HAPPY BIRTHDAY minnothebunny!!! You were one of my first followers and you were the very first person to comment on my first fic, so really everything that has followed could be described as your fault ;) Thank you for being the awesome Kristanna Indiana Jones/super reference librarian, for bringing the sass, and for bringing new writers and fics to the attention of us all <3

Sorry that this is so late! But I’m going to make up for it by making your birthday last all week–there are actually five parts to this story (some of them are kind of short, but still). And sargar3000 offered to collaborate and make this series of snippets extra special and amazing! I hope you enjoy it and I hope you’ve had a great birthday and you have a fantastic year <3 <3 <3

Note: Harbor was a one-shot based on a tiny bit of this prompt–this series fills in the rest ;)

“What do you mean my dog isn’t here?”

Kristoff glared at the shrinking teenager behind the counter and the pimple-faced boy actually cowered, holding the clipboard up like a shield.

“I'm…I’m sorry, sir, I don’t know! I just work the desk, I don’t really…I just know that he’s not in his assigned kennel, and he doesn’t seem to be in the play room…but I don’t know—” The words turned into a squeak as Kristoff shoved open the little door that closed off the waist-high counter from the rest of the lobby. The teenager stepped backwards and nearly fell over his battered office chair. “Sir, you can’t just…I mean…”

“I’m going to look myself,” Kristoff growled, and pushed his way through the ‘employees only’ door. The unfortunate receptionist fluttered after him, muttering helpless sir, this isn’t alloweds and if you’ll just waits, but Kristoff ignored him. He stomped from room to room, looking into each kennel and growing increasingly frantic as each one failed to contain his best friend. “Sven!” he shouted, hoping to hear a familiar bark, but he only succeeded in starting a cacophony of barks and howls from the other dogs. He clenched his fists, trying to stop his hands from shaking, feeling his palms go cold and clammy as his stomach twisted in knots. He should have pushed to let them take Sven out on the boat, the new rule was stupid, there’d never been a problem before, but they’d insisted a week was too long, and this stupid doggy daycare had seemed okay, right up until the moment when they’d lost his dog. “Sven,” he muttered, “come on, buddy, where are you? I can’t lose you too.”

The boy with the clipboard was still hovering and Kristoff rounded on him, shoulders stiff with anger. “Where,” he demanded, “is my dog?”

He wasn’t a violent man. He didn’t need to be—he was a big man, and that was generally enough to get people to stay out of his way, but now there was red rage clouding his vision. The sound of a door opening and a gleeful bark saved him from finding out just how far his self-control went.

Sven barreled into him, bouncing and licking ecstatically, tail thumping as Kristoff ruffled his fur, rubbing his ears. “Where were you hiding, huh?” he muttered. The dog barked happily and turned to paw at the leg of the girl standing behind him. Kristoff eyed her. She grinned sheepishly and gave him a little wave.

“So you’re Sven’s person, huh? It’s Christopher, right?”

“Kristoff. What were you doing with my dog?” he demanded. He stood up and folded his arms over his chest, eyes narrowed, but the tactic didn’t work on the girl as well as it had on the receptionist, despite the fact that she was even shorter and slimmer. She was just a little bit of freckles and red hair. Kristoff thought he could have lifted her with one arm. She leaned her head back and put her hands on her hips, although she fumbled a bit, like she wasn’t used to the gesture.

“I took him home with me,” she said. “I—”

“You took him home?”

“Yes! He was really lonely! He didn’t like being on his own, he wanted to be near a person all day, and then last night when everyone was leaving he got really sad and he kept whining and I couldn’t just leave him here. So I took him home with me.”

“You took my dog home?”

“Yes, pay attention! I couldn’t leave him all alone. No one wants to be alone!” Sven rolled over at her feet and gazed up at her with big, adoring eyes, his tongue lolling out. She knelt to pet him. “Look, I’m really, really sorry, but he just was so sad…And you weren’t supposed to be back until this evening.” The dog squirmed happily as she scratched his stomach. “Who’s a sweet boy? Who’s a widdle sweetie-pie?”

“Ugh, don’t talk to him like that.”

The girl gave him a saucy glance and tickled Sven under the chin. “Who’s a sweet boy with a grumpy-pants for a person?” she muttered.

“Don't—” Sven cuddled up to the girl’s chest and licked her under the chin and Kristoff dropped his face into his hand with a groan. “Look, I’ve been out on the water for a week, I smell like fish, I’ve been living in the armpits of five other guys, I’m tired, and I nearly put that pimply coworker of yours through a wall just now. I want to take my dog home so I can shower and eat at least five hamburgers and go to bed. Okay?” He realized that he’d said too much when he glanced at her and saw wide blue eyes, her soft little mouth making an 'o’ of surprise. “Sorry, I meant—”

“How,” she asked, “can you have possibly been in anyone else’s armpit? You have to be taller than anyone I’ve ever met.”

“That’s your question? It’s just an expression. Just give me Sven’s stuff, and I’ll go, okay?”

“Oh! Oh, right, sorry.” She dug into her bag and pulled out the dog’s current chew toy and a ragged, floppy stuffed fox that squeaked, making Sven’s ears perk up. “Here! Um, look, I’m sorry again about—”

“Don’t worry about it. C'mon, buddy.”

The girl trailed him past the receptionist—who flinched as they went by—and out the door.

“Bye, Sven!” The dog rolled over for her, then licked her face and gave her his paw. She laughed. “I like you too!” She tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear and grinned up at Kristoff. “See you next time, Christopher.”

“It’s Kristoff.”

She bit her lip. “Sorry. Sorry. Kristoff.” She peeked up at him through her lashes. “I’m Anna.”

He glanced down at her, at the way she was chewing her lip, at the way she was fiddling with the end of one of her braids. Her freckled cheeks started to turn pink and he realized that a grin was tugging at his mouth. Kristoff forced it to turn into a sigh and took the small hand she was holding out.

“Anna. Right. See you next time.”

She turned to go, waving as she ducked back through the door. Sven whined a little as she disappeared from sight.

“Hey, traitor,” Kristoff said. “She did kind of kidnap you. You aren’t allowed to like her.”