and press his lips to the back of her neck, his hands settling around her waist. She turned, bubbles still on her hands, and slid her fingers into his damp hair as their lips met.
“I love you,” he murmured against her mouth.
“Love you back,” she said, her hands sliding down to his shoulders so she could pull him into a hug, inhaling the clean, woodsy scent of his soap and letting herself be warmed from the inside out as he embraced her.
It occurred to her then how much easier it would be if instead of his-and-Sven’s and hers-and-Elsa’s it was just theirs, but they’d only been dating for not quite six months and– well. Was it too soon? She didn’t know; she’d never made it too far.
She pulled back just a little and, to her surprise, found the same vulnerability, the same longing, in Kristoff’s eyes that she felt in her heart. Neither of them gave voice to it, but a smile crept over their faces all the same. “Love you,” she said again, because she could and because it made him smile and because she meant it so damn much she would say nothing else for the rest of her life and still be content. She had never felt like this before, not about anyone or anything, had never treasured something like this– and never felt so treasured in return. Kristoff saw her, knew her, inside and out; had looked over each part of her, even the raw, aching pieces she had tried to hide, and cherished each of them, and god, she could only hope she’d loved him just as well in return.
He kissed her forehead, as if to say you have. “Love you back.”
—
She was halfway to the grocery store when her agent called. “Sam!” she greeted him cheerfully. “How are–”
“Seven hundred fifty thousand.”
“Um…what?”
“Dollars. That’s how much the studio just called me to offer.”
She jerked the wheel, pulling into a gas station parking lot before she passed out. “I– for–”
“Anastasia. They upped their offer because they know how many others you’re about to get.”
When had she started shaking? “Because–”
“Remember that movie with Sandra Bullock and the blindfolds?”
“Um…Bird Box?”
“Yes. This is bigger, Anna. This is the first time my phone’s been freed up to call you all morning. People love the movie.”
“And– so–”
“Shit, someone’s calling me again. Listen– can you come in this afternoon to sign the paperwork? Assuming you still want to take this job, because if not, like I said, there’s about to be plenty of other ones on the table.”
“Yeah, yeah, of course, I’ll be right in, Sam, I–”
“Ah, shit, someone else is calling the landline– see you at two, okay?”
He hung up before she could say goodbye. For a long moment, she just leaned her forehead against the steering wheel, trying to comprehend the scope of seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars– for her, just for wearing a fancy dress and saying a few lines. The rest of her student loans, her credit card debt, Elsa’s student loans; she could go into any store on Rodeo and come out with too many bags to carry, could go back to the car salesman and this time pay cash for something new and embarrassingly shiny, she could buy a house–
A house. She could move out on her own if she wanted, maybe not pay for it all up front because this was still Los Angeles, but a mortgage would be nothing now if she wanted to stop renting, and she could furnish it and feed herself and buy a bed big enough to stretch from one wall to the other if she wanted– and maybe, if she was lucky, someone would even agree to share it with her.
She shot off a quick text to Kristoff telling him about the news; he was in a lab at the moment, so he wouldn’t respond for hours, but still she had to let him know. And there was something else to contemplate, in a day that had already been full of very big questions: when, exactly, had he become the first person she told about something, before even her own sister?
She didn’t know. She didn’t care. She pinched herself just to make sure she was really awake before starting the car up again and heading on her way.
The first person to recognize her was a girl in a Stranger Things t-shirt in front of the bananas. She wanted a selfie, which Anna gladly posed for, secretly grateful that for once she had foregone wearing one of Kristoff’s sweatshirts out in public again. Next there was a guy by the bread who wanted her autograph, then another guy who saw her signing and said, “I’m not sure who you are, but this is LA, so why not?” and asked for it, too. And then the cashier started freaking out and said she loved the trailer and called her friend over even though she was in the middle of checking someone out, and then all the people in the checkout lines started craning their necks, and suddenly a huge group selfie was happening and someone was stepping on her toes, and she had been really really nice to all of them but finally she squeaked, “Uh, listen, guys, I have a meeting to get to–”
“Are you gonna be in another movie?” the girl in the Stranger Things shirt asked. Why was she still here? All she had in her cart were those bananas. “Is this a meeting with Netflix?”
“Uh, no comment?”
“Ohmygod, you are!”
“Um, well, I hope so, since I’m an actress. Anyway– bye!”
She took off at a clip, not realizing until she was already in her car and halfway up the road that she had left the bag with the avocados in it at the checkout lane. And she had promised to make guacamole– well. There was no way in hell she was turning back around for it. She liked people, really, but not when they were all crowding around her at once and asking her things she didn’t know the answer to and frantically tweeting about where she was. Elsa would just have to make do with plain tortilla chips.
A flashbulb went off when she pulled in to the agency parking lot, then two more as she walked in. A security guard met her halfway across the lot. “No fuckin’ photos here, assholes!” he yelled as he held one arm around her, blocking her face from view. “Sorry, miss. Sam sent me down here just in case. Normally we don’t have to bother, but damn, they’re persistent today.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, relieved. “You’re a lifesaver.”
“All in a day’s work,” he said, holding the door open for her. “Congratulations, by the way. Haven’t seen the movie yet, but my wife’s already texted me twice about it.”
She laughed. “Hope you enjoy it.”
Sam’s office was on the twelfth floor; she took the elevator ride to check her phone and found the screen full of notifications, so many she couldn’t seem to find the bottom. Scowling, she swiped it open and went to her messages– there were sixteen little notifications already, most of them from people she hadn’t spoken to since college. She had to scroll down to find Kristoff’s, something she hadn’t had to do since– well, since getting his number.
That’s amazing, sweetheart. I’m so proud.
People are talking about your movie between classes. :) Someone asked me if you were really my girlfriend and asked for your autograph. What do you want me to say?
.
love you sm 💕💕
honestly can u just tell them no?
kind of already been a crazy day
.
No you’re not my girlfriend, or the autograph, or both?
The elevator dinged open to reveal Sam with his arms open, saving her from having to answer. She didn’t know how to answer.
“There’s my star!” Sam cheered, pulling her into a tight hug. She went gladly; he had been her agent since even before she had graduated, when she’d been looking for work as a background character and he’d been willing to take her on. He’d been a father figure to her ever since, guiding her through all the ups and downs and helping her in every way he could.
“You have no idea how relieved I am to see you,” Anna sighed, squeezing him a little tighter than normal.
“That bad, huh?” he asked, gently patting her back.
“Worse.”
“I’ll take care of it, kiddo,” he promised. “But first, let’s sign some papers.”
—-
At dinner, she thanked her lucky stars that Elsa and Honey were too wrapped up in staring at each other over the tortilla chips– thank god Honey at least had brought spinach dip– to wonder why she was being so uncharacteristically quiet. They raised a toast to her movie being a success, and then another to her signing the new contract, and then another to “sevenhundredfiftyfuckinthousand dollars, Anna, knew you were a star the moment I first did your eyeshadow!” and by then their cheeks were flushed enough from the wine that she knew she didn’t have to make much more conversation.
She’d been looking forward to this, really; she loved her sister, and Honey was rapidly becoming a close friend, and ever since the trip to Disneyland she’d been pestering them both for details of their budding romance. But today, all she could do was wonder if Honeymaren had had to ever deal with getting recognized in the streets, how Elsa would respond if paparazzi started camping outside the door, what either of them might say if she suddenly admitted she’d been thinking of moving out on her own. They’d probably be grateful, honestly, judging by the way Elsa had not-so-secretly slid her hand under the table to sit on Honey’s knee.
“I’m gonna call it a night,” Anna said suddenly, and they both turned to look at her, blinking their way out of the lovestruck haze they’d been caught in.
“But you didn’t even eat your cake,” Elsa said, frowning. “And it’s your favorite kind.”
“I know, I just– um. Kristoff, promised to call, long day, you know how it is,” she said, already pushing her chair back in and heading for the door.
She’d eventually texted him back, up to you babe you decide, and he’d said It’s okay, class is already over for the day. Call you after work?
Her phone rang at 9:01, just like it always did. “Sorry,” she said, not bothering with a hello, “that I waited so long to text you back about that thing.”
“Hello to you, too,” he said, amused; she could hear the jingle of car keys in his hand.
“I just, um. Felt really bad about that. But I really didn’t know what to say.”
“‘S okay. Figured it was something like that, or a meeting or something.”
“There was a meeting, too, actually. Got the contract all signed and notarized, talked to my new publicist, started coming up with a PR plan, all the fun legal stuff.”
“What else happened?”
“What do you mean? That’s the exciting stuff.”
“You sound…I don’t know. Like something’s wrong.”
She bit her lip. “I just, uh…god, this is going to sound so stupid and self-pitying, but like, at Trader Joe’s some people recognized me, and it was cool when it was just one person coming up at a time, but then I was trying to check out and a bunch of people swarmed me, and then like, a security guard had to help me get into the agency—“
“A security guard? Anna, are you okay?”
If she said no, the next thing she would hear would be his turn signal as he made a u-turn and headed across town to her apartment. It was tempting, but he had a full load of classes tomorrow, from eight to five. “I’m good, really. There were just some photographers.”
He was quiet for a long moment. “Did you ever want to be this famous?”
“No. Well, of course I did, but like…it was never about, you know, this stuff. I want people to like who I am on the screen, not, y’know, sneak a picture of me squeezing avocados.”
“I was wondering what that twit was about.”
“Please tell me you’re kidding,” she said, suddenly close to tears, but the only response was silence.
Finally he sighed. “Sorry. Are you really sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah. But I just…can we just pretend this is like a normal night now? Just…tell me about your day, let me say some cheesy shit to you, tell me about what we’ll do tomorrow night.”
“Aye aye, captain,” he said, and she couldn’t help but smile.
—-
The next morning, her plan to hide out all day was interrupted by her phone ringing at eight. She had finished talking to Kristoff just before ten and had spent the next several hours trying fruitlessly to sleep. Around six, she had finally succeeded, and so she was swearing when she tapped the red icon to make the stupid buzzing stop.
It started again almost immediately, and she groaned as she reached across the bed to grab it. “Sam? We literally just spent all afternoon—“
“I know. But your publicist is here. We’ve already gotten three interview requests for you and a Hallmark producer breathing down our necks. Oh, and Twitter called to see if you have time to do the verification process today, and there’s a few designs here for potential awards show gowns, and— well. None of that is why I called you. I need you and the boyfriend here ASAP.”
“…Kristoff? Why?”
“We have to figure out our game plan before it’s too late.”
“Our game plan? Sam, what—“
“Shit, sorry, Hallmark guy again— I’ll explain later, gottagokiddobye!”
Eight-oh-five, and already today sucked.
morning kris💕
sam wants us both for a meeting asap
i’ll pick u up from class?
.
Why me? Did I do something?
.
don’t know, honestly, don’t think so
something about a game plan
aren’t u in class?
.
Starting late. Professor dropped a liver again.
.
ew
ew ew ew
idk how you do this shit
love you
Try as she might, she couldn’t fall back asleep, not even after going for a long run, coming home and eating a turkey sandwich, and putting on Bob Ross. That usually worked even before the first happy little tree got finished. And Sam never did call back, so by the time she pulled onto campus, she was in a full-on Terrible Mood.
And then Kristoff slid into the passenger seat and handed her a cup of hot chocolate. “We finished a couple minutes early. Thought you might need this.”
She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before taking a sip. “What’s it like being the most thoughtful person in the world?”
His cheeks turned pink. “It’s nothing, Anna, really. Just wanted to help if I could.”
She couldn’t resist kissing his cheek again before starting the car back up. “You never did make it up to me, by the way.”
“Make up what?”
“Yesterday morning, when you interrupted me trying to go down on you to ask about Twitter.”
Now his whole face was red. “Anna, you can’t remind me of that right before I’m supposed to be in some big important meeting.”
“We have time to pull over. I’ll tell Sam there was traffic.”
He looked tempted, but then he glanced over and saw she wasn’t smiling. “No, baby, let’s get this over with so we can stop worrying about it.”
He held her hand as they walked in to the building, eyes darting around to make sure there were no hidden photographers lurking. Thankfully, they made it in without incident and were quickly ushered into Sam’s office, where he greeted them with an unusually tense smile.
The publicist— at least, she assumed that was her— was sitting behind his desk, too. Anna sat in the same chair she always had, and Kristoff sat beside her, looking as if they were in a doctor’s office bracing for bad news.
Was it going to be bad news? Judging by the look on the woman’s face—
She squeezed Kristoff’s hand, and he squeezed back.
Sam sat down and cleared his throat. “So. The two of you are, presumably, in this for the long haul.”
“Yes,” Kristoff said immediately, and a new softness appeared in Sam’s eyes.
“Then we need to figure out our plan to handle your public relationship,” the publicist said, steepling her fingers. “Lena, by the way. Lovely to meet you both, sorry it’s not under less intense circumstances.”
Anna swallowed hard. “Has something, like, happened? Has someone—“
“No, no,” Sam said quickly. “But at the rate your star is rising, we have to start figuring out how to handle the…fallout. Sorry, dramatic word,” he said, seeing their stunned expressions. “But, well…we need to decide if your relationship is going to be public. Because sooner or later, if we don’t start being proactive, that decision will be made for you.”
Kristoff tensed beside her, his fingers tightening around hers. Sweet, endlessly selfless Kristoff who still blushed when she kissed his cheek unexpectedly and stammered over the small talk customers tried to make while he was at work—
“It can be, if— if that’s what Anna—“
“No,” she cut in quickly. “No. Kristoff is— he’s— no. And I just…no.”
Lena raised her eyebrows. “So keeping the whole thing under wraps?”
“Yes. Some parts of my life need to stay just for me. Just for us.”
She heard him let out a long breath beside her; he never would have dreamed of saying it himself, would do anything he could to support her in any way possible, but she never would have forgiven herself if she hadn’t spoken up on his behalf.
“Probably for the best,” Sam said, looking sympathetic. “Things are only going to get crazier, kiddo.”
Lena nodded. “They are. If you two are out together, you’ll need to hide your faces. Both of you. If they find out where you live, where you spend your free time, you’ll have to stop going there together. Date nights only outside of the city. Sleepovers only if you leave separately. And Anna…you have to take down that tweet.”
“What tweet?”
“The one that says ‘love you too’ to an account with no other followers. You’ll need to unfollow him, too, unless you want someone to notice him in the list and look him up and find where you both live and start camping out there.”
Kristoff paled beside her. “They can do that?”
“Yes. They could already be trying. I know this is a lot, but it’s just what we have to do.”
Lena leaned over the desk, her eyes serious as they met Anna’s. “I’ll do whatever I can to help you guys. But you have to be careful.”
Anna barely heard the rest of the meeting, which was thankfully short; all of her focus was on Kristoff beside her, the way his shoulders had sagged a little more with every word, the way his thumb had started circling over hers, the sadness in his eyes as they faced each other in the elevator on the way back down.
He started to say something, but Anna interrupted him. “Can you drive? Sorry, I just— I don’t know.”
He kissed her forehead and took the keys from her hand. As soon as she was seated, she pulled out her phone, opened Twitter, and with a few taps deleted the only online evidence of their relationship. It shouldn’t have bothered her as much as it did, just deleting a stupid tweet and unfollowing an account he’d never use again anyway, but god— it was just supposed to have been a stupid, cute gesture, something for them to laugh about, and now—
Kristoff reaches over and squeezed her knee. “It’s gonna be okay, Anna. Really.”
Neither of them spoke again until they were back at his apartment, afraid to meet each other’s gaze.
“Pizza?” Kristoff asked finally, but Anna shook her head.
“Not hungry. You eat something, though, I’m just— just gonna shower, okay?”
She didn’t wait for a response before heading to the bathroom. She shut the door firmly behind her, stripped out of her clothes, turned the water on as hot as it would go, and immediately burst into tears.
She bit down on the back of her hand, hard, as a sob threatened to escape her. Of course you would be selfish like this, the voice in the back of her mind hissed, of course you would get the job everyone dreams of and fucking cry about it because it means people give a fuck about you. Pathetic.
God, she was pathetic, standing here in a shower so hot her skin was already turning pink feeling sorry for herself while her boyfriend who actually did something worthwhile was waiting for her to get her shit together, a million times more patient than she had ever deserved. All because of a stupid meeting, a few new rules, unfollowing him on Twitter— fuck, she thought, remembering again his proud smile as he’d figured out how the stupid fucking thing worked for her.
Eventually the hot water ran out, and she wrapped herself in the towel and went to his room, pulling on the biggest shirt and smallest pair of basketball shorts she could find before coming back out, not caring that her hair was wet and would dry all wonky.
He was asleep on the sofa when she came in at last; he had changed into his sweatpants and switched into his glasses, which now hung precariously on the tip of his nose. A book was still open on his chest, held in place by one limp hand and already beginning to slide. She crept over and carefully eased it out of his grasp, setting it face down on the coffee table so he wouldn’t lose his place. He still didn’t move even when she removed his glasses and set them aside; it made her want to weep all over again, seeing the purple shadows under his eyes. She heard a faint creak from behind her and turned to see that Sven had come back in to the kitchen to get a cup of water. He nodded in greeting and beckoned her over. She tiptoed to him and offered him a weak smile. “Hey,” she whispered, and he offered her a fistbump.
“Hey, superstar,” he said. “Your movie is all anyone talked about at lunch today. You okay?”
Her lip wobbled, and before she could say more he pulled her into a tight hug. “It’s gonna be good, Anna,” he said, patting her back. “Kris told me about the meeting. That’s shitty, man.”
“Yeah. But it’s…for the best.”
“It’s gonna be good,” he repeated, and then hesitated for a moment. “I’m, uh, I’m not good at the, like, nice, emotional support shit, but, uh, he like, stayed up late to watch the movie with me last night because he was proud of you and shit.”
“But he has that eight A.M. class–”
“I know, I told him that shit could wait. But he didn’t want to. I guess, uh, I don’t know if that helps. But like…shit, man. I haven’t seen him be this happy before. So I hope you guys can make it work.”
“Me, too.”
He let go of her with an awkward pat on the shoulder. “Anyway, uh, I got work tomorrow, so I’ll just…go back to my room. But I’m here if you need me, you know that, right?”
“Thanks, Sven.”
“Anytime.”
When she heard his door click shut again, she turned and looked back at Kristoff; he hadn’t budged. She went to his room and brought back a pillow and blanket. She lifted his head just enough to slide the pillow under; he blinked blearily and mumbled, “Anna?”
“Shh, baby,” she whispered, kissing his forehead, “go back to sleep.”
His eyes were shut again even before she had laid his head back down on the pillow. She draped the blanket over him and had just started to pull away when she felt his fingers brush against her wrist. His eyes were open again, sleepy but clear. “Come here,” he said softly, and she did; he raised one arm, and she nestled against him, their legs tangling as she laid her head on his chest. He pulled the blanket back up over them both and curled his arm tightly around her, determined to shelter her even in his sleep.
“Love you, Kris,” she murmured, but the only response was a soft snore.
#6.3k words jdfksaljf; why do i do these things#no smut this chapter but it is not for lack of effort on anna's part#there is plenty of glasses kristoff and Devotion tho#my fics#drtlp
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chapter 2 of don’t read the last page is here!
[kristanna / m / multichap / modern au with actress!anna and vetstudent!kristoff]
3
Anna sat back far sooner than she wanted to; she could have gone on kissing him like this for hours, but that was a capital B capital I Bad Idea. And so she pulled regretfully away with the dainty little laugh she'd perfected in undergrad, not in acting classes but backstage when the guys playing opposite her sometimes got the wrong idea.
"But it feels so real when I'm up there with you," they'd plead, and she'd do the little laugh and say "God, I should hope so, considering how expensive tuition is here. Good to hear my investment is paying off.”
Kristoff didn't seem as thrown off by the laugh as the others had been; he just leaned back a little and raised his eyebrows. She'd forgotten how he had a funny way of looking at a person that made you want to just open right up and spill it all out.
But she wasn't quite sure what she wanted to spill right now, and so she went the opposite direction, closing off even further. "Well, now that we've gotten that out of the way, we can stop wondering about the past and focus on the here and now. Specifically, whether you want that last spring roll or not."
There was a wounded look in the depths of his dark eyes. Good; better now than later. He gave her a familiar crooked smile anyway. "You already ate the other two."
"So you're saying you want it?"
"I'm saying I always liked egg rolls better, but I knew these used to be your favorite, so that's why I got them."
For a moment she wavered, caught between what she wanted and what she knew she should do, but his eyes stayed steady on hers all the same, still that faint hurt hiding in them. It would be awfully easy to fall in love with those eyes.
She moved away, scooting to sit beside him again where he leaned up against the couch. “So,” she said, reaching for the last spring roll and taking a messy bite, “still up to help me run lines?”
Kristoff nodded. “‘Course. Can’t say I’ll be up to par, though, I haven’t acted since our American Lit days.”
“Oh my god, I forgot you were John Proctor! ‘You’re tearing down heaven and raising up a whore’-- and everyone freaked out because they thought Mr. Martin would be pissed you didn’t leave out the cuss word but he was just like…”
She waved her hands emphatically, trying to come up with the right word. “Like...you know. You remember. He thought it was awesome, is what I mean.”
“Honestly, I don’t. I was so embarrassed I was just trying not to pass out.”
She remembered that, the way he’d turned scarlet all the way to the tips of his ears, and she wanted to kiss him again, at least on the cheek to see if she could make him blush like that again, but instead she popped the rest of the spring roll into her mouth and wiped her hands on her jeans and said around a mouthful of cabbage, “Okay, let me get this script.”
Her bag was kicked halfway under the table; she yanked it out, sending loose papers and pens rolling everywhere. “Ah-- shit, sorry.”
He scooped up the pens and handed them to her in a neat bundle while she shuffled through the papers. “God, you’d think they’d do me a favor one of these days and staple these things...anyway, okay, here’s the right order.”
Anna patted the edges neatly into place and presented the script to him. “Don’t let me peek at it, even if I beg. Oh-- and don’t tell anyone about it, either, because I don’t remember or not if I had to sign an NDA or not this time around, and I’d rather not risk it.”
He took the stack of papers with a raised eyebrow. “Okay. So who am I playing?”
“I’m a princess of some country they made up in Europe, and you’re the American journalist trying to kickstart his career assigned to cover me at the start of my...debutante something or other. Basically, I’m supposed to get married off to a prince or something, but then you come along and run into me by mistake outside the palace, and you’re super funny and down-to-earth and it’s this forbidden romance and blah blah blah, at the end I pick you but because for some reason it’s a Christmas movie I still keep the crown, too, and then you kiss me under the mistletoe and voila, roll credits. Oh, and you’re supposed to be from Georgia, so try and do that accent if you can.”
He screwed up his face, trying to-- well, honestly she didn’t know what he was doing. “Y’all--”
“Oh, god, please stop,” she said, putting a hand over his mouth with a dramatic shudder. His breath was warm against her palm as he chuckled. He was making it really hard to do the right thing, which was especially disconcerting considering he wasn’t even trying.
She fought the urge to stroke her thumb gently against his jaw and instead pulled her hand away. “Just read it like your normal self.”
“Do you want me to try and like...act?”
“Um...if you want to, yeah. Mainly I’m worried about memorizing this. But that’d probably help, so...go for it. Unless it’s weird, in which case--”
“You don’t look like you’re from around here,” he said, and it took her a beat to realize he was reading.
She cleared her throat and straightened her shoulders, slipping into the posh British accent they always wanted you to do for these parts even when the movie was set somewhere vaguely north of Switzerland. “Neither do you.”
“What gave it away? The accent or the cowboy boots?”
Kristoff glanced up from the script, looking vaguely nauseated. “Are people really going to watch this?”
“Tragically, yes, because it’s another Netflix thing, and it’ll get all hyped up whether it really deserves it or not.”
“Jesus,” he muttered. “This is why I stick to my DVD player.”
“You do not.”
He just raised an eyebrow, and she gasped. “Kristoff Bjorgman. You are not seriously telling me that in two thousand nineteen you still don’t have a Netflix subscription.”
“I think my roommate does.”
“Well, that basically counts as yours, then.”
“Why?”
“Well, you know, all the password-sharing and--”
She trailed off. By the look in his eyes, he actually didn’t know. “Well-- never mind. Say your line again so I can do mine.”
“What gave it away? The accent or the cowboy boots?”
“Neither.”
“Then what was it?”
She held the silence for a beat, staring deeply into his eyes, practicing her best you-mean-you-really-don’t-recognize-me face? He returned the gaze with an astonishingly good what-is-this-girl-up-to-and-why-am-I-already-into-her face, and either he’d gotten much better at acting in the last few years, or she really shouldn’t have kissed him even that one time, because there was no way that for either of them it would mean--
“Nothing,” she breathed, the line suddenly jolting its way out of her mouth. “I’m just good at reading people.”
They went back and forth through the script, and to her surprise, he didn’t give in even once when she begged him to let her peek at the lines, even when she tried to bribe him with the last dumpling. “No, Anna, you know this,” he’d said calmly, and then suddenly she had, and they’d gone right along.
The dialogue was still edging dangerously close to falling straight off a cliff into too-cringy-for-Hallmark territory, but somehow when she was reading it with him, it seemed almost-- almost-- plausible.
Except for that bit about the cowboy boots. That was unforgivable.
She took a sip of Pepsi and flopped back against the sofa, glad she didn’t have to keep looking at him anymore. Not that there was a problem with the view; it was a nice one, if she was being honest, maybe even a very nice one, but that little bit of sadness still hadn’t melted entirely away, and she knew she wouldn’t forgive herself for putting it there for a long time.
It’s for the best, she reminded herself fiercely. You know you’re a mess. Don’t need to drag him into it just for old times’ sake.
Beside her, Kristoff let out a yawn. “Oh, shit, sorry--” she said, suddenly scrambling upright, “didn’t mean to keep you up late or--”
“No, no, you’re good, it‘s only eight. I just was working a double today, got up earlier than normal.”
She bit her lip. He hadn’t made mention of that when he’d volunteered to let her come over and read lines. “I-- well. Thanks, Kristoff, so much. For your help and for letting me hang out here for a while. Let me help you clean up and then I’ll head out.”
She hopped to her feet, already collecting discarded chopsticks and napkins, trying to ignore the frown on Kristoff’s face. “Seriously, Kris, you’re a lifesaver. The audition is tomorrow, and I did my best to prepare but honestly, I just had to do a stupid radio interview about the tampon commercial so I could get an easy paycheck because I owe my sister way too much money right now so that’s what I was worried about yesterday and then before that, I was looking at other auditions online too because I feel like my agent just has to be hiding some from me but then hey it was today and the audition’s tomorrow and so I was screwed if I didn’t get help and--”
“Anna.”
She froze.
He got to his feet slowly; she let her eyes trail up his broad frame, taking in every inch of him. Had he hit another growth spurt in college?
He held out his hand, and for an absurd moment she thought he meant for her to take it, but then he plucked some of the garbage out of her grasp and led her towards the kitchen, pressing the garbage can open with his foot. “I know it’s been a while,” he said, his voice soft but somehow insistent, “but we’re still friends. I’m happy to help you however I can.”
Anna swallowed hard and forced herself to look away at the decidedly less attractive sight of a half-eaten fortune cookie tumbling into the garbage. “Well-- thanks.”
He nodded, and now that her hands were empty it was so tempting to just grab him by the collar and pull him down into another kiss, reality be damned. So she was a complete mess and he had his life together and she was terrible at relationships and he was probably, like, amazing-- what could it hurt, one more kiss?
But she’d only just run into him again, and she shouldn’t have lost contact with him in the first place, and she really didn’t want to lose him again. You only get so many friends willing to share their apple slices with you every day even though apples are their favorite and you take more than your fair share of the peanut butter, she thought morosely. Can’t just waste someone like that.
She brushed past him and swept the script into her bag, tugging it back on over her shoulders and turning to him with a practiced smile. He hadn’t moved; just let his gaze follow her. “Well, guess I’d better be getting home, then.”
“Need a ride?”
Shit-- she’d forgotten he’d driven her over here right after he’d gotten off work, and the metro line she needed had no stops near here, so it’d be at least an hour getting home, and she didn’t really have money for a taxi but if she got in a car with him again, there would definitely be more kissing, and she just really, really couldn’t do that to him.
“I’m good, thanks! I’ll just get an Uber or something.”
He nodded. “Night, then. Good catching up with you.”
“You, too. Thanks again.”
Her heart was pounding as she slipped out the door. She found herself waiting for some idiotic reason to hear the deadbolt click shut and his footsteps walk away until they faded into silence. God, this was pathetic, even for her. She’d always been awful about jumping into things head first, especially when it came to men, and that had never once actually worked out for her. Which was how she’d ended up majoring in theatre and not even doing any education classes alongside it, and moving into her sister’s place just because it was in LA even though she couldn’t afford her share of the rent, and dating a string of guys who were too into pop-up shops or vaping or Soundcloud rap or whatever the big thing was at the moment, and now, apparently, kissing her high school best friend who definitely deserved better than whatever she was right now.
She made her way down the stairs, dialing her sister’s number already. She picked up on the second ring, just like always.
“Anna? Hey, what is it?”
“Can you pick me up?”
“What’s wrong?”
That was what did her in. She found a bush by the sidewalk and crouched down behind it, feeling the tears already start to stream down her face. “Can you-- can you just come pick me up, please?”
One of the perks of having a big sister who actually had her shit together was free pickup and dropoff service all around the city, though unlike an Uber, the rides didn’t come with no questions asked.
“What are you doing all the way over here?” Elsa asked as Anna clambered into the car, still sniffling pitifully. “I thought you were just going to go study your lines at that coffee shop and then go to the grocery.”
“I was, but then I, um…I ran into Kristoff.”
Elsa frowned. “Should I know who that-- oh my god, Kristoff from high school? The one that you had a crush on for like…”
“Years, I know,” Anna said balefully. “God, I probably still have notebooks in storage full of Mrs. Bjorgman signatures.”
“What’s he doing here?”
“He’s a barista.”
“Isn’t everyone?”
She laughed a little at that, and some of the tension went out of Elsa’s shoulders. “Okay, fair. But he’s in vet school, too.”
“Oh, wow, impressive.”
“I know. Just imagine me trying to go back home for a visit now, they’ll all ask questions about you two and I’ll be like ‘oh, Elsa’s this super successful SLP and Kristoff’s gonna be a vet’ and then they’ll ask what I’m up to and I’ll have to say ‘doing cartwheels in a commercial where they taped some string to my shorts so it looks like my tampon’s hanging out because that’s supposed to be cute and quirky’ and then they’ll say ‘oh my god I think I saw a GIF of that’ and then I’ll have to go dig myself a hole and die in it.”
Elsa just rolled her eyes. She was used to these dramatic tirades. “Anna, you’re twenty-four. You’re not supposed to have your shit together yet.”
“You did.”
“I let you think I did,” her sister said in that infuriating older-and-wiser voice she’d perfected way back in middle school. “I’m serious, you’ll be okay. And whatever happened with Kristoff--”
“God, don’t say his name, please, or I’ll just get all worked up again, and I’ve already gotten mascara everywhere.”
Elsa sighed. “Okay, fine, we’ll save that part of this discussion for when we’re home with pints of Ben and Jerry’s. But just...I want you to know that you’re okay, Anna. More than okay. And you’re going to knock it out of the park with this audition tomorrow. I mean it.”
Anna looked away, rolling down the window and sticking her hand out so she could feel the wind smacking against it, turning her wrist so it could hiss between her fingers. Movies made it seem so much easier to have these moments with someone, to open up and cry it out and get an easy resolution. But this was her life, whether she liked it or not, and she had to put up with it anyhow. “Thanks.”
“That’s what I’m here for.”
#sorry first of all for this chapter but also for neglecting my other fics and the prompt still in my inbox but i got started writing on the#tram and i couldn't stop so here ya go#drtlp#my fics
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