Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

    Of course, it was Ralsei’s idea to have another little get-together.  Being the sweet little muffin that he always was, he always loved to invite his friends over and have them accompany him in various, pleasant activities. Anything to do that was tame and relatively enjoyable to the self-proclaimed “fun-squad,” was right up their ally. Sometimes Ralsei would invite Susie and Kris to bake cakes together and eat several other sweets while they were at it.  But because Susie alone tended to wolf down the enrity of these meals, more often did he offer them to play random multiplayer games that were of the group’s interest.

    Watching a nightmare-inducing movie was definitely not on his list of “things to do with friends.”

    So, naturally, it was Susie’s idea.

    “Did you make anything?” the lizard monster asked as soon as she walked through the door, narrowing her eyes hungrily at the kitchen.  Kris’s greeting was far less unceremonious; they smiled at Ralsei and gave him a small, gentle hug before following after their famished friend.

    “A-ah, yes!”  Ralsei had to shake himself, as he often tended to freeze up in Kris’s embrace. But because  he had faced a countless number of their hugs he found himself being able to recover much quicker. “T-there’s a jar on the highest cupboard.”  He turned away from Kris, yet still, the pink blush on his fluffy white fur remained. Kris made to move to show that they had noticed. Ralsei turned his attention toward Susie, who was ready to raid the kitchen. “Here, let me get it,” he called as he scurried after her.

    Susie marched into the cute, well-kempt kitchen and scoffed loudly.  She turned to the goat boy, doubt gleaming in her yellow eyes as she jerked a thumb towards the highest shelf.  “Uh, right. Like you can reach that.”

    Ralsei frowned and blinked.  “Of course I can. Then how would I have put the cookies there in the first place?”

    Susie shrugged nonchalantly.  “Whatever. Ok. Anyway,” she brushed past the both of them, “I’m gonna put a movie on for you guys.”

    Kris flashed a thumbs up while Ralsei skeptically tilted his head to one side.  “What kind of movie is it this time? Is there any foul language in this one, too? ”

    “I dunno,” she muttered half-heartedly.  “Chill out, dude. It’ll be fine. I found it in my basement.  It looks good.”

    “Hum, alright...  I’ll go get the cookies, then.”  Ralsei glanced at the highest cupboard before moving into the dining room to grab a chair.  Grunting slightly with effort, he started to drag it back into the kitchen. He tried to keep his mind off of Kris, who was undeniably watching him closely, but to no avail.  In his inattention he slipped backward with a surprised squeak. Kris smoothly stepped forward to break his fall, and the back of Ralsei's fluffy head collided into their face.

    “Oofity,” Kris muttered through a face-full of fur.

    “Ah!”  Ralsei whirled around and dipped his head in embarrassment.  “Oh dear, I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry!!! I didn’t mean to bump into you, Kris!  Are you okay?!”

    “Kris, if you die, I will literally kill you,” Susie warned from the other room.

    Kris just offered a small smile as the goat boy continued to apologize profusely. They gingerly rested a hand on his arm, their demeanor kind. “Do you need help?” they asked gently, and Ralsei flushed quite noticeably.  His heart fluttered quickly, like a dove’s wings in a cage.

    “A-aw, thanks Kris, but I’m okay.”  He quickly managed to move the chair underneath the cupboard and stood upon it to reach the counter. The jittery feeling in his heart did not leave, still. Ah, I feel like an idiot.

    “The floor is slippery,” they deadpanned, staring at the tiles.   Bless you tiles for making Ralsei fall onto me, Kris hailed the floor silently.

    “Yes, I did clean the kitchen floor and counters this morning, but I should have been more careful.”

    “Then, be careful,” Kris warned.  “Why did you put the cookies up there, if it’s hard to reach?”

    The goat boy braced his knees against the shiny, black counter and reached up to begin his search for the cookies. “Well, I really like sweets,” Ralsei explained, rummaging through the contents in the shelf.  “So I put them up here so I don’t feel tempted to eat them all the time, haha~!” The sudden giggle caught Kris off guard, and they turned their head in a struggle to compose themself. Ralsei made no notice of their reddening face, however. He muttered to himself as he searched through the cupboard, “Chocolate bars, bag of jolly ranchers...no…”

    “I like sweets too,” Kris stated, their voice far softer than usual.  They continued watching him closely.

Ralsei smiled and giggled sweetly.  “I know that, you always like to eat all of the things I make.  Though,” his smile became a small pout, “Susie barely does leave much for you.”

“I leave enough!” Susie shouted indignantly from the living room.  Ralsei rolled his eyes and nodded sarcastically.

He paused for a moment, his eyes lighting up as he found what he was looking for.  Elated, he exclaimed, “Ah! Ah-ha! Here it is!” He pulled out the jar triumphantly, and a grin sprung upon Kris’s face.

Heh, that’s cute.

The fluffy boy blinked rapidly when he noticed Kris’s look and his gaze shifted away as his face flushed an even brighter shade.  “Haha, sorry.” He leaned forward to stand back on the chair again, his face tinted a distinct pink. Trying to push away his embarrassment, he asked in what he tried to convey as an offhand manner, “What’s your favorite sweet, Kris?”

“...You have to guess,” they muttered coyly.

Ralsei paused and looked at Kris curiously.  They didn’t often tease him. “I have to guess?” he repeated in wonder, and a small smile crossed his face.

 “You can get a prize if you get it in three tries.”

An adoring laugh.  “Hehe, what kind of strange game is this?  Alright, I’ll play. But what do I get if I win?” the fluffy boy asked lightheartedly.

“...chair,” they mumbled, half to themself. And with those words, they promptly pushed the seat out of Ralsei’s reach.   

“...Uh...Kris? I can’t get down safely without that.” He looked quite puzzled, but Kris couldn’t wipe the smirk from their own face as he peered nervously over the tall counter.  “Why did you do that?”

“Guess,” Kris stated.  “My favorite sweet.”

Ralsei tilted his head at them, eyebrows furrowing in thought.  “Uh, would that be pie?”

Sweetiepie. Kris’s grin widened.  “Close, but no.”

The fluffy boy put a paw to his mouth as he thought deeply about his next choice. “Ah, chocolate…?”

“Guys, can you stop flirting and get in here?  The movie is starting!” Susie shouted loudly.

“Gah! W-we aren’t flirting!”  Ralsei yelped, now nearing the edge of the counter to try to slip down without loosing his balance.

“No cheating.” Kris teased, holding a finger up in mock warning.  “You have one more--”

Susie groaned irritibly.  “...Should I just put it on pause? (I forgot how to do that, shit.)”

“Ah, Kris, I don’t know. It’s moss, then,” Ralsei declared, throwing his arms up dramatically.  “That wasn’t it? I’m not very surprised. Come on, Kris, let me down. Please?”

Kris held out their arms to him. “Jump,” they muttered simply. “I’ll catch you.”

“H...huh…?  I’m not that far up, I’m just don't want to slip again…”

Kris stepped closer and leaned thier head to one side. “Give me another excuse to hold you, then.”

Ralsei was speechless, though his blushing face spoke volume. He curled into himself slightly and looked down nervously.  They noticed his discomfort and lowered their arms just slightly. Ralsei nervously wadded up the fabric his green cloak before slowly raising his head to  shyly meet their gaze. There was something new, something entrancing about this stare that made their hearts flutter so wildly. It was a look that made their minds feel weightless and springy, though the heart was raging wildly as if they were running a mile a minute.

“...K-Kris…?”

“I SWEAR TO GOD YOU GUYS ARE SO DAMN SLOW--!” Susie continued to shout abrasively, quickly snapping the two out of their lovesick trance.

Kris sighed and made a move to grab the chair.  As soon as they turned around, however, Ralsei made the mistake of leaping at Kris with the miscalculation that they would catch him.  Instead, he knocked Kris backward, causing them both to slip. In turn the two ended up tumbling to the floor with a loud thump, Ralsei falling directly onto them.

Kris, lying against the floor with their crush curled up on top of them, thought their day couldn't possibly get any better. Ralsei, on the other hand,was mortified.

    Ralsei felt his temperature rise in sharp increments as he lifted his head.  If he were in the right mind he would have thrown himself off of them in a heartbeat, but the intense intimacy of this position made him freeze completely. Kris could feel his shallow breath fan out against their cheek and a tingly feeling resided in them. They were far too close for comfort, but as Ralsei looked at Kris underneath him, he couldn’t help but let out a silent gasp. The bangs that had so often shrouded most of their face had been pushed back as a result of the fall .  He held his breath, his own orbs glazing over in wonder as he gazed down at Kris’s face. Oh, their eyes…

“...Your eyes are beautiful,” Ralsei murmured aloud.  He was so lost in their gaze that it didn’t occur to him how embarrassed he should have been for saying such.  

“Huh…” Kris muttered, circling their arms around his small waist.  He felt so tiny, so adorable pressed up against him, and it took everything in Kris to not to cover his soft, innocent face with kisses right then and there. Ralsei’s breath hitched at the close contact and he shuddered slightly, finding himself unable to form coherent sentences in the gaze of Kris’s piercing, ruby-red eyes. “You okay…?” they whispered, their tone laced with calming endearment.

“I-I-I’m s-sor...sorry...!” Ralsei managed in a small squeak.  Kris simply smiled, lifting a hand to cup his fluffy cheek. He intiatilly flinched at the feeling of Kris petting his face-- though-- as strange as it was, he could help the warm feeling that arose as Kris continued caressing him.  Soon he had forgotten the awkward position they were in as he melted into their touch. “Kris, I…”

At that moment Susie barged into the room to snatch the jar of cookies off the counter, and Ralsei immediately sprung off of Kris with an undignified yelp.

“Next time, I’ll get the damn cookies,” Susie growled.  “You guys wanna watch the movie or what?”

Kris hummed dreamily, still lying flat on their back against the tile floor.  The lizard monster grunted and grabbed them by the ankle. Kris rose instantly, not at all wanting to be dragged.  

The three of them awkwardly marched into the living room, Ralsei’s facial expression one of complete disorientation.  As Kris crashed on the couch between the two of their friends, they leaned over to him and whispered, “You okay?”

Ralsei figited, not able to look at them without flushing.  “Ah...You didn’t tell me what your favorite sweet was.”

Kris shot a look at the disgruntled-looking Susie and murmured, “I’ll tell you after the movie.”

Their friend rose an eyebrow at Kris.  “The hell did you do with him? Did you kiss him or some shit? He was struggling to walk straight.”  Ralsei blushed at the comment and looked away.

“You’re the one to talk, since you clearly have trouble being straight,”  Kris countered.

“Oh?  Is she dating Noelle yet?” Ralsei asked in a small voice.

Susie shook her head with a snarl, though she said nothing against it.  “Just watch the damn movie, Toothpaste boy.”

Chapter Text

Kris and Ralsei had very low expectations for how the rest of the day would play out.  Here they were, all crashed on the black leather couch as the besties they were, Ralsei holding his paws poliety with his ankles crossed with a gaze that so often flitted towards their face, Kris slumped slightly against the soft pillow propped behind their head, and Susie, whose posture resembled that of a drunk, manspreading cross of a starfish and a cookie- monstrosity .  To be fair, it wasn't Susie's fault that her pick in movies was the most sickness-inducing attribute of all.  It wasn't so much that her taste was awful, it was just that she couldn't care less.

    But the chosen movie--titled “HELLGUN”-- was something else.

    Ah, the movie.

    It was worse than anyone could have ever predicted.

    "THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU, BOBBITY BOB VON WACKADOODLE?! WHY HAVE YOU MURDERED YOUR PARENTS?! WHY DID YOU EAT OUR CHILD?!  DID OUR LOVE MEAN NOTHING TO YOU?!”

“Wh͇̪̯͙o̸̥͙ ̠͍̩͔t̟̥̘̟͕̮͜h͙̤̯͓̯̯e̸͈ ̵̲̬h̥e̕l̦̙͉͚͔̞͠l̘̱̫͇̬̰̤ n͍̣̰e̺̪e͕d̺̩̯s̭̦̲͚ ҉͍l̺̹̲̗͡o̵͉v̼̠͖̤e͇̺͓ ̪͔̠̤̪̦̘͘w̤͙̲ͅh͈̮̭̩͉̹e̺͔̘n͕̻̝̮̘̹ ͚͖̟͠y̪̻͖̼̺̳͘ͅo̳̫̙̫̪ͅu̷̮ ͕̳̪ͅh̬̞̗̫̩̹a͙̫v̖͈e̞̘͉͕̯̰͝ S̷͏̶̷̻̝̬̹͍͉̹̭̤̙̭̰̺͓̮͙͉̥ ̱͖̭̯̙͎̫̙͙̼͎̹̪͠͝A̴͏҉̼̙̭̯̳͙̮̬̩̙̝͖̩̟̙̫̤͚ ҉̪͈͇̬͎̤͔̠̭̭̺̖͈͓T̵̛͚̭̝̪̯̩̲͚̺ͅ ̵̢̞̹̣̤̳̰̳̠̝͜A͉̯͉͙̱̰̺̟̹̱͟͠ͅN̮̟͚̘͎̤͚̬̟͙̲̞͙̕-!!!”

Blood-curdling screams and gunshot sounds permeated from the TV as Susie inhaled  cookies one after the other. Kris and Ralsei watched the screen with expressions that defied appropriate description.  The two were absolutely nonplussed, so dearly wishing that the movie would be over soon. Ralsei flinched away from the horrid display and shot a uncomfortable look at Kris.  They nodded and turned to Susie.

    "The movie is loud," Kris deadpanned.

    Susie ravenously devoured another cookie, clearly enjoying herself.  She licked her lips contentedly at the taste of the gooey, semi-melted chocolate chips of the cookie.  "Really? What's it about?"

In the movie, blood was smeared over the entirety of the characters’ bodies.  Everyone was screaming as one character did a backflip into another character’s chainsaw.  Bodies howled and screeched as they went up in flames.

    Kris shrugged nonchalantly, though their interest spiked as Susie tossed the cookie jar onto their lap.  They expectantly peered inside-- only to be greeted with the sight of an eighth of a half of a sixteenth of a ninth of a fourth of a cookie left.  They looked up at her with a remotely despondent expression.

    Susie returned the look with a blank expression.  “Hey, I leave enough.” She then shifted into a more comfortable position, snuggling her back into the leather couch to take a nap as the TV practically bellowed for attention.

    Kris sighed quietly and discreetly turned their head to eye Ralsei.  At that moment, they could feel their heart churn with with dread.

    Ralsei was watching attentively, large, panicked eyes glued to the TV screen, as dicerably painful as it was for him. As Kris leaned their head toward him more pointedly, Ralsei noticed and snapped out of his trance.

    “A-ah?  Oh.” A small laugh.  “I’m alright, Kris. I just don’t particularly, ah,” he figited a bit, eyeing the TV with disquetment.  “...Like this movie.”

    Kris looked worried.  Of course he didn't. The movie was far too much for someone as pure as he.

    Ralsei's eyes were glossy, and it disturbed Kris.  They frowned deeper and continued to probe his face, which reddened quickly when their intense look did not falter. Ralsei lowered his head and looked to the side, his heart rate increasing.  After studying his disturbed expression for several moments longer, Kris gently reached out to wrap an arm across Ralsei's shoulders. Almost reeling with embarrassment, he pressed his paws together and fought the urge to let out a potentially undignified noise.  

    "...Soft," Kris mumbled under their breath, almost too quiet to catch.

    But Ralsei had heard, and he felt his face burn up with a rapid flush as they lifted their hand to brush against the the tips of his fluffy ears.  A lightheaded, tingly feeling fluttered through his soul. He was about to find the courage to look up at Kris as they caressed him-- but a particularly loud sound from the movie destroyed the mood instantly.

    Ralsei stared at the TV, unimpressed.  The screen pictured someone's car bursting into flame.  

    "It's loud," Kris stated again, with a hint of annoyance in their voice this time.  

    "It is," Ralsei agreed.  He leaned forward to look at Susie.  "Could we turn it off?" he began, "We really don't--"

    But Susie was already asleep, somehow.  Ralsei blinked in surprise as Kris reached for the remote to turn the TV off, their arm still around his shoulder.

    The sudden silence was deafening. Ralsei froze, a vivid pink radiating from his face and feeling pressured to speak.  Kris sat noiselessly, staring blankly at the empty screen.

    Ralsei fiddled with the hem of his cloak.  "Um…,” he mumbled, searching for something to fill the void of silence, but he didn’t know at all what to say.

Oh my goodness, why are they still holding me… He couldn’t think clearly if he tried.  Kris was much too close, far more intimate than they had ever been.   But...why me? he wondered.   And why now?

“So you think my eyes are pretty.”  Though Ralsei wouldn’t dare to look at them now, he could feel Kris’s eyes now locked on him.

“Y-yes, they are…,” Ralsei muttered quietly, keeping his gaze on his lap.  Then, wanting to save their staccato conversation, he asked, “...Uh...Is your favorite sweet cookies?  You didn’t look very happy when Susie ate them all...”

They shook their head no.  Ralsei sighed and tilted his body to one side.  

    “Could you tell me what it is?  You told me you would after the movie.”

    “...That was not a movie,” Kris grunted, disgust very much present in their voice.  

    He nodded in agreement, though the jittery feeling would not leave.   “I feel like I really should know this.”  He scanned Kris’s face. “Is this a ‘trick question’?”

Kris wanted to laugh and pepper kisses all over his lily-white expression; he was just so incredibly adorable.

Instead, they adjusted their hold on Ralsei and leaned even closer to him, so close that they could feel each other’s breath.  Before the sheepish fluffy boy could lose the courage to look away, they lifted a hand to push their bangs out of their face. The chocolate-brown flecks in their scarlet eyes appeared to twinkle and glimmer entrancingly, and Ralsei swallowed hard.  

Aghhh...their eyes make my heart so jumpy….

Kris’s gaze was relentless. “Not at all.” A simple sentence, yet warm shivers ran up Ralsei’s spine.  

“C-could…” Never before he knew Kris had it been so hard to utter a single word. “Could I have a h-hint?”

Kris thoughtfully chewed on their lower lip.   That could be possible, but… They quietly glanced at the snoozing Susie and back at Ralsei, their expression determined.  “Let’s go outside,” they mumbled tersely.

They had let go of him--much to Ralsei’s disappointment-- but Kris took his hand instead as they made their way toward the back door.

It was already quite late when Kris and Susie arrived, so it was rather dark already. The nighttime breeze was light, yet the two of them still shivered in the crispy frigidness. The moon stood in the absolute blackness of the sky as a pale sliver of silver.  There were scarcely any stars dotting the sky from what Ralsei could see.

Besides the one holding my hand, at least… But he wouldn't dare say that out loud, not yet.  They both shivered visibly; it was rather cold.

“You know so much,” Kris muttered, their voice low.  “But you don't know this.”

“But you'd eat anything!” uttered Ralsei in his defense.  Kris shrugged, and he instantly worried that he had come off as rude.  He wrapped his free arm around himself as he trembled. “I'm sorry, but it is true…”

Kris did not mind.  “My hint is a secret.”

Ralsei looked intrigued, yet he shivered slightly from the cold night air.   “...A secret? Won't you tell me?”

“If I did the answer to our guessing game would be obvious.” Before the fluffy boy could respond, Ralsei paused to sneeze, catching Kris’s utmost attention.  They frowned. “Cold?”

“Ah, only slightly.  I'm fi--” His voice cut short as Kris suddenly pulled him closer and softly wrapped their arms around his small frame.  He froze, losing his grasp on reality for just a moment. Ralsei slightly tottered forward in his astonishment, but Kris only held him tighter to support his balance.

“You keep going red.”  That was an understatement, as far as Ralsei was aware.

He stiffened. “P-p-pardon?!”  He stumbled over a single word, and he looked away, feeling humiliated.  “Sorry, it’s just that, you see, I’m not trying to…” his words trailed off.

Kris raised their head slightly.  “What do you mean?” If even possible, they pulled him closer; the air quickly became scathingly hot compared to the chilly breeze that had slightly bothered the both of them before.

Ralsei swallowed with difficulty, his throat going dry.  “Well... it’s you.”

Kris went silent for a moment, and Ralsei felt a part of him curl and shrivel up with embarrassment.   Oh goodness, oh my goodness, why did I say that, whydidIsayitlikethat--?!

“Heh,” they chuckled under their breath.  Ralsei glanced up and noticed with astonishment that their cheeks were quite noticeably tinted red.  Their eyes locked, intense scarlet meeting a charming emerald . “You keep getting cuter…,” Kris mumbled. “It’s impressive.”

“I-I, well…” Ralsei didn’t know how to respond.  “I wasn’t trying to impress…”

Another small laugh. “That’s why it did.”  They looked away, their flush deepening just slightly.  Then, softly, they added, “That’s why... you always do.”

    Ralsei ducked a bit behind his scarf, a sudden realization dawning on him.  He might as well try before his courage dissipated. “...I...I think I know what it is...”  His decision was daring, but for Kris, it was exceedingly worth it. He clenched at his cloak, his paws shaking slightly.

    “To the guessing game?”  They rose an eyebrow at Ralsei’s uncertain expression.”  

    “U-um, yes…”  His heart was hammering.  “I think I’ll give another educated guess...”

    “What?”

    Ralsei screamed internally, and yet he said it without stumble: “It’s me, isn’t it?”

Without another second-- one that could have possibly convinced him not to do it, one that could have made him freeze and make him forget about even thinking about initiating such, one that could have let his doubts vanquish his intentions completely, he reached up as close as he possibly could-- and kissed them.

    ...W-what…

    It took Kris a moment for them to realize what was happening.  

Their soul soared. They was shocked far beyond definition, and one could exactly pinpoint when they came to their senses. Their body was entirely rigid, eyes wide in disbelief, thinking: Oh stars, he did it, he actually did it.   They could barely wrap their head around his notion. This is the best day of my life.

    But there was no time to stall; they kissed him back almost desperately, snuggling his pure, fuzzy face as they did so.  After an eager moment, Ralsei broke away suddenly, shaking with adrenaline. His voice was just above a whimper, “I’m sorry...is this okay?”

“It’s more than okay.” Kris smiled wildly, leaning forward to kiss him again.  Their eyes were glazed with a profound happiness. “It’s you.”

.

.

.

Susie was strewn lazily across the leather couch with her arms crossed with obvious impatience.  She was bored, Noelle wasn’t awake so she couldn’t text her, and her friends had ditched her while she had been asleep.  She rose off the couch with a groan and decided to check on what those idiots were up to. Susie approached the door that led into the yard, but no sooner did she glance through the window did she instantly back into the living room with a blank stare.

“...If even Ralsei could get a lover,” she mumbled to herself, visibly distraught.

As Ralsei and Kris continued to hold and kiss each other until they lost breath, Susie realized she had better get a move on with Noelle.

  But perhaps not with a movie, she decided quickly.  She frowned slightly, looking over the DVD she had brought. 

Definitely not with that movie.