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Was this… normal?
Another autumn day in Hometown had brought in a stiff wind, and the large clouds above no longer drifted lazily, but sailed overhead with speed that seemed to give them purpose. The sun still battled for dominance, using all of its might to shine down in scattered bursts before disappearing yet again. Light and shadow alternated across the landscape, and it was hard to believe it was still only the afternoon.
However, it was not the weather that caused Susie to pause after hurling a stone into the water – it was the human sitting next to her. The dragon monster cast a sidelong glance at her friend, wondering if they were thinking the same thing – or worse. The last few days had been something of a blur, between the snail's pace of Alphys’ teaching, and of the mind-blowing adventures she had been on. From card castles to cyber worlds, and the streets of Hometown to the Dreemurr residence, there had been one constant the entire time. Beyond the end of the first day (which Susie was certain neither of them had slept all that much), Kris had spent virtually every waking moment at her side. Hell, even when she had passed out mid movie-marathon, Kris had been right there with her.
After a third Dark World adventure in as many days, Susie had prepared herself to part ways with her partner in crime, only to hear Kris tell their mother that the two of them were going to go “hang out”. Even more surprising, Toriel seemed immensely happy with the idea. Susie had been expecting all of this to blow up in some sort of cruel prank the moment she entered that house, but it was well past time for any sort of charade to end. So why was Kris still so eager to wander around town with her? Was this really the type of thing you do with a… friend? Spend a whole day and night getting into some wild scenarios, and then jump right back into it the very next day? The worst part is that it really did feel nice. She was happy to be a part of this, which made the lurking doubt that this was all some sort of false pretense even harder to shake. Surely, Kris had better things to do than chuck rocks into the water. Surely–
“You giving up already?”
The human’s words cut through her thoughts like a knife, as her head snapped up from the spot on the ground where she had been staring off into space.
“Wha-!? No! Just… looking for the best type of rock for the job is all!” She blurted in a panic as her eyes darted along the water’s edge. She quickly bent over and scooped up a large rock with a huff.
“Susie, that’s not a rock. That’s a boulder. Pretty sure you can’t skim a boulder, let alone three times.”
“Pfft, says you, dweeb. All you need to solve problems like these is raw power!” With a roar of exertion, the dragon heaved the large rock, sending it hurtling forward. It hit the water with a loud “PLUNK”, sending a large liquid plume into the air.
She turned to look at Kris, who wore a familiar blank expression. “Oh come on, that was close!” she shouted, “Like you could do it better, rocks for brains!”
Kris let slip a small smile and rose up. “You’re right about needing the best type of rock for the job, but size isn’t the answer.” After a few seconds of searching, the human produced a small stone with a smooth flat top. Kris stood with feet planted perpendicular to the shore, twisting their body slightly while holding the stone like a frisbee across their chest. With a sudden movement, their arm shot out, ending suddenly at an angle as the stone flew out from their grasp. It flew low for several meters, and then bounced. The stone suddenly shot upwards, as the bounce had altered its trajectory wildly, and it hit the water a second time with a small “Plink!”, never to be seen again.
Susie laughed uproariously as Kris inspected their hand with a frown. “That should have worked…” Kris muttered.
Walking up next to Kris, Susie gave her friend a hearty clap on the back that nearly bowled them over. “Hahahaha! Don’t sweat it, applesauce! You still did better than me! Gotta teach me that move the next time we get into some Dark World battles so I can toss you at two guys at once! Hahahaha!”
Unable to remain disappointed with their unsatisfactory throw, Kris let out a laugh as well. The sound of human laughter felt like a soothing balm on Susie’s faintly troubled mind. Maybe Kris really did enjoy goofing off just as much as she did – though she’d never had this much fun on her own. She wondered if Kris often did this with someone else, that mysterious brother perhaps, or maybe even Noelle? She tried to recall the few times she’d seen the human out and about before these past few days, and realized Kris was pretty much always either arriving at or leaving school with their adopted mother close by.
She chewed on her lip in annoyance at this revelation – was Kris that withdrawn? That didn’t seem right; True that the human was mostly a zombie during class, but who wouldn’t be? They had pretty much chatted with everyone in town recently, and no one (besides those two idiots they caught talking shit at the creepy bunker) gave any indication they didn’t enjoy the conversations. It almost annoyed her how well-liked her companion seemed to be without really trying, but she quickly shoved that thought into the back of her mind.
No one to blame but myself, right? She thought as she struggled to erase the bitterness. It wasn’t Kris’ fault that they probably had a ton of other friends to do fun things with. Here she was losing her mind at the simple act of tossing stones, while it was no doubt just another boring day for Kris Dreemurr.
“The wind sure is picking up.” Kris remarked quietly watching the water ripple furiously from the incoming breeze.
“Huh? Oh, yeah.” Susie grunted. “You gettin’ cold or somethin’? If you wanna head back home or whatever that’s cool, I can just–”
“Hey, you want to get something warm to drink? QCs always gives me some hot chocolate for free, I bet they’d give some to both of us.” Kris interrupted suddenly, causing the dragon to stand there with mouth agape.
“You… you wanna… like, go to the diner? Together? I uh… I mean, that sounds cool, but I’m…” Susie struggled in vain to find an excuse. It wasn’t that she wanted to cut their time together short – far from it – but she wasn’t expecting something so… public. Also diners cost money, and despite Kris’ assurances, she had a sinking feeling they’d ask for payment up front the second they saw the dragon monster walk through the door.
“...Uh, I’m not sure Catti will like it if I show up there, so maybe I should just… you know.” She muttered weakly.
“Catti only works part-time after school. It’s the weekend now, remember?” Kris chided her reassuringly.
“O-oh! Yeah, I guess with all the stuff we’ve gone through I kinda forgot. Anyway, if you really got nothing better to do, I guess I could…”
“Cool! Let’s go!” Kris flashed a winning smile and turned to head back up the path, leaving Susie feeling like she’d just stuck her face into a furnace on full blast. She quickly shook her head to regain her composure, wondering where in the world that strange sensation just came from.
Damn. That was one hell of a smile, Kris…
By the time they arrived at the diner, dark clouds had almost fully enveloped the town, giving the impression that night had already fallen. Kris strode through the door boldly, with an uncharacteristically timid Susie in tow. Hesitantly, she poked her head through the door, and scanned the eatery. Aside from a few customers at the front counter and another party seated to the right, it was pretty quiet - and more importantly feline-free.
Susie shuffled up behind Kris just as the door to the kitchen opened and a friendly looking bunny monster sidled through. Seeing Kris, she beamed and waved the human over.
“Well hello there hun! Nice to see you again so soon! And oh, you’ve brought a friend?”
Susie instantly froze, feeling her muscles tense up. She recognized the owner of course, her face had been clearly visible that night, as the bunny stood under the narrow light of the back door to the diner. Susie still wasn’t sure if she had been spotted from where she had tried to hide among the spilled trash cans. Would she be kicked out? Would the owner tell Kris of what she had seen?
“Uh, yeah. Is it okay if we…?” Kris started to ask.
The proprietor gave Susie a curious look, and then smiled at the pair. “Well alright then! You wanna sit in your usual spot?”
Susie felt the knot in her stomach slowly unravel, as she turned to raise an eyebrow at Kris. The two followed the bunny to the far back corner of the diner to a booth by the side window. Still feeling the adrenaline leaving her body, Susie awkwardly slid into the booth opposite Kris, and looked around nervously.
“You know I don’t usually do this…” The owner continued, “But oh heck, I suppose I can treat you both to some hot chocolate on the house – it IS getting cold out there after all. Nice to see you found someone else to share some cocoa with, and how could I say no to such a cute looking couple!” She giggled as she turned and walked back towards the counter.
“Wait, what!?” Susie cried out as realization sunk in, “We’re not– damn it all…”. She turned to glare at Kris, who could only offer up a disarming shrug. Confident this wasn’t part of some prank attempt, she leaned back and let herself relax. What did that bunny monster mean “Your usual spot”? As Kris began to stack a bunch of assorted jam containers, she thought more about what the owner had said. A slowly, rusty, underused gear began to turn in her head.
“You… used to come here with your bro, huh?” Susie finally guessed out loud.
Kris paused to look over at her. “Yup. Every Sunday. Became something of a ritual for us, I guess.”
Susie snickered as she draped her arms over the table, cocking her head slightly as she grinned up at her friend from where her head now rested. “Kris, anyone tell you your family is goddamn weird?”
Now it was Kris’ turn to raise an eyebrow, to which Susie quickly replied, “Uh, I mean– like a cool kinda weird, y’know? It’s just uh… kind of a new thing for me.”
Kris nodded at this, and resumed building the Tower of Jam. Susie struggled to give voice to her thoughts, knowing the last thing she wanted to do was annoy her friend.
“I still can’t believe your mom invited me into your house the other day. Why the heck was she so… nice to me? Ms. Alphys musta told her all the crap I’ve done… I just don’t get it.”
“She likes you, obviously.” Kris replied matter of factly, not taking their eyes off their current task.
Susie squirmed and put her elbows up on the table. “Yeah but I bet she likes everyone though… if she knew what I was really like, no way she’d let the two of us hang out together.”
“Trust me, if my mom didn’t like you, you’d know.” Kris replied, giving her a pointed look.
Susie thought back to that day they visited Sans’ market and visibly flinched. “Oh. Right. Guess you got a point… but I still don’t get why I’m so special.” She glanced over towards the diner’s kitchen as she mused, noticing the owner was in the middle of serving a giant stack of fluffy golden pancakes to a strange monster with an extremely tall hat. The aroma wafted over her, instantly making her mouth water. So many delicious looking pancakes… how much did all that even cost? She quickly wiped at her mouth with her sleeve, silently cursing her ever-present hunger and lack of funds to remedy the situation. At least the hot chocolate might help…
As if on cue, the rabbit returned with two mugs and placed them on the table. They were nearly overflowing with small white marshmallows in the shape of little bunnies, and Susie displayed remarkable restraint in not lunging for the beverage to chug it immediately.
“Here we are! Anything else I can get ya, huns? And feel free to take your time, looks like it’s set to rain out there any moment.” The rabbit remarked cheerily.
Susie turned her gaze away, opting to look out the window instead. “Uh, nah, I don’t really have…” she began to mutter.
“Actually…” Kris blurted out, causing Susie to pause, “She’ll have an order of fries, please.” The human reached into their pocket and withdrew several crumpled dollar bills, setting them on the edge of the table.
The owner stared at the money for a moment – evidently not expecting Kris to actually offer to pay for something. Regaining her senses, her eyes practically sparkled as she collected the money. “Hah, don’t that beat all! Coming right up, hun!” With a wink towards Kris, she departed.
Susie had also been left in a similar state of shock, slowly looking from Kris to the owner, to the spot on the table where the dollar bills had been left, and then back to Kris. A torrent of emotions were bubbling up within her, and while she struggled to make sense of it all, an all too familiar emotion rose to the surface quicker than the rest.
“What the HELL was that, freak?” Susie hissed at Kris as her fists clenched reflexively. “You think I need your damn charity or something? Think I’m too dumb to feed myself? Like I can only eat garbage or some shit without your help, huh!?”
Kris just sat there and looked at her strangely for a long moment before responding in a muted voice. “You looked hungry.”
Susie immediately faltered. The way Kris spoke, it reminded her so much of that day, with the apple. And just like that day, all she could do was be the biggest asshole possible. She felt her stomach do a flip as a wave of guilt washed over her. And she wondered why she doubted Kris really wanted to be her friend. She felt herself deflate against the booth as she sagged backwards into a slump.
“...Nevermind, don’t worry ‘bout it.”
“Have some of your hot chocolate.” Kris offered, scooting the mug closer to her as they took a sip for themselves.
Still slumped back, she reached out and took the mug, taking a small swig while tilting her head. Sugary sweet marshmallows coasted along her tongue on a river of molten chocolate, and her eyelids fluttered slightly from the utterly divine taste of cocoa. She felt better. Letting out a soft sigh, she eyed Kris again who was quietly sipping from their mug with an equally blissful look.
“Don’t think you’re gonna get away with all this by the way,” Susie said, jabbing a claw in their direction. “We’re splitting the fries. Got it, twerp?”
Kris nodded emphatically, and Susie afforded herself a small grin. She glanced out the window at the sound of soft pattering; rain had begun to fall. There was an undeniable comfy feeling to be sure, something she was wholly unused to. Just two cool friends, sipping cocoa in a diner on a rainy day… Maybe this was supposed to be normal. She really hoped it was, as it was something she could look forward to… every day? That thought gave her a level of comfort that surprised her. If every day could be half as good as this, she’d have it made…
They sipped in silence for a while, listening to the rain and enjoying the moment. It wasn’t long before the rabbit monster returned with a steaming plate of fries, setting it squarely in front of Susie, whose eyes went wide in rapt attention.
“Ketchup and mustard are right there by the window, let me know if you need anything else! Enjoy~.”
No sooner had she departed did the dragon immediately grab a small bundle of fries and toss them back into her waiting maw. Her teeth tore into the slightly crispy and fried spuds, releasing spouts of blisteringly hot steam from their tender mushy insides. Tiny salt crystals scattered across her purple tongue as she chewed, creating miniature explosions of flavor all around her mouth. Her eyes unfocused as she savored the exquisite taste of something so simple looking.
“Mmnnouh my gahhh, thooo goog…” She tried to utter around a mouthful of spuds. “Unng, so much better tasting all hot n’ fresh…” After swallowing her mouthful, she refocused her eyes back on Kris. Even through their trademark deadpan expression, she could see a smile struggling to break through the surface.
“Oy. We’re sharing these, remember? What’s the matter, too used to your mom feeding you? Let’s see if I can help.” She snickered with a good-natured grin.
Taking a single long crispy fry from the pile, she set it upright on the table and placed a single claw on its tip. With her other hand, she flicked outwards, sending the fly spinning towards Kris, and bounced off their nose.
“GAHAHAHA!” Susie laughed uproariously, clapping a hand over her face. “Good attempt, Kris, but ya gotta be quicker on the uptake!”
Kris reached over and grabbed two fries, tossing one into their mouth while preparing to flick another back at Susie. She effortlessly twisted her snout to catch the incoming projectile with a satisfying snap.
“Just be glad I’m not Berdly,” Kris remarked as another fry smacked their teeth, “I bet his mom still has to chew his food and throw it up into his mouth. Unless you want to give that a shot…”
“Dude you are such a psychopath!” Susie chuckled after catching another fry in her jaws. “You’d probably enjoy it, too!”
The pair continued to bounce fries off each other while laughing, completely unaware that the owner was watching them from behind the counter, hands resting on her chin while giggling at the display.
After getting tired of fry-tossing, they resumed their meal and settled down… somewhat. Susie teased Kris for applying small amounts of ketchup on each individual fry they picked up, while the dragon preferred to toss a few spuds into her open mouth and squirt a chaser of condiments in while mashing them around. Each claimed their own technique was better, but both appeared to get the job done.
Susie paused from her snacking to glance over at the window, which had now fogged up quite nicely due to the steam from the nearby fries and hot cocoa clashing with the weather outside. She idly reached over and began to drag a claw across the window, creating thin lines and shapes. A soft squeaking sound told her that Kris had moved over to begin drawing their own shapes in the fogged up window. After a few moments, they sat back to look at their work, and each others: Susie had drawn a very rough round boy with a spade shaped face with the caption “Ho ho ho!”, while Kris had drawn a familiar looking bespectacled goat in a robe with the words “Do your homework!” scrawled below. They both laughed.
As Susie grabbed one of the last few fries and swirled it around in the dregs of her drink, she ventured to finally voice a question that had been lurking with her all day. “So, this was a cool idea, Kris. You… really like hanging out like this? Kinda thought you’d get tired of putting up with my shit by now, heh…”
Kris seemed to consider the question for a moment, and took a long sip of cocoa. “Of course I do, Susie. We make a pretty good team, right? If we run into another Dark World, they won’t stand a chance against us…”
Susie gulped as she digested the words. There it was, plain as day. Her use as a companion had its merits – as an ally in the Dark World. That must be why Kris wanted to stay close to her all this time. It made sense to have your strongest fighter close at hand when you never knew where the next Dark World could be. Skipping stones, eating fries… it was all just passing time until the next adventure, wasn’t it? She couldn’t be mad at that idea, even as the fries turned flavorless in her mouth…
“...But even if we don’t find another Dark World, it wouldn’t matter.” Kris continued. “I’ve had a blast just… hanging out, you know? I guess I’ve always felt a bit isolated, especially after Azzy went to college. I mean, other people tolerated me, but they never really got me. But… you get me. I don’t think I could ever have this kind of fun with anyone else – to be honest I was starting to think you might get tired of hanging out with me.”
Susie felt something deep in her chest start doing somersaults. She sputtered and tried to wave away the sudden heat on her face. “Psh, c’mon dude, you may be a baby but you’re not boring – not by a long shot. And somebody’s gotta keep you on your toes. Gonna have to try harder than that if you wanna get rid of me, dork!”
By the time they departed the diner, the downpour had created small rivers flowing along the sidewalks, and giant pools of water had formed all along the streets. As the pair peered through the rain, Susie chuckled at a smaller monster dancing around in a small puddle, making tiny little splashes erupt all around them. Kris stepped out into the rain and looked up to get a face full of water, while the dragon ambled along after.
“Hey Kris, check it out!”
The human barely had time to register the shout before the sound of thudding footsteps was heard, and Susie launched herself into the air before slamming down with catastrophic force into a large puddle. The resulting explosion nearly sent Kris flying as they were drenched in a torrent of water. They recovered just enough to see Susie laughing uproariously at the resulting chaos, and the monster child shrieked and ran away.
“Nice job, but you’re not the only one with moves.” Kris sputtered. Sprinting towards Susie, Kris dove into a foot-first slide at the last moment, sending out a cascade of water like a targeted attack straight at the defenseless dragon.
“Dude!!” Susie sputtered, looking down at her drenched jacket and jeans. “That was badass!” She stomped her foot back into the puddle and slid it around to gain momentum before aiming a high kick back in Kris’ direction – sending out an arc of water right into their face. This continued for several minutes, as the pair each tried out new moves until not an inch of either of them wasn’t soaked through and through.
“Damn… we’re a mess, huh Kris?” Susie remarked as she walked back onto the sidewalk with loud squelching footsteps. “I guess you really should be getting back, I’d hate to see the look on your mom’s face when she sees your sorry state, heh.”
Kris followed the dragon and looked up at her. “Hey, you should come back with me.”
“Wha? But… Look at me, I’m even more of a mess than you are…”
Kris could only smile brightly in response. “Don’t worry about it, we can dry off at my place. We never got to finish that movie marathon together, right? Let’s go!”
Before Susie could even formulate a rebuttal, Kris took hold of her hand and raced along the sidewalk with her in tow. Her legs moved by their own accord, as her mind had gone completely blank with shock. She had remembered that day she grabbed Kris’ hand and yanked them off to the supply closet – at the time she was too excited to stop and think, but later she recalled the embarrassment that crept up at such a corny act. And now… this. At this moment, it didn’t feel corny at all. The human’s hand had a thin but strong hold on only half of her much larger claws. She could feel their excitement in the way they squeezed reassuringly. It brought to her a certain feeling, something she could put her trust in. If this is what it was like to have a real best friend to be around each day… she couldn’t wait for more.
They reached the door to the Dreemurr house, a panting mess. Toriel must have heard the commotion, as the door opened before Kris could reach up.
“Oh my, look at you both! My child, you are completely drenched, and Susie, too!” Toriel cried out and ushered them inside before Susie could even begin to offer up an apology.
She was quickly shepherded into the bathroom and given a clean towel and a set of clothes, consisting of a large baggy blue sweater and grey sweatpants that fit fairly well on her. Toriel had also passed her a new pair of fluffy pink socks – ones that included extra padding along the toes to reduce shredding from monster claws. She looked at them in awe, never having owned such a thing in her life. After she changed, she poked her head out the door to find Toriel, who then placed her soggy clothes into a basket to be sent to the dryer.
“S-sorry to show up here lookin’ like cra- I mean, all soaked ‘n stuff.” Susie mumbled.
“Nonsense dear! And I should thank you for getting Kris home safely in such a downpour like this. Would you like to stay for the night again? I couldn’t possibly ask you to get drenched again going home… if your parents are alright with this, that is?” Toriel smiled at the dragon.
“Huh? Oh, yeah, they said they were cool with it anytime, really. Um… thank you, for letting me stay again, and the clothes n’ stuff.” Susie replied as she awkwardly tugged on the surprisingly comfy and warm clothes. Even after talking with Kris, part of her mind was still waiting for the large goat mother to pull Susie aside and hiss “ Haven’t you bothered my child enough for one day ?”
But it never happened.
Instead, Toriel smiled happily at the dragon. “Think nothing of it, I’m so happy they fit! Please, make yourself at home and sit on the couch! I sent Kris upstairs to change, they should be back shortly.”
Susie wandered into the living room and plopped onto the couch with a thump. Helping herself to the TV remote once more, she flicked through channels, listening to the distant pattering of rain and Toriel’s cheerful humming as she put the clothes into a dryer machine. It was a nice sound, but it made something inside her ache for a reason she couldn’t explain. She decided to focus on finding something to watch instead.
Kris soon joined her in an equally baggy sweater and sweatpants, causing her to do a double take seeing her friend dressed so differently. She wasted no time in ruffling their head as Kris sat down, letting out a guffaw as their still damp hair stuck straight up.
“You ready for this one, shrimp?” Susie grinned at Kris. “It’s called ‘Invasion of the Incredible Wierdos Who Died But Also Came Back As Zombies’. Kinda old, but that’s how you know there’s gonna be over-the-top dumb looking blood and gore. I’m talking like guys spewing out geysers of spaghetti sauce when they get chomped on, and–”
“I see you two are nice and comfortable on the couch once more, wonderful!” Toriel interrupted as she entered the living room with a very large, soft-looking blanket. “It is fortunate that I just finished washing and drying this blanket, just the thing to keep away the cold weather outside, is it not? Kris, my child, you should move next to your friend so you two can share it.”
Before Susie could utter any sort of protest that she was just fine in the new clothes, the large blanket was draped onto her lap with a woosh, and with Kris tucked in right next to her. She tried not to think about their extremely close proximity, only to hear Toriel continue talking.
“Now then, I think we could all enjoy something nice to watch. Ah! Allow me to find something suitable, this one looks like it might be too gruesome for you, my child…”
Susie let out a chuckle as she playfully batted Kris’ shoulder. “Aww, maybe when you’re older, wittle Kwissy.” She whispered with a grin.
Toriel instead changed the channel to find a more family friendly animated movie already in progress. Susie found herself settling back as the warmth of her new clothes and fluffy blanket cradled her. It wasn’t even that bad of a movie, as the dragon found herself chucking out loud whenever the strange little gremlin protagonist got himself into trouble, turning to the camera to yelp his catchphrase “Check please!” before hijinks ensued.
Susie’s eyes began to flutter. It was getting harder to concentrate on the movie, everything felt so… comfy. Peaceful. But she still wanted to see the end of the movie, or try to stealthily change the channel when Toriel fell asleep. Maybe she’d just rest her eyes – like for a couple seconds. Or a minute. It was the perfect plan.
At some point, she felt her head dip… was it resting on something? At this point she was only vaguely aware her head had tilted onto Kris’ shoulder. Some part of her mind told her this may be a problem, but she was too damn comfy to care. Maybe she’d blame it on Kris in a minute or so. Now she felt someone’s head rest gently against hers. Kris, that dummy, probably already fell asleep. She’d give them hell for it in a minute… but then she wouldn’t feel as warm and snug. Oh well.
Before sleep finally claimed the weary dragon, her thoughts rolled back through all the day’s events. Everything she had done with Kris, and how much she was looking forward to more adventures with the human at her side.
Was this normal? I hope so …I think I could get used to this…