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“Let’s recap it once more. I’m sure you already know what you should or shouldn’t do, but repetition is the key to studying! Thus: Don’t open the door to strangers, don’t invite anyone over, don’t even think of…”
As Kris started to tune out the 30th time their mom went over the list, they thought about how much pie they would be able to bake and then eat while Toriel was away.
“Oh right, under no circumstances should you use the oven, it's dangerous and you need my supervision for it.”
‘Ah, right, forgot about that one’ Kris quietly thought.
Kris started to question if they really needed all these rules for being home alone, even though they were 17 almost going to 18, and could probably take care of themselves for just one day… at least.
This wasn’t even the first time she's had to go away for more than 5 hours, it seemed the matriarch’s instincts were always on overdrive when it came to the wellbeing of her kids, it was sweet, but becoming overprotective at this point.
“Mom, I think you’ve gone through the list enough times, don’t you need to like, get ready, and stuff? Really, I’ll be fine” Kris interrupted her.
“Oh really, Kris? Need I remind you of that little incident that happened 2 years ago? You almost burned the house down!”
Kris was about to reply back, but found no answer to that claim, as it was true, and still felt kind of guilty that they had to replace a lot of equipment for the kitchen.
“Look, Kris, I’m aware this list can be overwhelming, I care about you and your safety, it scares me if something were to happen to you. Just promise me you won’t do anything reckless and I’ll have that peace in my mind.”
The human locked their hidden eyes with the mother’s, in a calm and collected manner.
“Mom, I promise I will not do anything reckless, and I’ll be a good kid, the house will be safe in my stead, don’t you worry”
Toriel gave a small sigh of relief.
“Alright, I left 20 dollars on the kitchen table so you can order some of ICE-E’s pizza if you want, it should be enough for a drink too. If you are still hungry in the morning, there's some snail pie in the fridge.”
Kris stood quietly and with a stoic face, as usual, but internally they were trying not to physically cringe at the mention of those two specific foods. Not only is ICE-E’s pizza absolutely revolting for the human, due to it being always soggy when they tried to eat it (the ice cubes toppings were mandatory per the policy for each order), but Snail Pie was their least favorite food out of everything their mom bakes, but they never made a deal out of it so Toriel never knew they absolutely despised it. They could make better use of those 20 bucks by just pocketing them.
“Alright my child, I think that settles everything, my school meeting is at Ebott and I should be back tomorrow around 4:00 PM if the Angel sees it fit. Be well, and don’t eat everything in the fridge.”
“Well, there goes all my plans for the evening”
Toriel giggled at her child’s comment.
“Very funny, my child, though knowing you that probably wasn't a joke. Be safe, my child.”
The goat mother closes the door and walks to her car, setting everything up and seeing if she didn’t forget anything, The goat mother finally decides she is ready, Toriel starts the car, and waved one last time at Kris through the window, They waved back, and finally, started the car and drove off the parking space, car disappearing in the distance.
Kris stares at the car as it goes farther and farther away, listening to the engine’s sounds slowly starting to diminish. They stood still, being vigilant, patient, waiting for the sound to completely vanish, and when it did, they concluded that their cautious mother had officially left hometown.
The human sat down on the couch, with a sigh leaving them. Relieved, in a higher tone of voice, they spoke. It sounded like they were chatting with the void itself.
“We’re safe.”
The very second those words left their mouth, the world turned dark, a shadow casted above them, as if the whole world was going to be consumed by the shadows, in the form of a dark, purple, scaly, and strong monster.
As if the world was finally coming to an end, the monster roared in frustration and anguish.
...
“GRAAAAGH! Oh my friggin' ANGEL! Dude! You. Cannot. BELIEVE how hot it is behind your couch!" She exhaled, feeling some breeze coming back to her scales. "I'm glad my genius plan worked and all... but man, I wish I had something cold to drink there. Or bite into, I dunno.”
Kris knew exactly who this monster was: their very best friend Susie, as this was her whole idea. The moment Kris commented to her that Toriel had to go away for a day, she immediately started formulating a plan to sneak into their home and have a whole day for themselves to just have fun with no distractions.
Technically speaking, they didn’t break any rules that the mother mentioned. Kris didn’t invite her over, she was ALREADY in the house when she left, Susie beaming in pride at her ingenious plan.
“I’m actually really surprised you could pull it off, I almost forgot you were here for a second.” Kris said.
“Well of course! I'm the master of sneaking and hiding after all!” Susie replied with pride on her completely legitimate and not made-up-on-the-spot title.
“I was expecting you to blew it in the middle of it or something, you know because you ate all those pinecones in the morning.” Kris teased.
“¡Hey! For your information I DID NOT eat pine cones today, I ate pine BARK! It’s different! And it's good for my teeth anyways, Not that you'd know with your pansy teeth!”
Kris was about to reply back with a sly and witty remark about her obviously confusing diet, though they couldn't help but grin and even let out a small laugh out of their mouth, they loved hanging out with her. She was the only other monster they'd rather spend a whole day with (other than their own brother), and even then, they could get tired of their family on certain days. Susie, however, was another story altogether.
“Ah-HA! I got you to laugh! That's four times this week, I think that’s a new personal best. I should try and go for five, if I'm lucky maybe six, it's a Friday anyway, and we have plenty of time now. So, what do you think nerd, what should we do now that Ms. Toriel is out of town now?”
Kris thought for a moment how cute it was that Susie still called their mother with a Ms. in front even when she wasn’t anywhere near, but then actually thought about the question that was just asked. Their brain was starting to work, struggling to make a single connection, when they remembered. The list!
Toriel was no careless woman, but she can be too… trusting. In the process of making a list of stuff Kris shouldn't do, she might have looked over the fact that she made them a personalized and catered “To Do List”
Looking through all the rules she repeated constantly on their brain, they found something that they could definitely do without major consequences.
“How about watching a scary movie?” Kris asked after the little lightbulb on their head suddenly turned on for a brief second.
"Bro, I'm SO down! But... kinda doubt you got stuff in here. Knowing your mom, she'd probably burn them all in the name of the Angel. To rid the house of curses or something, ha-hah."
“So you would think, but as it turns out, my brother loved watching them when he had the opportunity, so he had a little “contraband” that… Dess gifted him in high school. I've watched some but he has a LOT of them, stashed somewhere in our room.”
“Well that brother of yours just earned some badass points from me, contrabanding under your mother’s nose the whole time, definitely had some balls for that!”
“I’ll go and search for the movies, I’ll be right back.” Kris replied, already leaving the room.
“Get something with lots of GORE and GUTS, and ZOMBIES and MONSTERS!” She exclaimed, already excited for the next hours ahead.
Kris walked to their room and looked around Asriel’s side to see where he would hide these discs, and thought, maybe under his bed? Sure as day, they were behind some old boxes. They got the box out and went downstairs to witness how Susie was looking at the kitchen and started to snoop around a bit.
Kris saw how she sneakily tried to check out the fridge and look at what was inside, and saw with wide eyes the snail pie Toriel talked about. She was visually drooling over it, and you could see in her eyes how badly she wanted to take a bite out of it, if she could just grab it and eat a bit of it without Kris noticing…
“‘Master of Sneaking’, huh? It seems you might want to work towards keeping that title.” Kris teased.
Susie suddenly jumped a bit and started to frantically try to close the fridge and act like she didnt do anything.
“Me? Oh no I wasn't doing anything no, uh, I was uhhhh, just looking at how pretty your kitchen is, new fridge right? Looks shiny and pretty new to me.” Susie failed to make a convincing excuse.
“Susie, that fridge is 9 years old.”
“Well it sure is a well kept fridge then Kris… OK, FINE! I was looking through it, ok? I haven't eaten anything since that crunchy and scrumptious tree bark from the morning, and well, I saw that… pie.. and i don't know if you would care if..” Her voice trailed off.
“By all means. No way in hell I’d touch it.”
“Seriously? But if it’s your mom’s pie it can't be that bad.” The hungry dragon questioned.
“It's a snail pie. I am really not fond of it, the texture and goo is too much for me.”
“Well your loss, freak.” Susie said while shrugging and already shoving half the slice of pie down her maw.
Susie ate the slice of pie in almost one bite, and while she thought that it couldn’t be that bad, the aftertaste was beginning to get to her, and decided that she had enough with half of it.
“Okay you were right, it isn't that great, it's too gooey and mushy, and that's coming from ME.” The dragon exclaimed while looking for some water to wash the taste down.
“That’s what I said!” Kris said in a cocky tone of voice.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kris brought the box of movies to the living room, Susie came from the kitchen and sat down on the floor with the human, ready to browse some movies.
“Alright nerd, let's see what your brother has been collecting through the years. He better have some good taste or he’ll be qualified as a wimp in my professional opinion, and I’ll know, I've seen plenty of horror movies.” The dragon bragged about her taste in movies.
“Well, have you seen Ebott Motorized Saw Killings? It's pretty gory.” Kris suggested.
“Uh, well, No I haven't seen that one, it sounds cool though, on the list for ‘Maybe’”.
“What about Inheritance, or Summer Solstice? These are both from the same director and I've heard they are pretty good.”
“That Inheritance one looks cool. Summer Solstice looks too vibrant to be a horror movie, and those flowers make this look really girly and dumb.”
“Trust me, you’ll never see bears the same after it, or… cliffs.”
“OH, YOU'RE ON! Let’s see who’s going to be the pussy of the day then!”
“I’ll say, I'm pretty good at handling horror movies, so I'm pretty confident. Wanna bet on it?”
“As if you had to ask, freak!”
They both agreed to pay for the other’s order at QC’s the next time they went, if either wussed out and admitted they got scared, using the official fistbump to seal it and make it official.
The first movie was the “Ebbot Motorized Saw Killings”, which Susie really liked. Guts and blood were everywhere, and she was even rooting for the killer, which kinda seemed weird for Susie to do since they were killing specifically humans, but Kris didn't really care, Susie found funny how in one of the scenes, one of the survivors jumped out of a window to escape…from a second story building, and splats on the ground.
They rated the movie a 7.8/10, effects are dated but enjoyable nonetheless.
The second Movie was “Summer Solstice”, which kind of left Susie confused for most of the movie until the final act, where it started to become horrific depictions of pagan rituals. While she wasn't scared, she definitely found it interesting and grotesque. Kris had already seen it, but the bear scene still shook them to the core.
“Remind me to never join a cult accidentally” Susie joked.
“I’ll be sure to tell you if you do, somehow I don’t doubt that would happen” Kris joked back.
She rated it a 7/10 while Kris scored it as 9/10, they enjoyed the premise and the cinematography a lot
The third Movie was “Inheritance” and while Susie was good through most of the movie’s runtime (though kind of freaked out about the whole cult and demonic stuff happening), there was one specific scene where she became paler and started sweating and breathing heavier.
In the scene, one of the characters awoke in their bedroom and looked around their room, looking for the source of a mysterious sound, and while it was barely visible – almost unnoticeable to the naked eye – Susie just managed to spot a demonic figure, standing in the corner, not moving, watching, lurking… waiting.
“OH MY ANGEL NO, IT’S RIGHT THERE!!”
As suddenly as she screamed, she realized she lost the bet. But before the realization had hit her, the demon jumped directly at the camera. She wasn’t prepared at all for that, and if she hadn’t lost the bet before, she sure as hell lost now.
“OH MY FUCK!! AAGH!!”
She jumped from her seat and covered her face not only with her hands but also with her legs. She just became a purple sweaty scared small scaly ball, and she couldn't deny getting scared there.
It took her a few seconds to gain her composure and look at Kris, who was holding their phone, recording the whole thing.
“Gotcha.” Kris said with a smirk
“YOU F- GET HERE YOU FREAK, GIVE ME THAT!!”
She lunged at them and tried to grab their phone, but Kris kept reaching their arm way back evading all of Susie’s attempts to steal the phone back. They fought playfully on the couch for a while, until they eventually got tired.
Susie and Kris didn’t notice until now at how suggestive their current pose was, with Kris laying on the sofa, and Susie laying on top of them.
They both locked eyes for a second, and then immediately looked the other way, trying to hide their mutual blush.
She got off them to sit down on her usual spot, the movie rolling down the credits. Silence filled the house, and she looked the other way before speaking, trying to hide a light blush on her cheeks.
“Sorry, but could you… not show that video with anyone? I have a uh… reputation to uphold, yeah…”
“Susie, it's been a year since everyone thought you were a bully. You are literally friends with everyone in class now, nobody would think to make fun of you regardless of you being a wuss-”
“NUH-UH! SHUT UP, AN- AND JUST PROMISE ME YOU WON’T!”
“OK FINE! Sheesh! Also you lost the bet, so, deal is a deal.”
She grumbled and said it wasn’t fair, beginning a debate about how jumpscares are not a valid form of horror, and that any director who uses them should be shunned.
She sourly accepted her loss in the end, they both shook hands on it, declaring the bet’s outcome official, they rested on the couch’s cushions comfortably, unknowing on what to do next.
“Well now what? We’re done with the movies and it's getting pretty late now”
“I'm still kinda hungry, and that snail pie was… not filling, to say the least.”
Kris thought for a while and remembered the list again. What was one of the things she said? Right! ‘Don't use the oven’.
“I could maybe make some food. There's ingredients for pie, and I could make some for the both of us.” The human suggested.
“So you know how to bake a pie huh? No way, probably you would make something as bad as that snail pie your mom made”
“Oh really? You’ll see, my baking skills will blow your mind away, just you wait” The proud human retorted back.
Kris engaged into chef mode. Seeing their mom bake for so many years, They could remember the steps perfectly, and even innovate on their own. This is how they mastered their craft, all under the supervision of Toriel of course.
The human focused on the task, grabbed all the ingredients necessary for the dish they intended on preparing, placing them in their workstation, organized in a way so they can be used in a fast and efficient manner.
Kitchen appliances were set in strategic spots of the kitchen, the mixer bowl near the roller, and at its side, the pie pan, pre-heating the oven at the perfect temperature, and so, they began preparing the recipe.
Susie watched with interest as the humans expertly put their skills to use: the knife, the roller, the mixer, all done in coordinated fashion as if it was a complicated choreography that Kris had perfected over the years.
You could observe the human being at maximum focus, taking into account all factors of the pie, how long the mixer has to work, how soft the dough must be, and how the butterscotch must have the perfect consistency.
The mesmerized dragon saw how the human put their carefully crafted creation in the oven and set a timer for 20 minutes, as they did, they sighed in relief, they enjoyed baking, but it can be taxing being focused for a long time.
As they both waited for the pie to bake, they talked about nothing in particular, how the season is getting pretty cold lately, where their next adventure is gonna be, how Ralsei and Lancer are holding up, what type of moss would make the best pie topping…
The timer Kris set off, marking the end of the baking process, the human immediately got to work, turned off the oven, carefully took the pie out, and added the final touch of whip cream right at the top.
Finally, the pie was ready. It was a seemingly normal butterscotch pie, and Susie was served the first slice. She had seen all the care and pure dedication to the craft that Kris gave to it, and finally ate the first bite. It took her a few seconds to actually comprehend the flavor, consistency, temperature and the texture of the dish.
“It's perfect…” Susie almost whispered, looking at nothing in particular, as if she was lost in space.
“What's that?” Kris asked, already having a smug grin on their face.
“This is the most perfect pie I have ever eaten in my entire life.” Susie said while looking wide eyed into the plate, as if she was eating the very meaning of life.
She quickly and swiftly ate the rest of the slice, letting the slice roll across her tongue instead of swallowing it whole, so she could feel the flavor and texture deeply. She was literally crying tears of happiness and joy.
“Kris…” Susie said after absolutely devouring every single crumb that made up that slice.
“Y- yeah?” Kris stuttered after witnessing the massacre that just occurred.
Susie grabbed them by the shoulders, locked eyes with them, and started to shake the confused human violently.
“WHAT! THE! FUCK!? THAT WAS SO GOOD! WHY DON’T YOU MAKE PIES MORE OFTEN!?”
“FI-FIRST O-OF A-ALL, TH-THANK-S, I-I H-AD A L-OT OF PRA-PRAC-TICE, AN-D PLE-LEASE, ST-O-O-P SHA-KING M-ME!”
The excited dragon didn’t measure her strength while shaking the human, she gently put the stirred human on the kitchen floor, and kept holding them in case they lost balance.
“For the love of whatever is HOLY you gotta make more of these, or I WILL make you bake more just for me. Now, GIVE ME ANOTHER SLICE!”
“Aye aye!” Kris said light-headed, still shaken from the dragon’s excited gesture.
They dined like fine kings, for the next few minutes, the only sounds that were heard in the house were of chewing, chumping and a few praises directed to the talented human.
As they both finished eating that delicious pie, they became so full they would have probably fallen into a food coma if they ate another slice.
“Man, I think that was better than your mom’s pies, and that's saying a lot.” Susie said, grateful for the meal.
“Thank you, I enjoyed it as well.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes, resting on the dinner table, they couldn’t move an inch, almost falling asleep, like two bears preparing for winter.
The full human saw that the clock now read 9:40 PM. It wasn't that late, but it was more late than they’ve ever been with a friend in their home.
“It's getting kinda late huh? So what do you think, sleepover?” Kris asked.
“I’ll say yes for the sole reason that there's no way I'm moving and walking after this food.” Susie said while gently patting her stomach.
“Completely fair. Do you want to sleep on the couch like always or do you want an actual bed?”
Susie suddenly snapped back to reality for a moment as she stared at Kris and tilted her head a bit.
“W-What's wrong with the couch?” Susie stuttered in mild confusion.
“I mean, for the past year you've come over here and slept on our couch, so now I'm saying that you would like, have an actual sleepover on a bed? My brother’s bed has been available for a while since he’s in college. I could get you some pillows and some blankets and you’d be all set.”
Susie didn’t want to admit that Kris’ plan excited her, but also made her nervous.
“I don't know dude, what if your mom finds out or something? And isn't it weird that we would be both sleeping in the same room? Won't your mom freak out or something?”
“We’ve both been sleeping together on the couch for a year now. I assure you it won’t be weird.”
As soon as those words left the human’s mouth, they noticed how weird it did sound, a small blush appeared on their face, which fortunately was obscured by their hair. Susie however, was turning a light shade of pink and she could only look away and try to not make eye contact.
“WH- WHATEVER! I’ll use your brother’s bed, but it better be comfortable or I’m blowing it up!” Susie almost screamed while looking away praying that Kris didn’t notice she was becoming a red monster. Unbeknownst to her, Kris was going through the same issue.
“I’ll just go and get the stuff, you can follow me to my room.” Kris said in a strained voice, looking down to the floor as if observing its intricate wood design.
They both walked down the hall, neither uttering a word, partly because things had gotten awkward, and partly due to their fullness from the pie party.
It's been a while since Susie last entered Kris’s bedroom, as not only did Toriel usually had either an open door policy or play outside rather than inside policy, they just didn’t find hanging out in a room their kind of fun. They’d rather go out to the lake and woods, to either skip rocks, or spot a new moss tree where they could eat like kings. Nevertheless, Kris’s room just wasn’t that interesting to warrant them staying for longer than a few minutes, trying to see if the internet on the computer finally worked.
As they both entered the bedroom, Susie looked around and saw that not much has changed since the last time she's been here. Actually now that she thinks about it, it hasn’t changed a single bit since the FIRST time she entered it, the only difference would be some small photos and memorabilia Kris collected on they bedside table from their adventures (that is, if a stick and a bit of moss in a little bottle counts as memorabilia of course).
“Got some midnight snacks near you at all times, smart.”
Kris couldn’t help but snicker a bit at that comment. While they wouldn’t try to eat the special moss they first found in the forest a year ago, they’d be lying if they said they hadn’t thought of eating it as a midnight snack when they were too lazy to go and steal a slice of the freshly made pie their mom had made.
“¡Yes! That's five times! and two on the same day! I'm on a roll now, either I got funnier or you're actually warming up to my superior sense of humor.”
Kris actually had to hold down their laughter every time they were with her. It was incredibly difficult, and sometimes felt bad that they did, but seeing her big toothy grin and full of pride on herself every time they broke their stoic front, it felt like those moments were more special.
As Kris looked into the cabinets of their room for some spare pillows and blankets, Susie went to Asriel’s bed and jumped right in the middle of it, laying on her back and spreading her arms wide.
“Maaan this bed is comfy, I could get used to sleeping on it! Tell your brother to keep studying at his college so I can use his bed whenever I want.” She said while already getting comfortable.
“I’ll be sure to tell him that his bed is being used happily. Here, some pillows and blankets. You're like, cold blooded right, need warmth and stuff?” the human asked to confirm their doubts about the dragon’s needs.
“Do you think I'm some sort of lizard that needs to sit on a rock to take heat from the sun?” The dragon said in an offended voice.
“Well, I thought, uh, I heard in class that, uh, um…” Kris began to stammer.
“RELAX, Haha! I was just messing with you nerd, yeah, I’m cold blooded, and that rock thing I mentioned… is actually pretty darn relaxing, we should both try it one day. Thanks for the blankets, it’s cute of you to want to take care of me, dork.”
Susie seemed oblivious to what she had just said, but Kris heard it instantly.
She called them cute.
Kris shrugged as if saying “ok whatever”, and walked to their bed, but in reality they only did so to turn away and hide the creeping blush coming back to their cheeks. What is up with today? That's three times they’ve blushed in less than two hours. Was it the temperature, or was it…
“These are the softest blankets ever! holy shit dude! You gotta give me one to use at my house, or I'll probably steal one…” Susie snickered to herself, lowering her voice to a whisper. “...yeah i’m probably gonna do that…”
Susie’s words took Kris out of their little zoning out moment, and decided to now actually go to bed. Both of them were now tucked in on opposite sides of the room in their own beds..
...
“¡Hey Kris!” Susie whispered urgently, as if she was gonna wake someone.
“Why are you whispering? It's only the two of us here.” Kris questioned in a normal speaking voice.
“Well, uh, isn’t that what you do at sleepovers? You whisper to not wake up anybody?”
“...Fair, I guess.” said Kris, now whispering like Susie.
“Well, I just wanted to say..” Susie looked around, as if she were searching for a script with the right words to say, “Uh, I wanted to say thanks. Today was great, your baking is awesome and, uh, thanks for the blankets.”
“I'm glad you thought today was fun, it wasn’t much, but it was enjoyable, especially with you.”
Susie was also glad that she was pretty far apart from Kris, or else they would see how red she got from those final three words.
“It's cool you accepted my plan, even though your mom told you to not bring people over. Honestly, I'll give you some badass points for that, and that baking got you so many badass points I think you're on the top of my list now.”
“Well I'm honored to be a badass, I’ll be sure to put that on my resumé, along with my baking skills.” The human joked. “I could get a job as a motorcycle baker rider! I could not only do deliveries, but also bake on the go, the freshest cakes and pies.”
“Dude that would be the coolest thing ever! I would order your stuff constantly just to watch you do donuts while you bake donuts, you’re onto something there, Kris.” Already excited about the idea of a rider baking in the middle of the road.
They both kept talking about motorcycles and food, the end of school, their unplanned future, and obviously different types of moss and which tasted the best, until they both started to fall asleep.
They told each other good night, and adjusted their bodies to have maximum comfort, the human heard her snoring, meaning she finally fell asleep, and knowing she was comfortable, also drifted off to dreamland.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kris was always kind of a light sleeper, easy to fall asleep and easy to wake up. That’s one of the reasons they always seemed like they lacked sleep, but tonight, they didn’t wake up to the sounds of wood creaking, or the wind rustling on the window, not even that weird white dog that always barked at the most ungodly hours of the night.
But rather they woke up to… rustling... and turning.
They really didn’t have the energy to try and check what that sound was, so the tired human tried to tune it out, only for the sound to keep going, becoming louder by the minute.
They were getting annoyed at this point now, they grabbed the pillow to plug their ears and hopefully tone it down. It was a futile attempt, as it kept going and getting more frequent.
The sleepless human was about to give up and live with the fact they weren’t going to sleep tonight, but suddenly starts hearing not only rustling, but also grunting, and some pained noises.
Now shaking some sleep away and concerned, they turned their head towards the source of the sound, adjusting their eyes so they could see better at what was moving and making so much noise.
They saw how the sleeping dragon was moving a lot, as if she had trouble sleeping. They could see her sweating and making pained expressions, she seemed to be freaking out in her sleep, she rustled, turned and grunted again.
Kris was still too drowsy to even begin thinking of getting out of bed and check if she was ok, and for a while, they thought that Susie was just having a rough dream, that was until she started to sleep-mumble.
“MmNo…, G-et Awaynne, don- dont hur-hurt, em.”
Kris heard this and sirens started to blare in their head, telling their body to go and check on her, but their body was still stuck between waking up and still falling asleep.
“Pleashh, go…. no yoush dare, ah, Ah! N-n-no…”
Kris finally could control their legs and got off the bed, walking over to Susie to see if she was ok, she suddenly started talking louder than before, almost screaming now.
“Non no No NO NO NO GET AWAY, PLEASE, ANGEL NO PLEASE NO.”
Kris was about to shake her awake and tell her that everythings fine and she is safe in their house, but her breaking point was reached at that very moment. Her final screams shouted in the unmistakable and blood curdling voice of pure fear, anguish and pain.
“LEAVE THEM, GET AWAY… FROM, MY KRIS.”
Susie suddenly bolted awake, screaming her head off, as if she just got stabbed right on the chest, or rather, watched someone get stabbed in the chest. Kris jumped on the bed and came to her aid, they got in front of her and grabbed her shoulders, trying to calm her down, trying to talk to her and ground her to reality. She was inconsolable, the tears in her eyes blocked her vision, and she couldn't notice that her night terror was finally over. She continued crying her eyes out, mumbling apologies over and over.
It wasn’t until Kris grabbed her hand and pressed it to their chest, right where their heart was beating.
"Susie! SUSIE!" They whispered-yelled. "H-hey! Hey! You're here, yeah? Can you feel my heart beating? Yeah... yeah. I'm here, you're here, nothing's wrong, okay? Yeah just... j-j-just keep breathing..."
Susie slowly took deeper breaths, coming out of her fear induced trance, as her eyes cleared, she saw two ruby eyes shining in the moonlight that was streaming in through the window, with tears rolling from them. She realizes that not only is she safe, but Kris is unharmed and well.
No one could have expected what happened next.
Susie lunged forward and gave Kris what was arguably the strongest and tightest hug she’s ever given to the human, from the very few she ever gave.
This was not like any other hug they’ve had: this was a hug that someone would give to a long lost friend, a hug you give to someone to offer a shoulder to cry on, the type of hug that makes you both feel you’re out of danger.
Kris didn’t mind how strong the hug was, and how they could barely breathe. They were glad that Susie finally realized she was safe.
After what seemed like minutes of Susie silently crying on Kris’s shoulder, she suddenly realized she was hugging them. It hadn’t even registered in her brain, it was like an instinctual action that her body acted upon itself.
Susie jolts back and stops the hug, they both look at each other, and Susie tries and fails to come up with an excuse as to what had just happened.
“Oh, hey, Kris, I’m sorry for waking you up, I- I- uh, well, I just had a little nightmare that’s all, no biggie, I- I- I'm sorry if it bothered you. Let's just both go back to sleep, alright, heh?” Susie stammered and looked around trying to not make eye contact with the worried human.
Kris was not convinced at all, she sounded like she was going to start crying again, if they left her now to go to sleep, she might feel even worse, and possibly have another episode.
“Susie, that wasn’t ‘just’ a nightmare. I’ve had nightmares in the past, but very few if not any of them made me scream or do a sound. This made you fear for your life and mine. I'm worried for you. Is there something bothering you? What was the dream about?”
She looked at the human, debating in her head if she should tell what she saw and experienced, but the reason she screamed wasn’t because of her own wellbeing, but rather, a particular human. She felt embarrassed how the very person that was trying to comfort her was the same who made her feel like she failed them.
“I- I- I- ugh, I don’t want to talk about it, I was so… scared, vulnerable even, I friggin’ hate that feeling, and it wasn’t even related to any of the movies we saw today. It was something… that really took me off-guard, ok? that’s all I’ll say.”
The human was not satisfied with this cryptic answer, but if she wasn’t ready to tell them what it was about, they wouldn’t pry.
“Ok I won’t ask you about it, do you need something? Water? More pillows, anything?”
“Well, heh, I guess I feel a bit dehydrated from all the cry-- *ahem…* s-sweating! Maybe these covers are a bit warmer than I thought, heh… Heh-heh…” She fake-laughed, trying to seem like she didn’t almost admit to crying.
“Alright, I'll bring you some water. Just stay here, I'll be right back.”
And so Kris ran to the kitchen to get a fresh and cold glass of water. During their journey to the kitchen, they couldn’t help but analyze what the hell just happened.
They had never seen Susie so scared before, or even shed so many tears in all their time as friends. Not even in the Dark World where they were in real actual danger, have they seen her like this… and did she say “My Kris” at the end?
Questions floated around the human’s head while they walked back to the room, right before they entered, they waited a few seconds and tried to listen carefully through the door, quiet sniffles were heard.
Kris knocked on the door, just to be polite and leave some seconds for Susie to fix herself up, knowing she’d appreciate it. Kris comes in and gives the water to Susie, and without saying anything, she downs the glass in a few gulps. Kris found a small towel and gave it to Susie.
“...Thanks, Kris..”
She wipes her dried out tears and sweat from her face, and they both look at each other, waiting for the other to say something, anything. They stood silent for a moment longer, and then both moved close in unison for another hug. This was a sweet hug, a reassuring one, and a safe one.
As they finally break the hug, Kris goes back to their bed, looking back at Susie, who has already gone back to laying down quietly. They do the same, and fall asleep after a while.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kris woke up again some time later, a normal thing for them, but the events of tonight had left them with a high guard. This time there wasn’t rustling, or any grunting (and thankfully no sobs), but rather, it was the sound of steps walking through the carpet of the room.
They open their eyes and look to the direction of the thudded beat, and sees Susie looking down and fidgeting with the covers on her pillow.
She looked nervous, maybe even embarrassed. They couldn’t tell because of the lighting, but was she… blushing?
“Hey…”
“Hey.”
“So… um.. I can’t sleep, so well, I thought that you coud let me maybe uh, erm, uh I-, Fuck this is so lame, I can’t believe im asking you to do this.” The dragon said, embarrassed.
“Yea?”
“Ok, whatever, can I… sleep here with you.” She said bluntly.
“Oh, Susie, well, I-”
“It doesn't have to be on the bed! You know, I could sleep right here on the floor next to you! I- I- just need to make S-S-ure that…” She started stammering.
“Oh Susie you c-”
“You know what, nevermind, this is stupid. I’ll just try to sleep again, I'm sure I’ll be abl-” The embarrassed dragon turned away and tried to go back to her bed.
Susie stopped in her tracks, as she felt soft hands grab her by the wrist. Looking back, the human reached out to stop her from walking away. They locked eyes and they replied.
“Yes, you can, if it makes you feel better, you can sleep here, I know that feeling all too well, so of course, you can.”
She stares silently at the worried human, she doesn’t have a clear answer to express her gratitude for this favor she is asking, as she looks down at the floor, still embarrassed, she finally utters out.
“....Thanks freak, ‘preciate it.” she said with a soft smile on her lips, and a light blush glowing on her cheeks.
She slowly got into bed with Kris, and they moved a bit to make space for her. Fortunately, their bed was designed for a big monster, so they both could fit in – a bit cramped sure, but it's comfortable enough.
They both lay there, side by side, not touching, not even talking. They both stared at the ceiling, as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.
But of course that didn’t last long. They got comfortable, like everytime they would binge watch a new set of movies in the living room: they started out at separate ends of the sofa, and always woke up next to each other. They are unaware if it's an unconscious thing, or if the universe is playing a mean prank with them.
But tonight, they don’t care.
Kris was glad Susie could trust them enough to ask them to help her like this, when they knew that past Susie would rather jump off a cliff than even trying to ask for a bit of help (and she did in the past, multiple times).
Susie was glad that Kris was safe, and that she would be able to protect them from anything or anyone that would even think of harming them in any way.
And so they slept comfortably next to each other. This was the first time both of them had this good of a sleep, a giant meteor could crash into Hometown and they would not even bat an eye.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A soft glow of orange started shining through the window, hitting the wall on Kris’s side of the room, which made Kris’s bio-clock tell their body to wake up, and so they did.
But this time, they felt kind of odd, as if their body was restrained and was unable to move a muscle, for a second they panicked thinking they somehow got paralyzed in their sleep, until they felt.. scales? Oh, right.
They were being spooned by Susie…
This was… not a situation they were prepared for, but oddly, they didn’t have any problem or objections with it. If anything it felt kind of comforting, they felt so safe and cozy, in between both of her… oh.
As they tried to ignore that flustering fact, they looked around to see what was the hour in their digital clock. Its green light shined “9:23 AM”
Toriel said she wouldn’t be home until after 4:00 PM, right?
‘Well, I guess I could sleep in today, just a few more… hours...”
As Kris began to doze off again, feeling warm and content, Susie mumbled for the first time since the previous evening.
“My… Kris…Safe….”