Chapter Text
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“This is it.”
“…all the way on the other side of town, huh?”
“Yeah, pretty much. It’s quieter.” You gave a nod to their response.
Your heart stopped as you heard them knock on the door. How do normal kids act again? You’re more used to talking to adults based on how they treat you, but you kinda had to lock in here and make a super-good impression, right? That’s how this goes???
“…oh, Kris! There you are! You were taking a while to return home, I was getting worried…” You noted how the home smelled of cinnamon. Had Kris seriously told her to make something? And she listened? Damn.
“Is this your friend you’ve told me about? [Y/N]?”
You cleared your throat and attempted to sound as polite as possible. “Uh, yeah, that’s me. Hello, Miss Toriel…” you felt so nervous…weird, considering how nice their mother seemed to be.
“Hehe, no need to be so formal. You can just call me Toriel. Kris has told me quite a lot about you, you know.” You felt your face heat up.
“…i-is that so-?”
“No, it isn’t— c’mon, we have work to do.” Kris grabbed you by the wrist and practically began dragging you upstairs to their bedroom while Toriel giggled.
…you had to wonder what made them react that way.
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You took in the environment of Kris’ room as you worked. Or rather, attempted to work. It was kind of depressing, you realized.
It used to be a shared room, between them and their older sibling, Asriel, who had left for college a while back, and…mysteriously, never so much as left a message, according to Kris…Asriel was clearly a star student and athlete. Lots of certificates and trophies adorned the walls on his side of the room, meanwhile on Kris’ side…
…there was nothing. Nothing but an old wagon with a birdcage inside. Though, you were certain there was something else under the bed, hidden away.
…
“…dammit. I don’t get this at all,” you grumbled.
“Really? And here I thought you were the expert.” Kris teased you while they were very clearly off-task and scrolling on their phone.
You groaned, “my notes are totally useless here, it’s pointless!” You chucked your notebook at the floor out of frustration, before lying down next to them with a heavy sigh. You couldn’t help but notice how quickly they switched tabs, but it was probably a coincidence.
“…how badly would it affect our grades if we didn’t do the assignment?” Kris asked. Without looking at them, it was hard to tell if they were being sarcastic or not.
You genuinely took a moment to think about their question. “Knowing Ms. Alphys, probably not much. I dunno if I wanna risk it though, I usually do this later in the year.”
They smirked. “We’ll try again later, I guess.”
“And by we, you mean I, considering you were on your phone the whole time.” Kris chuckled at your snarky reply.
“Fine, I’ll actually help out next time.”
You couldn’t help but grin at their cheeky response. “You better…”
You observed the bareness of their side of the bedroom in comparison to their brother’s once more.
“…maybe this is insensitive, but how come you barely have anything on your side of the room, but your brother has plenty?”
The question seemed to catch them off guard. You took note of how their face paled and they gripped the carpet, like the question was a lot heavier than it was meant to be.
“…I’d rather not get into it.”
“Oh…alright then…” You decided it was best not to push further.
…
Desperate to learn something, anything about them, your gaze returned to whatever the hell they were hiding under their bed.
”Hey, what is this?”
”What—”
You acted before they could get the word out, pulling it out from underneath their bed.
…a synthesizer keyboard.
Kris…played piano? Damn. Maybe you did have a type.
“You have a synth? That’s so cool, why didn’t you tell me?”
You watched as their face turned a shade of red at your comment.
“I…guess I didn’t think it was relevant.”
“Dude, this is so cool…so, like, you can play piano.”
They weren’t used to seeing you so excited about something. You were too focused on the keyboard to notice how red their face was just from seeing you gush about how you thought they were so cool and talented.
…wait what did you say
Apparently, you were so caught up in your excitement about this instrument. That you weren’t able to catch yourself complimenting Kris themselves.
”…you’re so talented, I dunno why you’re so embarrassed.” The words slipped without you even realizing it, per my last paragraph. It’s not like you didn’t mean it, just that you didn’t want to say it.
“You…think so?” Kris stammered. You don’t think you’ve ever seen them so flustered. You kind of loved it. You nodded.
“…I hate to be that person, but could you, uh…play something? If it’s okay…” You weren’t used to being so friendly towards them like that…but you really wanted to hear them play, pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease-
“…y-yeah, sure.” They didn’t seem to mind much at all. In fact, they seemed sort of…
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You weren’t sure how long Kris had been playing by now. In any case, they had reached such a flow state that you would hate to break their concentration.
All you knew was that it was beautiful. Their playing, the music, the technique.
You didn’t really know about playing piano. You had tried in the past, but it didn’t really interest you to be the player. But hearing someone else play it was wonderful.
Especially when that someone happened to be someone you liked.
…
You wondered if they liked you, too.
…
You were snapped out of your thoughts when they suddenly stopped playing in the middle of a song.
“Tch…stupid hand cramps,” they grumbled.
You sat up and looked down at their hands, those of which they were seemingly trying to shake the cramps out of. “Should I have…said something?”
Their gaze met yours, their cheeks flushing similarly to before. “No, I…I had fun. You don’t need to worry…”
You couldn’t help but smile. What a dumbass.
“Well, I’m the one who asked you to play, so shouldn’t I be worried?” Decided to be a bit more bold, you got a bit closer and took their hands in yours. If they asked, it was totally for inspection.
“Uh…really, I’m fine…I just overexerted myself a bit.”
You stared at their hands for a moment longer before speaking again.
“…your playing was really good. But you can’t spread yourself thin like that, otherwise you’ll just hurt yourself and you won’t be able to play like that later. So…be careful.”
They nodded in response.
Holy fucking score bro
Upon meeting their eyes again, it (finally) dawned upon you that you were probably way too bold just now. Shit…
You retracted your hands and cleared your throat.
“…uh…do you…I-I’ll be back, I need to get a drink, okay?”
“Uh…a-alright..”
You rushed out of their room to collect your thoughts.
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You realized as soon as you got downstairs and saw Toriel that this had been a terrible idea.
“Oh, hello [Y/N]. Did you need something?”
You gave a delayed response, “I…came down for a snack.” You were kind of totally bullshitting right now, “it kinda smelled like cinnamon when we came in, what was that?
“Oh! Yes, I made butterscotch cinnamon pie! It’s homemade, would you like some?”
“Uh, y-yeah, that’d be great.” You settled down on the couch as you watched Toriel cut you a slice of pie. If it tasted anything like it smelled, it must’ve been amazing…
Toriel returned with your pie and a fork. You took it from her with a small ‘thank you,’ before digging in.
“…oh, wow, that is good...” You muttered. “You bake often?”
Toriel nodded. “Yes, quite frequently. Kris helps me on occasion, so they know a thing or two about baking as well.”
“Huh. I never would’ve guessed.” They seriously were talented! Good grades, piano, baking, what next?
A moment of comfortable silence passed while you continued eating your pie.
…
“…so, what is your relationship with my child?”
You nearly choked on your butterscotch cinnamon pie with how…odd and random her question was. And how off-guard it caught you. You cleared your throat as you finally found the words to respond.
“Ah…wh-what are you talking about?”
Toriel simply smiled at you. Which, as sweet as she was, was kind of terrifying right now. “Well, for one thing, your reaction just now. That, and the fact you seem to be trying very hard to make a good impression on me. I do not mind, but I believe it is very telling, as Kris has told me that you do not seem to care for the opinions of others very much.”
“…so basically, they told you I’m rude.”
She chuckled. “In less flowery terms, I suppose. But, you seem to you a sensitive soul. They tease you a lot, and I believe any abrasiveness they may have observed comes from…well, that.”
…
“…what’s that supposed to mean?”
“Those pranks…you may see them as annoying. But, believe me, that is how they show that they care. As their mother, I have seen it first-hand, you know.”
…
You scoffed.
What a joke.
“…yeah, right.”
It’s not that you didn’t want to believe it. You just…couldn’t.
You took a deep breath as you rose from the couch. “I oughta get back to work. I don’t wanna keep them waiting much longer…”
“If you insist…”
…
She had to have been pulling your leg, surely. No way in hell they liked you like that…
…
“…however…”
You turned your head to face her.
“…please, be honest with yourself. Denial will only hurt you in the long run.”
You groaned as you felt your face flush. She could see right through you, huh?
So much for calming down.
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Upon returning to Kris’ room, you couldn’t help but notice how they weren’t on their phone or playing their keyboard, but actually doing the assignment you two were supposed to have been doing earlier.
They leaned back slightly with a sigh, “What took you so long? I’ve almost filled out this entire spreadsheet now.”
“I got pie.” You replied bluntly.
“…and you didn’t think I’d want a slice?” They pouted, as if they were worried it would be gone after you left. You couldn’t help but laugh at their defensive response.
“You can get your own!”
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