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...god damn it. He was being overly humble again. Even in one of their few moments of relaxation and downtime, Ralsei was still putting himself down.
It was subtle this time around. He wasn't so naïve that he would keep acting like an overly innocent idiot baby around everyone else. It was obvious that the Prince was more than capable of intense magic, building, leadership (when necessary), and learning from his mistakes, whenever possible. Ralsei could look out for himself.
...but he didn't ; that is what pissed Susie off the most .
Ralsei invited Kris and her – as well as Lancer and a few other Darkner pals – to a lighthearted get-together the next time the two Lightners paid Castle Town a visit. At first, the party was fun! The energy was high as many of her pals shared tea, finger sandwiches, and an enormous vanilla-frosted strawberry cake between each other. Of course, Elnina and Lanino spent most of their time making disgustingly sweet kissy-faces and murmuring sweet nothings to each other to really pay attention to everyone else. Susie chose to ignore them, for the most part, for no other reason than it made her want to puke up her tea and food. Envy? What the fuck was that?
At least Lancer was a good enough distraction, as he provided multiple laughs. Not just to Susie, but to the entire table. He bounced around from spot to spot, barely able to keep his butt in his 'designated chair'. This wasn't unexpected of the young Darkner, and Rouxl's attempts at keeping him calm only made matters more chaotic. It didn't help that he never sat in a seat, either.
' Can this guy even use his ass for anything other than standing? ' Susie pondered, already polishing off her slice of cake before Ralsei even finished serving everyone their portions. If it were just her, Kris, and Ralsei, she'd already be reaching for seconds. Since this obviously wasn't the case – and because she didn't want to make a scene in front of Nubert – she quickly decided against it, opting to join in on conversation while sipping – okay, slurping – her tea. She was surprised at how sweet it happened to taste, even without her adding anything to her cup. ' Okay... does Ralsei only know how to make sweet stuff?! ' She thought, absentmindedly listening in on the current topic. She wasn't complaining, of course.
She shouldn't have been too surprised with Ralsei proving, yet again, that he was a very excellent host, yet the fact that she only saw him take one singular bite of cake in between small, polite sips of tea caused her to forget about literally everything else. After all, the Prince elicited an extremely cute expression of enjoyment as he ate his own culinary creation. Why didn't he eat more of it?!
...what? So she kept track of how much Ralsei ate. So what?
Susie attempted to keep thoughts of the infuriatingly cute Prince out of her mind as she interacted with everyone. Kris was always dozens – if not hundreds – of laughs. They even taught Ralsei a few rude jokes to repeat sometime! Most of which involved the infamous “man from Nantucket”.
“K-kris!” Ralsei gasped at one point, hiding his muzzle with his scarf as everyone else howled with laughter. “H-how crude! I can't say that word!”
“Ho ho ho!” Lancer laughed uproariously, reaching an arm around the flustered goat boy. “Let Daddy Lancer help you, Toothpaste Boy!”
“...Daddy WHO? ” Kris repeated suddenly, obviously shocked with the sentence. They began to double over in their chair, barely able to hide back their snickers as they held their stomach. Susie was... less subtle, pounding the table as she let loose immense bursts of laughter. Porcelain clattered and clanked as she did so, though thankfully didn't cause more damage. Aside from spilling her own teacup off the side. Clearly, she was far too amused to even worry about the hot liquid falling near her lap.
“ BWAHAHA! YUH-YEAH- AHAHA! C-c'mon, 'Daddy' Lancer, tell us the word we shouldn't say!”
Throughout all of this, Rouxls merely watched with a semi-concerned expression, peering over at Ralsei as they stammered in confusion. “...huh? Uh... I don't think 'Daddy Lancer' should be saying that word, either!”
' Oh god, he doesn't know!' Susie thought, wheezing at this point as she gripped the tablecloth tightly with her left hand. 'FUCK me, Ralsei, you gotta talk to Queen more often! ' It was weird to think that Ralsei knew what ' that word' meant, but didn't know the connotation behind 'Daddy'. Selective knowledge, she figured.
“Hey, don't worry!” Lancer continued, clearly enjoying the raucous laughter and attention he was receiving from his friends. “Lesser Dad has given me a whole list of tier four swears I shouldn't repeat! And this one seems like the most fun! Listen!” The young boy stated, clearing his throat before taking an incredibly deep inhale, puffing out his cheeks as he readied himself to scream the word in question.
“... CUN -”
“ LANCER! ” Rouxls Kaard interjected, suddenly slapping a hand over his mouth. A familiar 'SPLAT!' noise was elicited as he did so, though the tall, blue weirdo merely laughed with an uncomfortable tone. “Erm.... ahahah! Forgeteth everythinge he doth said! He knoweth not what he speaketh of!”
Within a second, however, Lancer retaliated against the lanky 'puzzle master' by chomping his thick, rounded teeth onto Rouxls' finger.
“... CHOMP! ”
Rouxls let out a high pitched squeal, immediately letting go of the young boy's face as he ran away in a hyperactive, playful manner.
Naturally, the sight was more than enough to cause the three 'heroes of prophecy' loads of laughter. It was especially hilarious when the 'Duke Of Puzzles' began to chase after him, with an infuriated expression. “AAAAUUUGHH THOU... THOU WRETCHED CHILD! ”
Within seconds, the 'Lesser Dad' started to play a one-sided version of 'Ring Around the Rosie' by chasing Lancer around the table. The two Lightners began to laugh at the sight, as did the 'Dark Prince', who was gripping his own teacup while pretending to not be.
“Hehehe! R-rouxls, stop! Y-you're ruining the t-tea party..!” Ralsei giggled heartily. Susie was quick to notice his feet kicking gleefully. Her cheeky smile became more subdued, pretending as if she hadn't noticed.
“I... am ruininge NOTHING!” He insisted, diving for the bouncy, bubbly boy. Obviously, he missed, causing Lancer to run straight out of the room, heading... elsewhere. “Tis be-eth this boye who squandereth our fun times!”
“Guess you'll hafta catch me to prove it, Lesser Dad!” Lancer called out, laughing louder as Rouxls grumbled even louder, chasing the smaller Darkner out of the room.
“AUGH! K-Kris! Dear friende! Mine fellow ' Puzzle Enjoyere! ' S-surely thou will h-helpeth me on mine quest to capture thine bouncing baby boye... right? ” Rouxls pleaded, already kneeling down and bowing his head as she begged to the human Lightner.
Susie watched as Kris let out a small laugh, wasting no time in standing on their feet, nodding eagerly. Not before grabbing their slice of Ralsei's cake and taking a large , eager bite of it. So large, in fact, that they might as well have finished it in one go. Susie was shocked... yet impressed. She felt as if Ralsei felt the same way, even as they started to follow the goofy, blue Darkner out of the room.
“S-splendid! Followe me, Sir Kris!”
“ Ho ho ho! ” Lancer's laugh echoed. “Two blues don't make a right, y'know!”
“LANCER! Stop teasingth me!” The so-called 'Duke of Puzzles' whined, being tailed by the human. By this point, many of the others had already left the room, either in playful pursuit of the young Darkner, or – in the case of Elnina and Lanino – 'other reasons'. Seeing the display, however, Susie couldn't help but immediately stand up from her seat, screeching the chair loudly.
“Yo, are we playing games now?!” She asked excitedly, her adrenaline rushing, ready to follow pursuit of the gangly, high-pitched Darkner.
“Oh, games? Please let me join!” Ralsei added in, standing up from his chair. Hearing this, Susie couldn't help but freeze up, watching as the goat stood up, ready to follow Kris. Leaving behind his portion of cake. His uneaten portion.
This is where Susie felt her earlier worries. Her frustrations. Games were fun, and everyone's enjoyment was palatable, but something stopped her. Was it her nerves? Her thoughts? Possibly. Before Ralsei could exit the combined bedroom that happened to belong to her and Kris, she spoke up.
“...Hey,” She started up, her voice a bit too loud for comfort. It was enough to stop Ralsei in his tracks, immediately facing the purple girl with both hands folded politely behind his back.
“...o-oh, sorry, Susie! Did you need something?” He asked happily, bearing a smile that she knew was less than genuine. Not that she'd tell him. She had her own agenda on her mind.
“Ralsei,” She started, her hair barely shadowing her eyes as she reached for his plate. Even up close, she could tell that his one, singular bite was less than satisfying for her wants. “You still didn't finish your cake.”
Without missing a beat, Ralsei closed his eyes, bouncing on his toes as he beamed eagerly – perhaps overly eagerly – to Susie. “It's okay! You can finish it!”
...fuck. FUCK . There he went again. Too humble to accept something. A gift. As usual . Even his own cooking wasn't safe from his selfish selflessness! Her seemingly neutral expression became more serious, boring into the Prince's pink eyes. Her gaze was... overly serious. Enough to throw him off guard. ' Wrong answer, bucko. '
“I ate mine, dumbass,” Susie replied with a steady, monotone voice. She didn't want to scare Ralsei away, after all. Her nerves wouldn't allow her to do so if she wanted to! Swearing came naturally to her, however, and the short, adorable prince didn't seem to react one way or the other.
' Just eat your damn cake already!' She yelled within the confines of her mind, growing more frustrated as Ralsei momentarily covered his muzzle with a sleeved hand. For a moment, Susie felt as if she was about to go feral. She knew this overly accommodating cutie-pie (where did that come from?!) would refuse her advances. Before he even had the chance, her smile became a bit wider. More... unhinged.
“...do you want me to goddamn spoon-feed you or somethin'?” Susie offered, half-joking as she began to sweat and blush. She'd sooner throw herself into a meat grinder than-
“Susie, I-” Ralsei stammered, alerting her attention. For a brief moment, she expected the usual Ralsei excuses.
' Nooo, it's too sweet, you eat it! Noooo, I made that for you and Kris! NOOOOOO, Kris would love eating that slice! Kris this, Kris that, Kris, Kris KRIS! ' Susie thought, already starting to bite her lip. She nearly expected to start bleeding. Her hands trembled, ready to stand up and fetch the non-committal human.
That was until the supposed Prince froze up. His ears and cheeks began to flush darkly and deeply, rapidly at that. At first, Susie imagined she did something wrong, seeing Ralsei turn his body away from her tall, muscular frame.
“...Ralsei?” She asked, beginning to grow paranoid. The goat boy only shivered in place, his fingers attempting to grip his own hands tighter.
' ...what the hell is he even thinking of right now? ' Susie thought, starting to grow worried.
' YES? NO? YES, NO? NO, YES?!? ' Ralsei thought to himself, attempting to hide his blushing face from Susie. God, this was such an embarrassing question! Did he need to be spoon-fed? No! Obviously not! He wasn't a moron! He knew how silverware worked!
...yet here was Susie. Tall, strong, intimidating, kind Susie. Asking if he needed to be fed! By HER?!
Ralsei's fantasies filled with the tall, purple girl, who was shoving spoon after spoon of his own cakes. A part of him wondered if she was requesting this because she wanted to make fun of him. To point and laugh and smear frosting on his fluffy fur while trying to make others look at her attempt of 'artistry'.
Most of him however... figured she'd 'do the right thing'. There was only one way to find out..
With his cheeks and ears glowing a deep, glowing pink, he clenched his eyes shut, burying his mouth within his scarf as he turned back around. It was so selfish of a request, and yet... the thought alone brought him joy. He was willing to take the chance. Before Ralsei could even begin to fight against his own want of joy, his mouth reacted faster than his brain, his head nodding violently. It was as if he had a dangerous, venomous bug on his head that he wanted to shake off.
“ Yes ! Y-yes..! Okay..! S-sure!” He yelped out, his voice pitched higher than was usually expected of the helpful young Prince. Being spoon-fed? Ralsei wouldn't go against this request! Not if someone else wanted to do this. Not if Susie wanted to do it.
Susie stared at him with a wide, shocked expression, apparently not even sure of what to do as she stared at the squirming, blushing goat boy. Even with his eyes shut tight, he knew he had said the wrong thing. Before he could bleat an apology, however, Susie let out a loud, bemused snort. At first, Ralsei thought she'd laugh cruelly at him. She'd deny him. ' WHAT THE FUCK , RALSEI?! ' she'd yell, smearing cake into his snout. ' ARE YOU GODDAMN- '
“Okay, okay! ” The real Susie laughed, barely able to hide her amusement as she stepped closer to the 'lonely prince'. Her left hand held his saucer of cake, while the right hand held a teeny tiny dessert spoon. The reptilian girl was surprisingly delicate with holding such small silverware. Susie's tone was still humorous, holding disbelief in Ralsei's reaction. “...what the hell is up with you? ”
Ralsei chose not to answer, clenching his eyes tight before they teared up with embarrassment. His knees buckled, causing the prince to kneel on both knees before the larger, stronger, muscular girl. It was as if his body was succumbing to her rough tone. ' ...I feel so stupid and selfish! ' Ralsei admitted to himself, beginning to anxiously clench the hem of his robes. ' Please, please just refuse this! Oh, h-how absolutely awful of me! No Lightner should ever bend their knee to- ”
“Damn, quit nodding already!” Susie chuckled in disbelief, already kneeling on one knee as she stepped closer to the fluffy Prince of Darkness, readying a spoonful of vanilla-frosted strawberry cake. While clearly flustered, she was also somewhat... worried. “I'll help ya... just don't cry, arright?”
It was at this point that his nostrils took in the delicious scent of his own 'cooking', already feeling his stomach growling. Susie was already starting to push a spoonful of cake towards his mouth.
' THIS IS STUPID! WHAT THE HECK/HELL AM I DOING?! ' Ralsei and Susie thought for a brief moment, before following through with each others' actions. This meant that Ralsei immediately chomped upon the spoon, chewing the cake and sucking the frosting off of the spoon in a dainty manner. The purple dragon girl watched, still in disbelief.
' ..FUCK! ' Susie thought, already pulling her spoon away and readying a second portion of baked goods to Ralsei. ' YOU'D BETTER STOP, OR ELSE I'LL... I'LL..! ' She thought heatedly, biting her lips as the goat boy continued to excitedly eat every portion Susie fed to him.
Susie's thoughts froze, watching as Ralsei savored the flavor of frosting on the spoon in his mouth. It was as if it were a rare occasion. As if he weren't supposed to be doing this. His eyes were clenched closed as well, though his noises weren't avoidable.
“...mmh!” He exclaimed, sniffling somewhat. It almost appeared as if he were overwhelmed with emotions. From the way he squirmed, it was clear he was savoring each and every mouthful. The silver spoon clattered gently as he licked and chewed it clean.
“...and another one,” Susie offered gently, readying yet another spoonful of cake before gently pushing it forward. What the FUCK was she doing? A few days ago, the thought of spoon-feeding anyone would make her want to jump into the nearby lake. However, watching Ralsei eagerly munch upon spoonful after spoonful of baked goods only softened her up. She was on one knee, watching as the little nerd graciously savored his own cooking. If she didn't know any better, she would've thought he was... licking the spoon? “Tastes good , right?”
“Mhm,” Ralsei quickly answered, his voice muffled as he kept his eyes shut. His blush was growing deeper and deeper with each second. Naturally, Susie was quick to notice this, feeling equally as embarrassed as the goat was.
' STOP BEING SO GODDAMN CUTE! ' She yelled within her mind, shivering and shuddering in place as she stared at Ralsei. Her spoon clattered against the saucer that held his cake, barely able to contain herself.
' Oh god, she must hate this, ' The poor prince thought to himself, savoring and gulping down the overly sweet flavor of cake frosting. He might as well leave now, right? Surely, he had eaten enough at this point. Darkners didn't need this sort of treatment. They didn't deserve it. Did they? It didn't stop Susie from feeding him his own magical baking. ' Cut your loses, Ralsei..! ' He thought momentarily, wondering if he should just dart for the doorway, chasing after Kris, Lancer, and Rouxls Kaard. ' Just join the others- '
Ralsei's thoughts were interrupted by another spoon of delicious, vanilla-strawberry cake entering his lips. He didn't even realize his mouth was open!
“...weirdo,” Susie huffed playfully, barely able to look away from the sight of what she was allowing to happen. Her tone was gruff, yet... delicate. Gentle. Loving.
... loving?! Where the fuck did THAT ... well, why wouldn't this whole ordeal be loving? Here she was, feeding spoonful after spoonful of cake to a guy who didn't even think he deserved a bedroom . It was obvious to her that she had to harbor some sort of love to him. She certainly wouldn't be doing this for anyone else.
“...mhmm....” The submissive prince replied softly, agreeing with her previous statement. He was still in disbelief of what was happening, yet still accepting the actions of his words. Yeah, he was a 'weirdo'. If that was the case, however, he'd happily be a 'weirdo' forever. Whatever made Susie continue to show her kind, gentle affection to him. Ralsei kept his eyes shut as she continued, unsure if he could look into Susie's pretty face without feeling even more flustered than he did currently.
Susie felt somewhat fortunate that Ralsei's eyes were closed. Even if her moves were delicate and slow, it was clear that she was feeling a lot of pent up 'cuteness aggression,' something she never even knew she experienced! Her composure was growing weaker with each piece of cake fed to the fluffy boy, her purple cheeks burning darker and hotter than they've ever been. Her own body was starting to shudder, once again beginning to secretly argue with her instincts.
' He looks so damn happy... I think?! He hasn't pulled away yet...little guy loves this... ' She pondered, watching Ralsei thoughtfully chew his current piece. Susie felt her hands shake nervously, a new, different idea spawning in her brain. ' ... no . This is a dumbass idea, NO. I don't even know if he'll like it! ' Ralsei's sweetness was becoming too much for the supposed 'tough girl' to bear. Even when he wasn't trying, he still managed to turn her heart into mushy slop. Why did she love it so much?!
' Do you dare? Do you fucking dare?! ' Susie thought, panicking inwardly as she began to bite her lip again.
“...'kay. A-another bite, comin' up,” She said aloud, her hushed voice surprisingly anxious. She quietly set the plate and spoon off to the side, steeling her nerves. ' Now or never..! '
“Uh huh...” Ralsei responded, equally as quiet. With his eyes still shut, he began to open his mouth, readying himself for another piece of cake. Instead of baked goods, however, the fluffy prince got a taste of something very unexpected. In his opinion, it was much better than cake.
Susie had shoved her face forwards, bumping her lips against Ralsei's and kissed him. As the girl held the smooch, his eyes shot open, incredibly surprised with this turn of events. His blush burned redder than apples and hotter than all of the stars in the sky, almost in disbelief of what was even happening! Susie's lips were pleasantly soft, and it only took a few moments before Ralsei found himself melting longingly into the tender moment.
“Mmmh..!” He exclaimed with a muffled squeak, his brain completely fried of any and all conscious thought that didn't have to do with the girl he was kissing.
' Can this boy get any fluffier? Even his damn lips are soft! ' Susie mused, barely able to think straight as her stumpy tail began wagging like crazy behind her. She imagined that, if Ralsei had one too, it'd be doing the same (and it was).
A few seconds felt like a few hours, though finally the two pulled away. Their faces hovered merely a few inches away from each other's, both panting gently, looking into each other's eyes. It was as if the two were trying to gauge the other's reaction. The two were clearly flustered, though there was definitely a shared tenderness between them.
For a bit, neither one knew what to even say. Neither one had really kissed anyone before, nor did they expect to do that with each other. It was... pleasant. Ralsei finally found the nerve to whisper, “T-thank you...”
Susie slowly wrapped her left arm around the prince's back, slowly pulling him into an embrace as her other hand started to curl into his. “...want seconds?” She whispered back, her face still warm and comforting, yet still held remnants of a teasing smirk.
The answer came in the form of Ralsei initiating the kiss, this time, feeling a lot more prepared for the action. Susie was eager to follow through, closing her eyes as the two tenderly held and smooched each other. One kiss turned into two, then two into three, with each new kiss lasting longer and longer. The two felt incredibly safe and vulnerable with the other, and almost didn't want the moment to end.
Susie could still taste the sweet frosting on his tongue.