Chapter Text
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“We got the hard part over with, now hold me tight. We're gonna get this right.”
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The moment a colorful symbol flashed high up in the sky, Hans knew that Anna's plan had done the trick. The mist began to lift at a slow, gradual pace while the giants had halted their rampage immediately. It was over. The curse had been lifted and the forest was freed. Even so, it came with a very heavy, bitter feeling. Such a grand, hefty tidal wave had been unleashed that Hans had been forced to look away. He knew that Arendelle wouldn't stand a chance against such a terrifying force of nature.
An eye for an eye, Hans concluded grudgingly. The king of Arendelle had sabotaged the home of the Northuldra people and killed their leader, so it made sense for the Arendellians to lose their homes and leader as well. The destruction of the dam had balanced out the score and washed away the tainted legacy that Runeard had built- his throne of lies. Still, at the same time it felt horribly unfair. The Arendellians hadn't known about Runeard's plans, not even Lieutenant Mattias, so why should they all be punished? They were never complicit in the first place. Why did Elsa have to die when she was the one who'd come here to make things right?
No, it wasn't really fair at all.
The following hour passed in such a haze, it all felt like a very blurry, incomplete dream. All Hans knew was that suddenly, they were approaching the very edge of the forest. There stood the four big stones which had marked the entrance and the misty barrier. Only now, that barrier was gone and beyond it was the mountain where Kristoff had left the wagon. The Northuldra were all peering up at the clear sky with awe, though no one was as delighted as Ryder. Even Yelena and Mattias had set aside their differences to share the moment together. Sven, overcome with giddy excitement, led the Northuldra's herd of reindeer out into the open field. Sitron cast a quick glance over his shoulder, as if searching for permission from Hans, then dashed out as well.
The only ones who were not counting their blessings were Anna, Kristoff and Hans himself. The three of them stood together, arms crossed over their chests and heavy frowns on their faces.
“... I'm sorry I left you behind,” Anna ultimately said, addressing the both of them. “I was just so desperate to protect her. But I suppose... that was all in vain.”
“Anna... Love is never in vain. It makes all the difference in the world,” Hans replied. He hesitated for a moment, then put his arm around her shoulder to pull her closer. “And I'm so, so sorry it had to end this way.”
Kristoff stepped up to them as well, throwing his arms not only around Anna but around as much of Hans as possible. “Me too,” he murmured. “You did the right thing. I'm sure Elsa would be very proud of you. It's up to us now to pick up the pieces and put them back together.”
For a moment, Anna said nothing. She only leaned into the shared embrace. Hans was convinced she was crying silent tears, so he strengthened his own hold on her. When she spoke up again, though, her voice was still holding pretty firm.
“Right. You're right. Arendelle isn't a place o-or a bunch of buildings. It's the people. So we'll help them rebuild those buildings. We'll make a brand new home for them. A better home. No secrets, no deceit... That's the Arendelle Elsa would have wanted.” Anna backed herself out of the hug, peering up at Hans and Kristoff in turn. “Thank you. Both of you. For standing by me through all this. I know it wasn't easy.”
“Hey, it's fine! Our love is not fragile,” Kristoff said.
“It might be a bit quirky at times, but it's definitely not fragile,” Hans chimed in, smiling.
Anna chuckled, even as more tears sprang up in the corners of her eyes. They were all distracted, however, by a gentle breeze. It was Gale, the wind spirit. Several blue sparkles and bits of shimmering crystal were being swept along, forming a very interesting design before their very eyes. A snowflake? Just as Anna attempted to reach for it, the pieces disassembled again and blew towards the nearby coastline. She chased after it, Hans and Kristoff in tow, to come upon the most amazing sight.
Something was running across the fjord's water, approaching the little beach they were standing on. At first, Hans mistook it for a horse and he wondered why it wasn't swimming for its life. Then he saw the shimmers of blue and white. The horse wasn't just running across water, it was water, and riding it was none other than Elsa. She was sporting a different look, but she was alive!
Anna got to her first, but even so, she kept her distance. Perhaps she feared that if she were to get too close, Elsa might vanish into thin air. Hans decided to stick back even further, so as to give the sisters their space. Kristoff followed his example. It wasn't until Elsa held out both arms that Anna jumped into them.
“I thought I lost you,” she cried out against Elsa's shoulder.
“Lost me? You saved me. Again.”
“I did?”
“And Anna... Arendelle did not fall.”
“It didn't?”
“The spirits all agree, Arendelle deserves to stand. With you.”
“Me?”
“You did what was right. For everyone.”
Relieved, Hans felt his shoulders slump and his muscles relax. He hadn't realized he'd been holding so much tension in his body over the past hour until now. It made sense, though. They had nearly lost so much... But Elsa was okay and Arendelle was okay. The spirits had shown them mercy. Kristoff nudged Hans's arm with his elbow in a playful manner and when Hans looked over to him, he was met with a warm smile.
“Did you find the fifth spirit?” Anna asked, still rubbing at her face.
Elsa didn't reply. Her eyebrows raised and her lips pressed together into a thin line. It wasn't a pained expression, nor tragic. It was, if anything, a silent hint. A reference to something grander. Hans had no idea what she was trying to imply, but as it turned out, he didn't need to figure it out.
Anna gasped. “You are the fifth spirit! You're the bridge.”
Elsa took hold of her sister's hands. “Well, actually, a bridge has two sides. And our mother had two daughters. We did this together and we'll continue to do this together.”
“Together,” Anna said, pressing her forehead up against Elsa's.
A long moment of silence passed. Then Elsa finally looked past her sister, locking eyes with Hans and Kristoff. It meant they were free to invade the moment, Hans supposed. Sure enough, Kristoff was already running up to Elsa. It was a bit foreign, really, to see her hold out her arms in a welcoming gesture. Elsa had never been much of a hugger before- not to anyone who wasn't Anna. Even so, she allowed Kristoff to throw his big arms around her and even patted him on the back. Hans fostered a few small doubts on duplicating the gesture when it was his turn, but when he saw the contented smile on Elsa's face, he couldn't stop himself. Just like Kristoff, he embraced his future sister-in-law.
“Elsa... I'm so glad you're okay,” he heard Kristoff say breathlessly.
“As am I,” he remarked as he stepped back. “Though perhaps we should have known better than to give up on our snow queen so easily. Or is it... snow spirit, now?”
“Heh... Just Elsa will do,” she replied, amused.
Sven, who'd apparently separated himself from the herd of reindeer, came walking up to Elsa. Sitron was right behind him. Both noble steeds received a tender scritch.
“You look different. Did you cut your hair or something?” Kristoff asked her. Astounded by the sincerity of the question, Hans was the one to elbow him this time. In the ribs.
“Or something,” Elsa replied in a lighthearted air.
“Ah,” Kristoff said awkwardly.
“You look wonderful,” Hans remarked, smiling. “And I don't just mean the hair. Or the clothes. Those are wonderful as well, of course, but... Ah, you know what I mean.”
Elsa chuckled and took Hans's hand, patting it. “I do know what you mean. Thank you.”
“What's this about you being a fifth spirit, all of a sudden?” Kristoff cut in, not quite as relaxed as the rest of them. “Does this have to do with the voice you heard? What about Ahtohallan, then? Was there a different fifth spirit before you took over? Were you a spirit all along or did you just become one? I'm so confused...!”
“It's a long story. I'll explain it later,” Elsa said, apparently a bit amused by Kristoff's antics. Then she turned her attention to her sister with a more sober, almost sad expression. “But first, I need to ask Anna a question.”
“Me? A question?” Anna blinked, now reflecting Elsa's gloom. “Okay, shoot.”
The corners of Elsa's lips curled upwards, and the next second, she appeared downright mischievous. “Do you wanna build a snowman?” she asked.
“What?”
Elsa closed her eyes in concentration and for a few seconds, nothing happened. Then a breeze came washing over the nearby hill, carrying with it a whole cloud of snowflakes, which began to circle the group. Even as they watched in awe, Hans couldn't help but feel there was something familiar about it. Something comforting.
“Thank goodness, water has memory,” Elsa said. She directed the snow towards the ground with a single motion of the hand, where it separated into one larger form and one smaller version. Snowmen.
Anna gasped in delight and Hans started, because he hadn't taken into account that so long as Elsa was alive, this was even possible. While Anna dashed towards the larger snowman, taking a bundle of sticks out of her bag as she went, Hans instead untied the light purple bandana from around his wrist. Then he stepped forward and crouched down, putting it back where it belonged.
Olly was the first to truly reawaken, hazy at first. Then he squeaked and jumped up into Hans's lap, where he was met with as much of a hug as a tiny Snowgie could ever receive. Relief washed over Hans and he vowed that he would never take Olly for granted again.
“Anna...?” Olaf asked once he'd regained his consciousness. His gaze swept the entire group, his attitude becoming more cheerful as it went. “Elsa! Hans, Olly, a-and Kristoff and Sven! And Sitron! You all came back!”
Everyone immediately leaned in for a warm group hug; even Sven and Sitron allowed their heads to rest against shoulders. It really helped ground Hans in the reality that everyone was okay. They'd all made it through this adventure just fine and had come out stronger in the end.
“What about Samantha? Have you seen Samantha?” Olaf asked, and for a moment there was confusion. Then Olaf began to laugh. “Oh! Right! Samantha was just a figment of my imagination! Sorry!”
Anna chortled into her hands, Olly giggled and Elsa shook her head. As for Kristoff, he made a very loud, very exasperated sound. “It's good to have you back, Olaf,” he said wryly.
“I love happy endings!” Olaf said as everyone backed out of the hug and stood up straight again. Then he addressed Elsa with a more serious, possibly even scolding air. “I mean, I presume we're done. Or is this putting us in mortal danger situation gonna be a regular thing?”
“No, we're done,” Elsa replied.
“Actually... There is one more thing,” Kristoff said, his voice taking on a more smooth tone. Was he going to...? He wouldn't, would he?
Hans's greatest fears were confirmed when Kristoff began to bend one of knees. Not wasting even a second, he grabbed the man's arm to stop him. “Not yet,” he hissed through his teeth, hoping that Anna wouldn't hear him.
Now was not the best time to propose. They'd been through so much already in the past few days. Anna would need some time to breathe before having another life-changing event tossed her way. Hans needed some time to breathe, too. It was astounding, in a way, that Kristoff was still brash enough to attempt it at the moment. But then... Kristoff was the one who'd actually gotten sleep these past few nights. It made sense for him to be the most composed out of all of them.
While Kristoff shot a look of confusion his way, it was quickly replaced by understanding. Elsa fought to hide a smile- she must've caught on- while Olaf and Anna both frowned. Luckily, they hadn't spotted the awkward moment.
“What is it?” Anna ultimately asked.
“We uh... We should go back to the forest to let everyone know Elsa's okay! Right?” Kristoff stammered. “They'll be delighted! Especially Lieutenant Mattias.”
Anna laughed. “Well, of course we'll go and let everyone know! Gosh, Kristoff. Did you think we were going to go back to Arendelle without saying goodbye?”
“Just... Just making sure.”
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As they returned to the Enchanted Forest's entrance, where the Northuldra and the Arendellian soldiers were surely waiting for them, Anna lagged behind with Elsa just a bit. After such a long, exhausting day, there was no need to walk any faster than this. Her two boyfriends were leading the group, engaged in a conversation that she could easily overhear.
“So it's weird, right? That Anna's part of the fifth spirit?”
“... Come again?”
“Well, that's what Elsa said! The fifth spirit is some kind of bridge, a bridge has two sides, and Anna and Elsa represent both sides of the bridge. So that means they're both the fifth spirit.”
“Ahh... I'm fairly certain she didn't mean it quite so literally. She simply meant that she cannot do the job of the fifth spirit by herself, so Anna will have to help her on the human side of things.”
“Right! As the other half! We're saying the same thing!”
“Kristoff, Anna being human makes her the very definition of not being part of a spirit. Really, you're reading too much into this.”
“Or are you just not reading enough into it?”
Hans slapped both hands to his face and groaned loudly, even as Olly burst into a fit of giggles.
Olaf, who was riding on Sven's back, stood up a bit straighter. “I've gotta say, you're both raising some very good points! Don't worry, we'll get to the bottom of this in a very fair, objective way. First off, let's-”
Curious as Anna was about the rest of the discussion, she was distracted by Elsa, who took hold of her hand and pulled her to a halt. When she shot a curious glance her sister's way, she was met with a very mysterious expression. So Anna allowed the others to go on ahead, turning her undivided attention to Elsa.
“What is it?” she asked.
“I want to show you something,” was the reply.
Elsa turned and held out both hands. A flurry of glowing, beautiful snow drifted forward, swirling and rising as it formed two misty figures. With a start and a gasp, Anna realized just what she was looking at. Water had memory, and so, not only ice could give it form. The fluidity of snow allowed the figures to move, giving life to a moment in time which must have transpired years ago. Queen Iduna and King Agnarr- Mother and Father- looked just as they did shortly before their deaths. They were holding hands as they gazed into each other's eyes. When Anna heard her mother's voice echo through her mind, an eerie chill ran down her spine. She slapped a hand to her own mouth and cast a quick glance to Elsa, only to be met with a reassuring smile.
“Darling, I've been thinking. It might be time to tell Anna about Elsa. I can't bear keeping her shut out any more. She's maturing now. She can be responsible,” was what Mother had said.
“It's not Anna I'm worried about,” Father replied in earnest. “What if we let them get close again and the feelings are too much for Elsa? Joy brings her powers out as strongly as fear.”
“But if anyone can find a way to help her, it's Anna.”
Anna hadn't realized she was stepping towards her parents until she was mere inches from their spectral faces. Neither of them saw her. Of course they wouldn't; this was only a memory, a conversation which had taken place behind Anna's back. Just another one of many secrets hidden away when she was younger. But this... This was different. This was good.
Father chuckled, a sound Anna hadn't heard in a very long time. “You may be right about that. There's not much that girl can't do.”
“Oh... Her love could hold up the world.” Mother's gaze, despite looking through Anna, was as sincere and hopeful as could be. It was full of belief, full of trust, full of all those things that Anna had grown to believe might never have been there.
Tears began to flow down Anna's cheeks. There was no way of stopping them.
“Lucky for the world,” Father remarked wistfully. “Alright. We'll tell her when we return.”
Her parents embraced, only to disappear in a wisp of glowing blue when a breeze took hold of the snowflakes keeping them there. Anna reflexively held out a hand, but knew there was no way to make them stay. Her parents were already gone, for they'd never returned from their trip. Her throat still thick with emotion, she quickly wiped at her eyes and drew in a deep sniff through her nose. Elsa came to stand beside her, gazing up at the sky. Overwhelmed, Anna turned and threw her arms over her sister's shoulders to pull her into a tight hug.
“Thank you... so much for that,” she whispered.
“They believed in you, Anna,” Elsa said, placing her hands on Anna's shoulders to ease her out of the embrace again. Then she peered straight into her eyes. “And so do I.”
Those words were enough to confirm what Anna had already suspected. It was the ending to this adventure that she had dreaded all along. Trouble was, the kind smile on Elsa's face radiated comfort, determination, bliss and all those things that Elsa hadn't quite shown when she was queen of Arendelle. Gone was the second-guessing, gone was the fear of change. Was there anything in the world more important than that? There wasn't, was there?
Anna smiled sadly and placed her hand atop Elsa's own. “You're not coming home with us, are you?”
Elsa seemed surprised to have been read so easily. Then her expression shifted back to sincerity. “Ahtohallan changed me. I don't know how the forest and the spirits need me, now, but I wanna be there when they do.”
“... You've found your place. That's good!” Anna paused, then shook her head. “I mean, it's good for you! Obviously I'm sad that you won't be coming home with us. But that doesn't mean we won't see each other anymore, right? You can always come and visit Arendelle. Or we can come on vacation here! If Kai will let me go- do you think Kai will let me go?”
Elsa laughed quietly, shaking her head. “I think that he will have no choice.”
Anna laughed as well, relief surging through her as the situation attempted to sink in. “You're really sure about this?”
“I've never been more sure about anything in my life,” Elsa replied earnestly. She raised a hand to Anna's face, cupping her cheek. “As I said earlier, Arendelle deserves to stand with you. You will always do what's best for our people and so, I have no doubts that you will be the kindest, most amazing queen our kingdom has ever had.”
“Even more amazing than the queen who could shoot ice from her fingers?” Anna asked, grinning.
“Ten times more amazing.”
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Kristoff tugged at his collar. Then at his right sleeve. Then his collar again. He looked down towards his shiny, tight, black leather shoes and the perfectly straight pants which didn't hold so much as a single crease to them. As he did so, the glimmer of his gold belt buckle caught his eye. It looked so expensive... Both hands smoothed out his jacket, as they had several times already over the past ten minutes, then went up to push his hair backwards.
This whole outfit was uncomfortable, but he had to bear it, if only for tonight. Maybe the pounding of his heart could distract him from the clothes. ...Nope, that just made it worse.
“Are you certain this is what you want to wear?” he heard Hans ask through the daze.
Forcing himself to pay closer attention to his actual surroundings, Kristoff's gaze went from the duck pond to his companion. Hans looked just as prim and proper as he did, which was a weird thing to think about, really. Kristoff had never imagined he'd end up the same level of fancy attire as an actual prince, but here he was.
They were both standing in the castle garden, waiting for Anna. She was being brought here by Olaf, which was sure to cause some delays. Knowing their snowman friend, he was taking Anna the long way round to show her sights she was already very familiar with. Still, they weren't alone; Sven and Olly were in the garden as well. There was no way this whole thing was taking place without Kristoff's best friend present, and as for Olly... Well, there was no reason for him not to be here, Kristoff supposed. Both Sven and the Snowgie were wearing enormous bowties, which popped with blue and purple striping.
“Positive. I mean, it was Sven's idea, but...” Kristoff trailed off and glanced towards his reindeer friend, who grunted in a supportive way. “He's right. I want this proposal to be perfect. And I want Anna to see me as perfect, so-”
“But you're already perfect, no matter what you wear,” Hans cut across him, smiling warmly. Immediately, Kristoff felt heat rise to his cheeks.
“No- I mean- maybe, but... I just want to leave a lasting impression on her, you know. She's going to be the queen of Arendelle soon. So that means...”
“That means she'll still love you, no matter what. And so will I. Really, you don't need to change anything about yourself to match us. But if it means that much to you... Well, you still look handsome either way.”
Maybe just to emphasize his point, or maybe as a genuine gesture of affection, Hans raised a hand to the side of Kristoff's head, brushing some locks of hair back with the tips of his fingers. While it was a nice feeling, something was a little off about it. Kristoff grinned and chortled, then took Hans's hand with his own and moved it back downwards.
“Since we're giving each other fashion advice,” Kristoff began airily, his fingers pinching at silky fabric, “I don't think you should be wearing these gloves.”
“Oh! Are they too white? Should I have gone with something more beige?” Hans asked right off the bat, peering down at the accessories in question with an expression that bordered on alarmed. It just went to prove that despite his earlier show of resolution, he too was fretting about the smaller details.
“No, I'm saying you don't need gloves at all,” Kristoff clarified. “When asking someone for their hand, you should give them your own hand in return, don't you think?”
Hans blinked, then nodded fervently. “Right! You're right! Sorry, old habits,” he stammered, and with that, he removed his gloves. He glanced around in an idle manner for a few seconds, seemed to realize there was nowhere to put the gloves down, then finally slipped them into a pocket on the front of his jacket. Some of the fingertips were still poking out the top, Kristoff noted, but he decided to let it slide.
They weren't really given time to contemplate much else. The sound of Olaf's very distinct voice reached their ears. Kristoff's heart began to hammer all over again and every muscle in his body tensed. Not long after, Olaf led the way into the garden, with Anna trailing in his wake at a slow pace. She stopped in her tracks soon after, her eyes darting from the paper lanterns strung from the trees to the candles circling the duck pond, then finally towards Hans and Kristoff.
Once again, Kristoff fought a very hard urge to tug at his collar. Following that was the urge to scratch his left arm, which had suddenly grown very itchy, but he fought that off too.
Oblivious to the truth which was settling into Anna's mind, Olaf continued to chatter on and on. “And that's when I decided to give the wolf my sausage nose, and I made a lifelong friend! Except not really, because I never saw that wolf again and I'm pretty sure his buddies tried to take my fruitcake half a year later, buuut... All in all, I like to think I did a good thing! So anyway, here we are at the duck pond, the place that I said I'd bring you to.”
At last, Olaf came to a halt, both physically and in his conversation. He whirled round to give Anna an expectant stare. A long silence followed. Anna took a few more timid steps into the garden, her eyes still mostly focused on Kristoff. That was a little unnerving. Finally, her shock melted into tender amusement.
“Awww... Did you boys set up a romantic evening and get all dressed up for me?” she asked them.
“SURPRIIIIIISEEEE!” Olaf yelled before either of them could respond.
Anna laughed. Kristoff felt some of his own tension melt away. He allowed his features to settle into as suave an expression as he could manage, hoping it looked more charming than unnerving.
As for Hans, he was his usual chipper self. “We figured this was one of your last free nights before your coronation, so we might as well make the best of it,” he said. “Who knows what your schedule will be like a week from now?”
“Is that so?” Anna quirked an eyebrow, smirking. “I was going to instate a law that the queen must have at least one evening a week off to spend with her loved ones, but if you think this one date is enough to make up for that...”
“It just might. But you'd better keep those extra evenings a week, just in case,” Hans remarked. He took hold of Anna's hands and began to guide her towards the nearby bench. Having her sit down for this was a good idea, Kristoff felt. This proposal would either weaken her in the knees or have her try to run away as fast as her legs could carry her.
Still, her eyes were on Kristoff when she next spoke. “You look very nice tonight. But you know you don't have to dress up all fancy for me, right? I kinda prefer you in leather.”
“You- I- Uhhh-” Kristoff stammered, now blushing furiously. His ears caught some chuckles coming from Hans's direction and he shook his head wildly. “No. I know. I just... I wanted to try it. For me. Also for you, but mostly for me.”
“Sooo... Is it worth it for you?” Anna asked.
“A little. I don't know if I'll make a habit out of it, but it's good to know the option's there.”
“That makes sense!”
Kristoff cast a quick sideways glance towards Olaf, who was still standing by and watching the whole thing unfold with wide eyes. There was a sort of giddy smile on his face. He knew what was coming, of course. That didn't mean Kristoff was comfortable with him being there. Sven and Olly he could tolerate, but Olaf had a tendency to be very invasive. What if he distracted from the proposal just by being his usual, loud self?
“Are you... going to stay here for this?” Kristoff asked him.
“Uh-huh!” Olaf replied, nodding his head and still grinning widely.
Kristoff sighed.
“We wanted to tell you something very important,” Hans said to Anna. “Trouble is, we both know how bad Kristoff is at putting his feelings into words.”
“Dreadful, really,” Kristoff admitted with a shrug.
“So that's why we've decided to put it into song instead.”
With that statement out in the open, Kristoff made a snatch for his lute, which had been leaning against a nearby pillar. He strummed two of the strings and Anna raised both hands to her mouth. Still, there was no going back now. This was it, the perfect moment. The perfect opportunity. They'd do it just as they'd rehearsed. He exchanged a quick glance with Hans, who nodded, then began to play. It was a cheerful, simple little intro.
Hans began to bob along with the music, swaying back and forth a bit before speaking in line with the melody. “Can we just... say something crazy?”
Anna giggled into her hands. “I love crazy!”
That was the exact response Kristoff had expected. His fingers strummed the lute a bit faster. It was his turn now, and while his throat felt like it was closing up, he still managed to swallow. Singing was easy enough; he sang to Sven all the time. He could do this. All he had to do was focus on the music.
“Reindeers are better than people, that's what I always thought. True love was for others, it bothers and smothers, for me it didn't mean squaaat...! Sven was my only friend, on my ice business I could always depend, but there was nothing I was living towaaard.”
“It was the same for me, I just couldn't see, a future where I was adored,” Hans sang, stepping up to Kristoff to place a hand on his shoulder before turning his attention back to Anna. “So when I crossed the Southern Sea, I never expected to be, anything other than maybe a little booored.”
“Not that Elsa's coronation was boring,” Kristoff hastily clarified, breaking character in the most tremendous of ways. He just couldn't risk Anna taking this the wrong way. “I mean- I wouldn't know, I wasn't there. We just needed something that rhymes with “adored”, you know.”
“Kristoff,” Hans whispered at him, squeezing his shoulder.
“Right, right.” Kristoff strummed the strings again, trying to ease himself back into the melody. “You're my true north when I am lost, the thaw after the frost... But truth is, I don't know what I'm doing. I've never been too worldly in the ways of proper wooing.”
“It was the opposite here, on that night we first met. I immediately asked for your hand without breaking a sweat. Love was an open door, or so I believed, and I didn't think about anything more. Guess we all had a lot to leeearn...!”
Kristoff's fingers picked up their speed even more, adding some additional cheer and quirkiness to the melody. It represented hope, really. A bright, beautiful future.
“But with our powers combined, we know exactly what to do! We both know how crazy lucky we are to love yooou!” he sang together with Hans, only to break off and do the next few words by himself again.
“Gorgeous, funny, brave, and brilliant!” he exclaimed.
“Witty, strong, caring and responsible!” Hans chimed in.
“Beautiful, won't give up on anyone!”
“Nothing like I've ever known before!”
“Yooou,” Kristoff and Hans sang in unison.
Anna clapped both her hands against her chest, looking more emotional by the second. “Awww...” she cooed quietly. Man, they were nailing this.
“So from now on, let's never be alone,” Kristoff decreed. “You two are the most extraordinary people I've ever known. I love you with all I am, those words will never be a sham, and if anyone says otherwise I won't give a daaamn.”
“Ooh, Kristoff!” Anna gasped, looking oddly excited about his use of a very fierce D word.
“If someone says it's crazy, I'll turn the other cheek,” Hans sang, apparently staving off a bit of laughter himself. “I'll love the two of you week after week after week. With you I've found my place, and nothing in this world can ever erase... love that's reached the highest peaaak!”
Kristoff stepped over to Anna, still playing even as he went. Hans was right by his side. It was fine. This was going to be fine. They both sank to one knee as the song neared an end. Anna raised both hands to her mouth, as it was confirmed now without a doubt just what was happening.
“And if push comes to shove, I will send a fully armed battalion to remind you of my love,” Kristoff tossed in at the last second, before finally taking his fingers off the lute's strings. He closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them, both Anna and Hans were staring at him.
“What was that last bit?” Anna asked after an awkward silence.
“... Olaf told me to use that line. He said it'd be funny,” Kristoff replied, blushing. He threw a glare Olaf's way, only to be met with as much of a thumbs-up as twiggy hands could muster.
“And it was!” the snowman declared. As if to prove his brother's point, Olly burst into a fit of giggles. As for Sven, he rolled his eyes.
“And I told him to ignore Olaf's suggestions,” Hans said, shrugging his shoulders. “But Kristoff will always be delightfully stubborn. So anyway...”
Hans reached into his pocket. Kristoff started and hastily put his lute down, because he'd forgotten about this next part. His hand shot towards a pocket on the inside of his jacket and his fingers fumbled with smooth metal. Then, finally, he managed to hold out a ring. He wasn't the only one to do so. His eyes darted towards Hans to confirm the timing of it all, and was met with a firm nod.
“Anna of Arendelle, will you marry us?” they both asked at the same time.
It was at this point that tears began to flow from Anna's eyes and for one dreadful second, Kristoff was sure they'd messed this whole thing up. Their proposal had been so very lousy that Anna wanted to cry. A painful cold settled in his stomach. Anna bit down on her bottom lip and flapped her hands, then finally choked out a “Yes!”
The oddest thing happened. Despite hearing his own relieved laughter, as well as Hans's jeer, Kristoff must've blacked out for a moment. He didn't remember doing anything, but he must've moved on instinct, because all of a sudden he was enveloped in a tight group hug. Anna's hair tickled his left cheek and Hans's jaw pressed against his right cheek. Very shortly after, he felt something nudge his shoulder and realized it was Sven.
He was being congratulated. He'd done it. He'd finally gotten it right. With Hans's help, of course.
Olaf was already making loud proclamations about being the best man at the wedding- or at the very least the best snowman. Olly squeaked and darted around them in circles. Rings were exchanged and were found to be a perfect fit. It shouldn't have surprised Kristoff as much as it had. And maybe the proposal shouldn't have worried him as much as it had, either. He'd already known for a long time that he loved Anna and Hans, just as they loved him. He couldn't possibly love them any more. So what did marriage really change about that? It was just a promise that they'd already devoted themselves to, but never dared to speak before now.
Still though, it felt nice to finally get it out in the open.
Kristoff had never quite believed in 'happily ever after' and even now, he didn't think there was such a thing. Anna and Hans might've grown beyond that sort of naivety too. Even so, assuming there were no more dangerous adventures in their future, magical or otherwise... Yes, they were definitely going to live good, happy, loved lives together.
The End