Ice Cold (Frozen; Kristoff [M]) 3/3 Complete!

[Spoo]

After watching Frozen for a second time last night, this just sort've…happened. I do love Kristoff and his nose so I suppose it was inevitable that I'd write something for him. Anyway, I don't intend for this to be too long. It may just have two parts, but I won't set anything in stone.

Not a whole lot going on in the first part (gotta set the story!) but I hope that it's nonetheless enjoyable.

~ * ~

Ice Cold

Part 1

by Spoo

To say that Princess Anna of Arendelle was excited was quite possibly the largest understatement of the entire year. The young woman was practically bouncing on her heels as she gazed outside one of the many windows the castle had to offer. It wouldn't be long now, she knew. Not that she was counting the seconds or anything. Of course not. That was ridiculous…

"Forty-six, forty-seven, forty-eight..."

…Aaaand maybe a little true. In any case, her bubbling enthusiasm wouldn't change one very important fact: Kristoff was coming back that day. He'd been off on a week-long excursion with Sven delivering ice, which wasn't a huge surprise, really, since he was Arendelle's official Ice Master and Deliverer.

In Kristoff's absence, Anna had attempted to distract herself with multiple things. She'd spent some time with Elsa, which she honestly could never get enough of; they had years of catching up to do. She'd also spent time with Olaf as well. Between that and participating in random activities here and there, she'd successfully managed to get through the week.

But…

That didn't stop Anna from missing Kristoff's consuming hugs - because, yes, that's exactly what they were: Consuming. He tended to swallow her up in his strong arms whenever he hugged her, and it was the coziest feeling in the world. Well, next to his lips on her lips, but that was a different realm of "cozy". Details, details.

"You know, standing there won't bring Kristoff back any quicker," an amused voice abruptly commented from behind.

Anna squeaked and spun around quickly, only to see her sister. Elsa. The Queen. Queen Elsa. Right. "What makes you think that I'm waiting for him? Maybe I'm just looking out the window. It's a nice view, you know. Nice and clear, and vibrant, and, uh…window-y."

It might have been a believable explanation for someone else, but Elsa knew when Anna was lying. Of course, it also didn't help that her younger sister was smiling a bit too forcefully. If anything, it was a valiant if not adorable effort, and she'd give her credit for trying.

Stepping up beside Anna, the icy monarch decided to have a look for herself. They could see the courtyard from that particular window, where a small crowd of castle attendants were shuffling about with their assigned tasks. A few of them stopped to wave up at the royal sisters, who waved back, smiling.

"So. Window-y?" Elsa teased, continuing to wave.

"Was I really that obvious?" Anna inquired sheepishly, also waving.

"Juuust a little," Elsa replied, demonstrating just how 'little' by pinching her index finger and thumb closely together.

"I can't help it, Elsa. It's been a whole week without Kristoff. That's pretty much forever," Anna complained, turning around to slump her back against the window. She then added in a mumble: "It shouldn't even take a week to deliver ice…"

The thought of Anna being involved in a relationship had once frightened Elsa - especially since her sister tended to jump right into things without thinking. But the Queen knew that what Anna and Kristoff had was genuine. It was true love, so she had zero qualms about it (even if it did turn Anna into a giddy puppy). However, the most important thing was that there were no talks of marriage.

"Well," Elsa began calmly, though there was a hint of a giggle in her voice. "I don't think you'll have to wait any longer."

Anna's blue eyes widened before she clumsily scrambled to turn around again. Sure enough, there was Kristoff's sled off in the distance, racing towards the castle as swiftly as Sven's hooves could manage.

"He's…he's here. He's finally here," she said, sounding stunned.

Whatever eagerness had been overflowing within her promptly stopped and was replaced with fluttering anxiousness. Instinctively, she turned to Elsa and began firing off a flurry of urgent questions.

"Does my hair look okay??"

"It looks beautiful."

"Is there anything on my face??"

"Freckles."

"Should I change my dress??"

"The one you're wearing is fine."

All at once, Anna pulled herself together with a deep breath. Then, extending her palms out slightly, she chanted: "I'm calm. I'm calm. I'm totally calm."

"Princess Anna? Kristoff has returned from his--"

"HE'S HERE!"

Kai had barely finished his announcement when Anna barreled past him, leaving the poor servant flabbergasted. Elsa began walking after her delighted sibling, though she stopped to speak with the confused man.

"Thank you, Kai," she said, prior to carrying on down the hallway.

- - -

Anna couldn't have stopped her feet if she wanted to. They continued to rapidly propel her forward until she was practically bursting through the doors and sprinting out to where Kristoff had parked his sled. She could see him gradually unfastening his traveling gear, but that didn't stop her from nearly tackling him with a hug so fierce, so insanely powerful, that it…unfortunately made Anna trip, which then just about sent them both careening to the ground.

Luckily, Kristoff managed to right them at the last possible second by catching Anna mid-fall. The clumsy princess wiggled her fingers in an awkward wave before she straightened herself up and clasped her hands behind her back. She was expecting to be scooped into a hug, like she usually was whenever Kristoff went away, but…well, that didn't happen this time.

"So, hi," she said, feeling somewhat awkward just standing there without doing anything.

"Hey," Kristoff rasped, his voice impaired by an unusual roughness.

At least rough enough for Anna to notice. Her radiant smile faltered for a second as her face adopted some concern. "Are you okay…? Because your voice. It kind've sounds like you're…"

No sooner had she begun piecing together what could have been wrong when Kristoff's expression suddenly changed. He gasped sharply twice and then brought both of his gloved hands up to steeple over his mouth and nose, suppressing what would have been an otherwise huge sneeze.

"Hhuh'ASCHHhh'uhh!"

"…sick," Anna finished lately. "Bless you."

"Ugh," Kristoff groaned, sniffling thickly behind the cage of fingers that were covering the lower part of his face. "Thanks."

From behind, Sven nudged Kristoff with the pronged end of his antlers. The reindeer grunted in concern, though he felt reassured when his huamn companion gave his flank a pat. While that may have reassured Sven, it certainly didn't reassure Anna. Not in the slightest.

Never one to ask before she helped herself, she reached up a hand and scooped it beneath the curtain of Kristoff's blond bangs. The skin of his forehead was burning hot against her palm, and it alarmed her. He hadn't been sick when he'd left Arendelle a week before, so she assumed he must have caught something recently.

Her thoughts were confirmed when he pulled away from her to cough into the bend of his arm. The spasms shook his large frame, which only deepened Anna's worry.

"Come on," she said, grabbing Kristoff's sleeve and starting to tug him in the direction of the castle. "You need to lay down. I'll have some soup made and brought up, and then you can--"

"Wait, wait," Kristoff protested weakly, trying to speak through the coughs that were still raking their way out of his aching throat. "I shouldn't be around you."

"You weren't around me for a whole week! And now you're sick," Anna countered, huffing. "Now stop being difficult and--"

"I'm being difficult?"

"Yes! You're being difficult. Less protesting and more walking, Kristoff!"

As the two made their way inside, they were both greeted by Elsa just after crossing the threshold. She seemed to immediately acknowledge that something was wrong based on the way Kristoff was carrying himself (or attempting to carry himself). The ice harvester looked worn to the bone and as though he would collapse from exhaustion at any given second.

Ironically enough, that very thing happened not two seconds later. Luckily, Elsa had conjured a soft pile of fresh snow to break Kristoff's fall, as well as cushion Anna since she'd toppled downward with his unconscious body.

"Are you okay?" Elsa asked, kneeling beside them both.

"I'm fine," Anna said, cradling Kristoff's motionless torso in her arms. "But he's not, Elsa. He's really sick."

"Don't worry, Anna," her elder sister soothed. "We'll help him."

TBC.

Edited May 23, 2014 by Spoo

[Seniorstatus14]

Oh my gosh!!! I might love this story a little too much, but I don't care! It's so wonderful!!! Please continue soon

[SterlingSilver]

THIS IS HAPPENING. THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING.

*cannot breathe.. rolls on ground*

NOT ONLY IS SPOO WRITING.. BUT SHE IS WRITING FROZEN.. NOT ONLY FROZEN, BUT KRISTOFFFFFFF!!! AHHHHHHH!

*faints..*

*.. revives*.. All right, all right, I can handle this~.. QwQ It's just so precious and amazing and Spoo and Kristoff sneezy passing out fevered caretaking imminent ahhhhhhhhhh~~! xDD

All at once, Anna pulled herself together with a deep breath. Then, extending her palms out slightly, she chanted: "I'm calm. I'm calm. I'm totally calm."

"Princess Anna? Kristoff has returned from his--"

"HE'S HERE!"

Made me laugh pretty hard~ xDDD

No sooner had she begun piecing together what could have been wrong when Kristoff's expression suddenly changed. He gasped sharply twice and then brought both of his gloved hands up to steeple over his mouth and nose, suppressing what would have been an otherwise huge sneeze.

"Hhuh'ASCHHhh'uhh!"

"…sick," Anna finished lately. "Bless you."

Mmmmmm~ <3

This is really well written, well characterized like usual, and I cannot wait, cannot wait for the next part~~ Poor Kristoff QwQ

[HPG]

OH MY GOSH IT IS SO GOOD AND KRISTOFF AND YAY!!!!! Sorry for shouting, but thanks for writing this :-)

[MoonDuck]

Oooh yes yes yes I really like that last bit, the "TBC"

[Lexi]

Its so cute and perfect! agh!! Kristoff not wanting to get Anna sick is juts sooo Kristoff!

[MissMercy]

You're so descriptive in all the right ways :3

[Dylan]

I just died.

Omygod this is incredible!!!

I please do continue (:

[Galaxy]

"Window-y" OH MY GOODNESS YOU WRITE THE MOST PERFECT ANA IN THE WORLD

Oh my goshhhhh not only is your writing amazing, but!! It's Frozen!! And it's KristoFF AHAUAHAA THIS IS BEAUTIFUL YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE NEXT PART

[Kshu]

Excellent, excellent, excellent!

[Anonymouse]

Aaahh this is so cute! I FINALLY watched this movie for the first time on the plane ride here and fell in love with Kristoff. You have the tone down perfectly, everyone is very in character. So glad you're writing this and I cannot wait for the next part!

Edited April 27, 2014 by AnonyMouse

[glaciosity]

...It's here. This is beyond fabulous! I can envision all the characters in my head almost as if you've animated them as well as writing about them. I do hope there's more to come!

[Kali]

It is full of adorable and awesome!!! I loveeee this and will be checking back every day- ahem, once in a while to see when you've updated

[BlueRandom]

Ohh, this is so cute! And the pacing is perfect, and the voices. Beautiful!

[squealofapproval]

That's LOVELY and warm! (Despite the fandom name). I love Kristof's nose. *noms on it*

[SpookyBoi]

Awww

[irishsneezeandkisses]

OMG A FROZEN SNEEZEFIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMGOMGOMG!!!

[Dynein]

This is absolutely wonderful, Spoo. Everyone is in character, the writing is top-notch, and the wrongness is so, so right. <3

[Spoo]

…

Wow! I was totally not expecting to get so much feedback on this. Thank you ALL! It makes me deliriously happy to see how many of you expressed your liking for this fic! Hopefully I'll do the rest justice. And by "the rest" I mean this part, a third part, and a potential epilogue I intend on writing.

I maaaay have gotten a little carried away with the caretaking aspect, but I just love it, okay? It doesn't help that these two are major cutie-patooties~ Also, it's a good thing Kristoff is a big guy. Gives me an excuse to give him some big sneezes.

Enjoy!

~ * ~

Ice Cold

Part 2

by Spoo

The first thing Kristoff registered upon waking was something cold being pressed against his forehead. It felt good - like, really good. Almost as good as the first lungful of fresh air after having your head covered up. He found himself groaning from how amazing it felt, as well as opening his eyes to try and pinpoint the origin.

His vision was blurred at first, but once it settled into focus a concerned face materialized in front of him. Although, it wasn't the concerned face he expected to see.

"…Elsa?"

Well, that explained the coolness.

The Queen smiled and shifted her pale hand across his forehead, so that she wasn't impairing his gaze with her makeshift cold compress. AKA, her fingers. "Hi. I'm glad you're awake."

Kristoff sniffed - a thick, horrible sound - and tried to discern what Elsa was talking about. From what he could gather, he'd been out for a while (even if he couldn't remember falling asleep). If that's even what had happened. The last thing he recalled was going into the castle with Anna, and the rest was a blur. A big, giant blur. That must have meant that he'd…

"Did I faint?"

"Yes, you did," Elsa emphasized, though not unkindly. "You had a fever. We managed to get it down."

We, Kristoff processed. His eyes grew wide. "Where's--"

He suddenly broke off from his inquiry as a fit of coughing overwhelmed him. He cupped both of his large hands over his mouth and turned away from Elsa, curling into wherever he happened to be laying. He assumed it was a bed, and a nice one, too, due to the soft pillow beneath his head, and the warm blankets that were pooled across his ribs.

"Anna is in the kitchen," Elsa replied, answering the question Kristoff hadn't had a chance to finish asking. "She was sitting here with you, but she wanted to bring your soup up herself, and you know there's no telling her otherwise once her mind is set on something."

Kristoff turned back to face Elsa. "Sounds like her," he croaked, sniffling.

Elsa nodded in agreement. As she opened her mouth to ask how he presently felt, the door to the room suddenly opened and revealed not Anna, but someone who was equally concerned about Kristoff's health.

"I came as soon as I heard the news!" Olaf exclaimed, waddling over to the bed.

The little snowman frowned up at the bedridden ice harvester, his eyes sad as he gazed at him. He wasn't quite tall enough to actually see over the edge of the mattress, but his carrot nose was able to at least rest across the covers. The same applied to the small cloud that rained down flurries and prevented him from melting.

"You've been such a good friend, Kristoff. Such a good friend!" Olaf lamented, attempting to reach for the man's hand with his short, stick arms. "We're all going to miss you so much…ohh, it breaks my heart!"

"Olaf," Elsa said, amused. "Kristoff isn't on his deathbed."

"He isn't?" Olaf asked, blinking.

"No, I'm not," Kristoff confirmed. He probably would have laughed if he didn't feel like he'd been plowed over by his own sled.

"Oh! Well in that case, you look great!" Olaf proclaimed, beaming up at Kristoff. Then, turning to Elsa, he whispered through the side of his mouth while continuing to forcefully smile: "He looks terrible."

"I heard th-thahhh…" Kristoff's sentence went uncompleted as his breath caught in his throat. His nose wrinkled at the bridge, implying what was to come, before he turned away yet again and sneezed harshly into his hands. "Huuhh'ASCHSCHhhuh!…hh'AKSCHHh'uihh!"

"Bless you," Elsa and Olaf chorused in unison, along with a third voice.

All eyes looked towards the doorway, where a concerned Anna now stood carrying a steaming bowl of soup on a tray. Her eyes were focused on Kristoff, watching as he recovered from his draining sneezes.

Understanding that her sister would more than likely want some privacy with Kristoff, Elsa stood up and clasped her hands in front of her. "Come on, Olaf," she said, indicating that the snowman join her in leaving.

"Where are we going?" he asked, following his creator as she started to exit the room.

Before they departed fully, Elsa stopped by Anna's side and reached out to gently clasp her shoulder. "If you need to talk, you can come to me later. My door's wide open."

Anna looked at Elsa and smiled an incredibly warm, incredibly appreciative smile. "Thank you, Elsa. And thanks for staying with Kristoff for me."

"I still have no idea where we're going," Olaf stated, once he and Elsa had begun walking down the hallway.

Anna shut the door with her foot and then made her way over to the bed. She set the tray of soup down onto her lap as she settled into the chair that was previously occupied by Elsa. "Hey. How are you feeling?"

"Gross," Kristoff answered honestly, sniffling away the last vestiges of his sneezes.

"Maybe this will help? I didn't make it, because that would have been a total disaster, but I know it'll make you feel better. I used to have it when I was sick," Anna explained, stirring the contents of the bowl.

Kristoff did his best to prop the upper half of his body up so that he was sitting; he already felt unattractive as it was. He didn't need to spill soup all over himself. As he was repositioning, he couldn't help but take note of his surroundings. He hadn't before, due to his disorientation upon waking, but now that he was actually paying attention…

"Is this…your room?" he asked.

"Mmhmm," Anna confirmed. "I didn't want them to put you in one of the guest rooms, or in the sitting room, so this seemed like the best place."

"Uhhh…"

"What do you mean 'uhhh'?" Anna asked, furrowing her brow. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"No, there's nothing wrong with that," Kristoff replied, bringing the back of his wrist up to swipe beneath his running nose. Typical mountain man mannerisms. "I've just never been in your room before. It's nice."

"It's usually a mess," Anna waved off, momentarily forgetting whom she was talking to. "Clothes everywhere, hairbrush on the floor, wardrobe spilling out--" She froze and then cleared her throat, only so completely humiliated about admitting her very un-princess-like tendencies.

"Hey. You forget I was adopted by trolls," Kristoff pointed out. "They practically invented the word messy."

Anna smiled in remembrance of Kristoff's 'relatives' and their fierce insistence on marrying them off together. So lost was she in the memories that she nearly forgotten about the soup until she glanced down and found it still sitting in her lap.

"Oh! Right. Soup," she acknowledged.

Kristoff sniffed and held out a hand, prepared to accept the bowl, yet he pulled his arm back as he saw Anna shake her head. He felt a foggy haze of perplexity start to bloom in his fever-muddled mind (like he needed any more of that) when he watched her ladle some soup into the spoon and hold it out towards his mouth.

"Seriously?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Oh, come on," Anna pleaded, pouting. "I wanna take care of you! You took care of me when I needed it."

She had a point there, Kristoff noted. The burly man sighed defeatedly, which turned into a short coughing spree. He waited until he'd recovered before he obediently parted his lips. He even said 'ahhhhhh', but that was just to tease her.

Anna rolled her eyes and gently spooned some soup into his mouth. She felt a surge of happiness within her chest as he swallowed it down, though said happiness suddenly turned into a whole lot of worry when he choked and sputtered.

"Wh-what's wrong?" she asked, worried.

"Hahhh," Kristoff said, sticking his tongue out.

"Hahhh…?" Anna repeated, now confused.

"Hot," he said clearly, once he withdrew his burnt tongue back into his mouth. "The soup's hot."

"I am so sorry," Anna apologized, feeling a little foolish for not having blown on the spoonful before she'd thoughtlessly shoveled it right on into Kristoff's poor mouth. Talk about being the absolute worst caretaker in the world. "Here. Let's try that again."

Gathering more soup in the spoon, she gently blew on the liquid a few times and then extended it once more. Kristoff leaned in to accept it, grateful for the cooler temperature, and swallowed it.

"How's that?" Anna inquired.

"Hahhh…"

"Still hot? But, I blew on it this time!" she protested, glaring down at the offending soup.

"N-no, I…hahhh…h-have to…!"

It had probably been the steam from the soup, but either way Kristoff felt his nose flare up with an uncontrollable burst of tickles. He steepled his hands over his nose and mouth, much like he'd done outside, and bent forward slightly as the forceful sneezes assaulted him.

"Hhuh'AKSCHHhh'uih! ATSCHHhhhuhh!"

"Bless you!" Anna exclaimed, taken aback by the strength of the releases. "Wow. Those sneezes could probably cause an avalanche or something, huh?" She was joking, of course. Until she saw him look away in embarrassment. "Unlesssss…they already have?"

"Ughh. Dod't rebind be," Kristoff snuffled, a touch more congested now. He was ready for another sleeve-swipe under his nose, but this time he was surprised to see a handkerchief being handed over.

"It's a lot better than your sleeve. Trust me," Anna pointed out, watching as he folded the cloth over his nose. "And don't worry about giving it back. It's aaaall--"

SNNNFFXXXSHHKKKKHH!

"…yours," she finished, after Kristoff had practically blown a hole in the handkerchief. "Sooooo... More soup?"

TBC.

[Purple]

Before they departed fully, Elsa stopped by Anna's side and reached out to gently clasp her shoulder. "If you need to talk, you can come to me later. My door's wide open."

I TOTALLY SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE.

This is adorable. And so so so perfectly in (all) character(s). Cuuuuuuuuuuuute!!!

[snuffles]

OMG Olaf ROFL!! That was GREAT!!! And it totally deserves the capital letters and manic exclamation marks!

"He looks terrible." lol!

[4000tacobells]

This is probably the best characterization I've ever seen in a Frozen fic. Friggin' perfect. I'm really liking it! Nothing satisfies quite like a burly dude struck down by a cold. Hell yeah, can't wait for more ♥

[squealofapproval]

This is great! I LOVE the direction you are taking!

[Natto]

Ahh, I'm really enjoying this so far! I just recently watched Frozen for the first time, and this was like reading about a continuation or deleted scene. Everyone was perfectly in-character. Anna's incompetent but sweet worrying, Elsa's most distant kindness, Olaf's dialog, everything was great. And something like this really has to happen from time to time with a movie called Frozen. XD; Anyway, great job, thank you so much for posting. I look forward to the final chapter!

[glaciosity]

How are you so talented? *hungrily waits for more*