Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Susie isn’t sure when apples started to be so prominent in her life. Ok that’s a lie, it started when Kris came by her job over the winter break and a high school mystery was solved. She had always wondered where the smell that made her drool in class came from. Turns out it was his head.

They got to talking, even if she’s still not sure why, and exchanged numbers. Susie was sure it was some kind of prank or trick. She wasn’t exactly nice to him, or anyone, in high school. Even after he texted her when he got back to college. Even after he reached out every day since, she can’t shake the feeling. Nice things don’t happen to monsters like her.

Yet here she was; eyeing the apples on display during another mind-numbing shift at Sans and thinking of her new friend. She already knew she’d be taking another bag of those delicious red fruits home with her. A serviceable distraction while she counted down the days to spring break and therefore Kris’ next visit.

Eventually arriving home to her tiny studio apartment she went about her usual evening ritual. Placing the apples on her couch, she kicked off her boots and grabbed a beer from the fridge. Plopping down onto the couch she grabbed an apple and tossed it into her waiting maw. As she crunched through the core she turned on her crappy tv. Not that she would pay much attention, quickly pulling out her phone to check for texts.

Unfortunately there wasn’t anything yet. She grumbled and wiped the excess juices from her mouth before taking a swig of beer. Other people might begin to examine why they care so much when a specific person texts them. Why it can make or break their day if they hear from them or not. If the person on the other end feels the same.

Not Susie. Thinking about those feelings would be pointless because nice things don’t happen to her, and if they do? They definitely don’t last. No matter how nice this thing she had with Kris was, it was only a matter of time before she did something dumb and ruined it. Something dumb like having a crush because she has no concept for normal interactions.

Maybe she’s thought about it a little. Dreamed a little. Definitely never fantasized after a rough shift and too many drinks while- *BZZZZZT*

Mercifully her phone saved her from further thoughts. Quickly chewing another apple she opened her messages to her only contact besides her boss. A simple text asking how her day was. Her tail definitely didn’t wag as she responded. Looks like it was going to be a good night after all.

Chapter Text

The air practically whistled as Kris narrowly dodged a punch aimed at his head. He knew from experience how much power was behind that hook. Seeing his opening, he surged forward and delivered a solid body blow with his right hand. Pushing his momentum he followed up with a left hook of his own. Unfortunately the monster across from him had put his guard up in time and proceeded to feed Kris a solid left cross. Kris stumbled back, briefly seeing stars. Before he could refocus he felt a glove tap his headgear from the other side.

“Boop, you lose.”

If there had been any actual force behind it he would’ve been out cold. Kris groaned and leaned back against the ropes that Asriel had slowly worked him towards. “I almost had you that time!” the 20 something grumbled to his adopted brother. “You’re not wrong, I’ve just been doing this longer and was able to read it. You’ll get there though, gotta remember I’m a couple weight classes above you.” The white goat agreed with his sibling. “Do some road work and call it a day yea? I’ll see you next week.” Kris could only nod at the assessment as he changed out of his sparring gear and into his workout clothes.

Hitting the roads around the boxing gym, Kris let his mind wander. He’d have to treat Asriel sometime as thanks for introducing him to the place. He was having a rough go of things at college and on one particularly bad night, reached out to his brother. They hadn’t talked much since the elder goat had dropped out of college. Kris had been mad that his brother had thrown away such an opportunity. He never realized the pressure until he was stuck in it himself. Turns out his brother hadn’t moved far from the college he left. Asriel had gotten a job working in a warehouse and started filling out into a more Asgorian build. He had a small apartment he split with Dess and did boxing in his freetime. Funnily enough a college friend of his got him into it when they saw how stressed college was making him.

As the miles wore on he thought about that night Asriel picked him up. Kris had called him after a panic attack about the upcoming midterms. During this episode Kris had just started running and ended up lost. When he finally had his wits about him, Kris looked at the paltry amount of numbers making up his contact list. Toriel was right out, the thought of calling her almost made him spiral again. Asgore would have definitely come to his aid but that would invariably end up with Toriel finding out. Noelle was across the country and had her own schooling to worry about.

That left one option. Asriel picked up on the second ring.

He listened patiently as Kris struggled to form coherent sentences. He managed to figure out where he was and was able to pick him up within 20 minutes. He asked if Kris wanted to go back to his dorm. Kris managed a small no, the thought of going back to his room still daunting.

The ride continued in somewhat somewhat awkward silence until they pulled up to a closed gym. Asriel hopped out and asked him to follow. Anxiety turning into curiosity, he followed. Turns out his friend's uncle owned the place and gave him a spare key since Asriel could end up working some strange hours and thus his gym time was all over the place as well.

Asriel beckoned him to the ring and helped put him in a basic stance. Holding his hands up he walked Kris through some basic jabs and crosses. As Kris’ hands thudded against Asriels’ weathered palms he slowly uncoiled. Anytime his mind started to drift, Asriel would call out for another jab, cross, or combination. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed but now he was more winded than anything. His hands dropped as he started huffing. Seeing his younger brother get winded, Asriel walked up next to him and sat on the mat, Kris quickly following suit.

They got to talking, actually talking, for the first time in years. About why Asriel dropped out, about Kris’ stress and loneliness, their parents, the divorce, everything. Asriel stopped by his apartment after, just to show Kris where it was if he needed anything (“Just call ahead first dude, even if I’m not home Dess’ll let you in”). As they started back to Kris’ dorm he told his younger brother that he’d get him a membership at the gym so he could head back again if he needed to. As they pulled up into the student lot Kris couldn’t help but notice how relaxed his brother was. Few people could pick someone up in the middle of the night, teach them combat sport basics, bring them home, and look like they were just heading out for a night on the town. Kris could feel all the ugly little feelings that had built up around his brother fade.

Going forward they both made more of an effort keeping in touch than they have in a long time, both siblings feeling like they got their brother back.

Kris was on auto-pilot as he entered his dorm, changing out of his workout clothes and hopping in the shower. Still in an introspective mood, he stayed in the reverie, thinking back to his winter break. He had been nervous about telling Toriel that he was going to switch majors (telling her about the boxing was right out, no way would she be ok with that). The human wasn’t even sure what he was going to change to, just that he couldn’t keep going to those finance classes.

Feeling like a man condemned, Kris was slowly making his way back to Toriel’s after visiting Asgore at the Flower King. As per usual, his dad was just happy if he was happy. Kris was lollygagging and texting his brother to delay the inevitable.

K: Maybe I can just not tell her
A: Worked out great for me
K: Not helping
A; LOL I know I know. But if the worst that can happen is what happened with me then you’ll be alright.
K: I’d rather not risk being a double-orphan.
A: Seems like your only two options bud. Happiness can take risks, but what’s life without it man?

Sighing, Kris pocketed his phone and dipped into Sans’ to grab a chocolate bar. That way even if Toriel disowned him, at least he’d have some chocolate. Imagine his surprise when he reached the register to find the former purple terror of HomeTown trying to make awkward small talk as she rang him out. Something about it caused the tension building in him to snap. It was just so absurd! Kris figured she would’ve skipped town by now to avoid Undyne. Curiosity got the better of him and he started asking about her, and getting asked about himself in turn. Kris couldn’t avoid fate forever though and he needed to go face the music.

Stepping out of the shower and changing into his sleep wear, Kris sat on his bed and flicked the tv on for some background noise. Turns out he had panicked for nothing, the goat matron was only mildly concerned about Kris' change (“You’ve always had a mind for the arts afterall!”) and he felt so much lighter on the ride back to college. He wasn’t sure what compelled him to, but he texted Susie the news. Something about her blunt honesty was refreshing compared to the knots he could tie himself up in about others feelings.

Speaking of, his phone dinged. Apparently her ears were burning. Settling in he messaged her about his day as she spoke about hers. He had been concerned that she might’ve been bullshitting him, gathering insights to fuck with him one last time. It wouldn’t be a lie to say that the thought resurfaced on his bad days. Susie could be tough to read at times, despite how upfront she tends to be. He knew from experience that she could be devious when she wanted to be. A small grin split his face at Susie’s last message. Maybe she was still that person, but Kris was willing to take the risk that she had changed too.

What’s life without it after all?

Chapter Text

Soft.

That’s all Susie could think as her hand touched Kris’. It had taken a portion of her cunning, nay all of her cunning to orchestrate such a move! She had planned with Kris to see a movie on his next break from college and Susie was excited for the new Godzilla that would be coming out the same weekend. Kris wasn’t really familiar with the franchise but had heard good things and agreed.

Meeting up at the theater, he had accidentally brushed her hand as they approached the ticket kiosk. Their fingers even intertwined for a second! This might not seem like much but for someone as touch-starved as Susie it was huge. She had to feel it again. Her plan was flawless; in the spirit of cheapness she offered to split a big bucket of popcorn with Kris. After that it was just a matter of timing. The dragoness immediately ran into an issue with the movie being genuinely captivating and her plan being forgotten momentarily as they both watched the struggle of an ex-kamikaze pilot struggling with his PTSD and grief via giant radioactive dinosaur allegory.

Absent-mindedly she had reached for popcorn and accidentally brushed his delicate digits again and Susie remembered the game plan! She deftly shot her scaly claws out and made contact several times! Great success! Human hands were so smooth! Were they this soft all over? She couldn’t get enough. She eagerly awaited the next chance. And waited. And waited. Getting frustrated, she angled the bucket towards Kris and gestured for him to have some. Risking a glance, the boy waved her off. Had he had too much? Was she too obvious? Oh no, had he caught on? He would hate her after this! Way to go Susie, ruining everything. Couldn’t be happy with what you had. Ended up pushing too far like always! Stupid! STUPID! STUPID!

She was so busy mentally berating herself that she didn’t even notice the object of her desire slowly resting itself on her clenched fist. One gentle squeeze was all it took to get her attention. Her head snapped to look at him at speeds that would cause weaker monsters to get whiplash. Kris was looking away demurely, blushing as red as the apples he smelled like. An atom bomb went off. Literally. Ginza was now in ash as Koichi screamed in horror as rain as black as coal rained down on him.

Attention now brought back to the movie, Susie unclenched her fist and slowly wrapped Kris’ smaller hand in hers. They held hands for the rest of the movie and all the credits. Neither side wanting to acknowledge it and risk breaking the magic. Eventually they had to leave the theater, hands still shyly entwined until they finally had to split and head to their respective vehicles (well…Susie had to wait for the bus, but she wasn’t about to tell Kris that).

Getting back to her apartment the purple bruiser was walking on air. Not only did her plan work, Kris seemed like he might like her back! A goofy grin split her face as her phone buzzed. Kris was just letting her know he got in and that he had a good time. That’s it? Nothing about what happened?

A million thoughts ran through her head. Should she bring it up? Did he regret it? Had he just been entertaining her? Did she ruin it? Deciding not to make things worse she merely returned the sentiment. She felt like such an idiot. Not looking at the clock she crawled into bed, fully done with the day. Susie wanted to reach out so bad but she was more scared than ever of getting burned.

Unbeknownst to her, a human was back at his dorm. Similar doubts had gnawed at him. What would an amazon like Susie see in some shrimpy non-monster like him? He had to have weirded her out with the hand thing and she just didn’t want to say anything. Her scales felt like silk with just a little roughness when he went against the grain and he got selfish for wanting to feel them more. Why else would she have not said anything? Susie always says what she’s thinking unless it’s embarrassing. He hoped their mutual avoidance would bring some sense of normalcy back to this thing they had.

No matter what they both tried to convince themselves of, a change had occurred. Inevitably they would have a proper conversation that their insecurities couldn’t ignore. For now they would have to work through their mutual despair, as the threads of fate began to bind them at long last.

Chapter Text

It was over.

Kris hasn't messaged her in weeks. Clearly she freaked him out by grabbing at his hand like a weirdo. Susie couldn’t be too surprised. Good things just didn’t happen to her. She was a fuckup. No matter what she did or how hard she tried, it was doomed from the start.

Muddling her way through another shift at Sans, she didn’t bother looking at her phone. She put it to charge in another room and distracted herself with beer and crappy movies. This was her lot in life, to be a mildly functioning mess and eventually shuffle off this mortal coil before anyone would notice or care. Susie was an idiot to think someone like Kris would care.
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It was over. Susie hadn’t messaged him in weeks.

He definitely screwed up by insisting on holding her hand on their last movie day. Why would anyone want to touch his soft, floppy hands? Even if he wasn’t a disgusting non-monster, he had desperately hoped she saw him past that. Who was he kidding though? Not even Noelle, who’s usually supportive, thought he had a chance with Susie.

“Kris c’mon. It’s Susie. I know you want to see the best in her, I did too! That’s not who she is though. It’s just not worth getting emotionally invested in her, trust me!”

While he knew Noelle meant no ill will it still stung. If someone as good and put together as her couldn’t get Susie to change what chance did a loser like him have? Maybe that was his lot in life, that he was never meant for anything great, just good enough.

Something kept pulling him though.

Inevitably.

Inexorably.

Kris had bought bus tickets seemingly on auto-pilot. He proceeded forward in a daze until he was outside of Sans’. He could see her inside, checking out their old high school teachers’ shopping. Several eons passed as he stood there, an invisible force keeping the young man’s hand pinned by his side.

What the fuck was he even doing? He started shuffling his way to QC’s. Might as well get something nostalgic for lunch so it wasn’t a wasted trip. The troubled college student would have to hurry though, Heaven forbid one of his parents spot him.

“Hey punk!”

Huh somehow there was a worse option. How fitting.

The fishy police woman came sprinting towards him from where she had been directing traffic. Her hasty approach resulted in three car crashes despite only two cars being on the road. “I thought you moved to the city and cleaned up your act! How come I spotted you loitering back there!? Were you jonesing for a trip back to the station?”

“Sorry…I was just leaving…” Kris muttered, not having the energy to deal with Undyne. Of course, this only made the officer press further. “Jeez kid you that upset that your girlie wasn’t on break?”

That stopped his attempted retreat. An unexpected fire being lit. “We’re not like that.” Kris all but growled.

“Fuhuhuhu! Lying to an officer is a crime, you know? Just because you’re off at college doesn’t mean you’re off my radar punk!” Undyne crowed, “I have it on good authority that you two had a date not too long ago!”

Given that his mother barely trusted Undyne to do her job, that left only one person who could’ve slipped the fish this info.

Kris swore he would never confide in Asgore again (even if he kinda wanted one of his crushing hugs right now).

“Are you really going to make a thing of this?” Kris sighed.

“Maybe! It’s a slow day.” Undyne answered honestly, fires from the crashes behind her still smoldering.

“Why?”

“I literally watched you grow up, kid. Is it that hard to believe your old aunty Undyne would want to make sure you stay an upstanding citizen? Keep you from relapsing into your prankster ways?” She smiled, almost genuine. Almost.

Kris gave her a flat stare.

“And with that purple menace being so cheery lately I don’t have to answer calls from concerned parents all day!” the officer adds, before grumbling "Maybe even get to go out once in a while myself.”

Something catches the officer's eye over his shoulder before her toothy grin returns. “Now go do something about that frown on her face before I get any more calls! GRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!”

Kris could only watch in terror as Undyne charged straight into the burning wreckage behind her and began shoving the flaming cars off the road.

“What the actual fuck is wrong with this place.” a voice of horrified wonder spoke from behind him.
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Susie had heard the commotion and went to investigate, the last thing she expected to see was Kris getting harassed by the local PD. Or said police charging headfirst into twisted flaming metal.

Ok that last part was pretty believable, hence her previous statement.

Still, that was only a minor distraction. She had to face the music, and the apple scented boy that was conducting it. Fear and shame roiled in her guts.

“Hey…” he greeted her, “We should probably talk huh?”

“Probably.” Susie agreed evenly, desperately trying to keep her feelings in check. Eventually she settled on donning her old armor, anger. “But you could’ve just told me to fuck off instead of all this.”

Kris looked confused, maybe he didn’t think she was smart enough to catch onto his game? “What do you mean ‘all this’?”

“All this pretending to care BULLSHIT!” She roared, “I get it, I was a bitch to you growing up and you know what? I’m sorry! I was a shitty person! Fuck, most people would say I still am! You win! You’re off to college and living your life while I’m still stuck here like a loser! CONGRATUFUCKINGLATIONS! Did you really have to come back around just to FUCK with me?!”

The dragoness loomed over Kris as she finished her tirade, claws clenched into fists. She had expected his face to be smug or aloof. Instead the young man looked devastated. A traitorous part of her brain wanted to give him a hug and comfort him. Then something seemed to snap in the boy. He doubled over laughing, tears pricking the corners of his eyes.

Susie roughly picked Kris up by his sweater, his feet dangling at least a foot off of the ground. This didn’t deter his laughter, even if he was dangling like a puppet with his strings cut. The mauve bruiser kept trying to look him in the eyes so she could yell some more, but no matter how she moved Kris his head lolled in the other direction. Damn this stupid cute dork! She was trying to be furious here! She settled on shaking him back and forth to try and bring him back to the moment. “YOU WANNA STOP FUCKING LAUGHING AND TELL ME WHAT”S SO FUNNY BEFORE I THROW YOU THROUGH THE NEAREST WALL!?”

Finally the college student managed to get a hold on himself, if only somewhat. “Sooz this whole time I thought you were either mad at me or had gotten bored or annoyed!” Finally using the life in his limbs, Kris reached a hand towards Susie’s cheek. Her touch starved subconscious leaned into it as her brain was working overtime to catch up with his words. “Wait, why would I have been bored?”

Kris winced at that. “It’s…ok how do I put this?” he trailed off. Susie snapped her head back up after realizing how she had been nuzzling into his touch. Her friend? (They were friends again right?) didn’t seem to notice, being lost in thought. When he looked back his eyes did linger on what must’ve been an impressive blush with how hot her face felt. “Tell you what. I can show you something that should help me explain.”

They both stood there as the seconds ticked by.

Susie waited for Kris to show her whatever he was talking about.

Kris kicked his legs idly, waiting to be put down.

“So?”

“So?”

“You going to show me this thing or what?”

“Yea. Well it’s more of a place than a thing.”

“Ok...Well?”

Kris looked down at his feet, and the space between them and the ground. Susie’s gaze followed his and then it clicked. “Oh.”

The taller girl set Kris down with as much gentleness as she was capable of. He still hadn’t moved yet. “Dude what now?” groaned Susie.

“Do uh…do you need to lock up or whatever?” Kris said while pointing back towards Sans’ store. Susie glanced back and shrugged. “Nah bossbones forgets to lock up half the time anyway and with you outta town and me working there who is going to steal from it?”

“Well if you’re sure.” He replied breezily. “Let’s get going.”

Susie followed Kris as he began making his way towards the woods by the church. Both feeling relieved that the air was cleared, at least somewhat. They shared some light banter to try and stave off the awkwardness, footsteps taking them ever closer to a Secret Spot.