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Noelle stood at her bedroom window, wearing shorts with a tank top and gripping a light cardigan over her shoulders. She wasn’t sure what to think right now. It was the middle of the night, and she had made the simple mistake of posting something on her blog about how she couldn’t sleep, thinking no one knew it was her. That no one even knew the blog existed in the first place. Clearly she was wrong, as now Kris and Susie were knocking on her bedroom window at two in the morning with a bag of snacks and a stack of movies she had never even heard of. Kris stared directly at her with raised brows and motioned for her to open the window already, knocking her out of her shocked state to push the window open and hold the curtain aside for them to both climb through.
Kris definitely must have warned Susie ahead of time, as she was much quieter than Noelle would have expected. She took light steps to set the movies next to the TV while Kris emptied the bag they were holding onto the rug in the middle of the room. There were cookies, chips, some fruit and pudding cups, even a few of the high protein granola bars that she would always sneak from the pantry at their house when she was younger.
“What is… all of this?” Noelle sat on the edge of her bed while Susie turned on the TV and immediately turned the volume down close to zero. Kris sat next to her, pulling their phone from their pocket to show her the post she had made less than an hour ago about struggling to sleep. They leaned against her, still not saying a word, while they pulled up a text message they had sent to Toriel, simply asking if they could grab some snacks and bring them to her. It was a bit shocking that Toriel would allow that at this hour, but then she noticed something. It hadn’t been worded as a question, but more so an alert. On top of that, it was unread. They didn’t get her permission, only let her know where they would be. That was less shocking, and very much something Kris would do. Has done. Multiple times since they were kids.
Susie finally got a movie started, just a cheap action film Noelle had never heard of, and looked toward the two on the bed. “Oh come on, you know I’m not going to fit there. Move to the couch, damn it!” She didn’t give either of them the chance to move on their own, though, before she walked over and lifted them both up in her arms. Noelle bit back a squeak while Kris just looked at her with a smug grin and a quiet laugh. Her eyes were wide, like a deer in headlights, as Susie dropped them both on the couch and sat on the other side of Noelle, leaning against her and grabbing the remote.
She couldn’t help but fidget with the end of her cardigan as Susie hit play on the movie. It wasn’t anything Noelle would typically be all that interested in, some sort of slasher. She never handled scary movies well. She sank back into the couch as the movie started, Kris curling their legs up to sit closer to her, their head on her shoulder. They handed her one of the fruit cups, which she accepted with a smile before looking back toward Susie instead. Susie had reached an arm up and around them both, pulling both Noelle and Kris closer to her, the former practically on her lap at this point. Gosh, how had she even ended up in this situation? What was she supposed to do in this situation? Her head was spinning, but she didn’t entirely mind. Susie was warm.
The movie was an older one; she could tell from the lighting. It wasn’t dark or impossible to see anything. Susie wrapped her arm tighter around the other two, seeming to grin a little at the screen. Almost maliciously.
“This is my favorite part right here, watch–” Susie leaned forward a bit, and Noelle turned her head to watch the movie closer. She felt Kris bite back a laugh as they leaned against her, but she wasn’t sure why. Noelle watched the screen as a scene played out. It felt rather dull, just a woman packing up her things to end a late night shift at her office job. She wasn’t quite sure why this would be Susie’s favorite part of the mov-
Noelle opened her mouth to scream at the exact same time that Kris put their hand over her mouth, visibly trying not to burst into laughter after she had practically jumped on top of them. Noelle gripped Kris’ hoodie, shaking them lightly while Susie sat behind her laughing as well. Noelle paused, listening. She had never heard Susie laugh so softly. Susie always had a rather boisterous laugh. It was loud and full, one that you felt drumming in your ears. Right now, though, it was still full and steady, but it was softer. Quieter. Somehow she had managed to tone down her laughing, not just her mannerisms, for the sake of not waking Noelle’s mother.
Noelle quickly climbed off of Kris, sitting back down in the middle of the couch and between the two. She didn’t say a word, trying not to be embarrassed. She had always been this jumpy, Kris knew that, and yet they’d let Susie pick this kind of movie… That had to be on purpose.
Susie pulled Noelle closer to her again, back to nearly resting in her lap. “Okay, it’s my turn. Jump on me next time, or I might get jealous.”
“Next time? Jealous ?” Noelle’s face felt warm and her ears fluttered a bit as she turned away from them both, focusing fully on the movie. Trying to focus fully on the movie. Trying not to focus on the way Susie’s hand was resting on her shoulder, how her breath was brushing against her antlers, how Kris was fidgeting with the edge of her cardigan instead of their own hoodie strings. Trying not to focus on the beating of her own heart as both of them sat so close to her despite the size of the couch and the bed being unoccupied. She wouldn’t think about the warmth coming from Susie or the occasional feeling of Kris’ fingers brushing against her fur where her tank top didn’t quite reach her shorts.
Oh. Wait. She was thinking about it. Distracted by it, even. Enough that when someone in the movie screamed, Noelle squealed in response and hid her own face against Susie’s shoulder, clinging tightly to her jacket. Kris was laughing at her again, she could hear them. They definitely found this hilarious. She lifted her head to look at them, and much to her surprise was met with… a gentle smile. Their eyes were warm, hair perfectly framing their face. The gap between their front teeth that had been there since they were kids was ever present. There was no dentist around here with any idea how to treat a human for them to take care of the gap, but she had never minded. Since they were little, she had always told them it was cute, until eventually they stopped minding it as well. She loved their smile. Their crimson eyes. Embarrassingly so.
She started to look back toward the movie, but Kris sat up first. Noelle immediately looked back to them, watching while they moved closer, laying on top of her. They just crawled over and dropped, it wasn’t even gracious. Noelle just stared at them. Kris stared back. She watched as Susie’s arm lifted up and then came down on Kris’ head, pushing them down into their own hoodie. She couldn’t help but laugh at the way the two showed their affection for each other, in such a different way than they did for her. It was cute. They were both cute. She could stay like this forever.
Another scream caught her attention, and she instinctively latched on to Kris. They laughed again, taking the chance to wrap their arms around her as well and pull her from Susie’s grip. Well, attempt to, at least. It wasn’t working. She wasn’t sure why they thought it would, considering both her and Susie were significantly taller than them.
Susie didn’t take it lightly, though. She huffed in what sounded to be playful frustration, then lifted them back up again. Noelle’s eyes went wide for another time, while Kris just sighed and… went limp? She poked at them while Susie carried them to the bed again, laying down and holding them both on either side of her.
Oh. Noelle wasn’t sure what to do. Was she supposed to lean in to her? Curl up against her side, maybe rest her head against her shoulder? Is that what people did? That’s what Kris always did with her when they got tired. They leaned against her, laid on top of her, tugged and clung to her like they couldn’t bear for her to move even an inch. She never minded it. She loved the closeness she had with them. She would love to have that closeness with Susie as well. Noelle lifted her head, shifting to rest against Susie’s shoulder. Just testing the waters. She felt Susie’s arm wrap around her, her hand resting back on her waist. It was warm. Gosh, she was warm. Noelle, not Susie. Well, of course Susie was warm as well, but now Noelle just felt so warm. Had it been so hot in her room this entire time? She could have sworn the AC was on. Maybe she was imagining it! Surely!
Kris started to laugh again. She looked over to see they’d been watching her. Susie was staring at Noelle’s ears, which she hadn’t even noticed were fluttering just as quickly as her mind was racing. She quickly moved back down, rolling away so her back was facing them both and pulling a pillow over her head. She resisted the urge to kick her legs and squeal knowing they were both there. She could feel her tail twitch. Gosh, she was doomed. She was hopeless. She was beyond saving. She heard whispering.
She quickly sat up and looked to see Kris smirking, something playful glinting in their eyes. Something devious. She had known that look since they were kids. It was the look they made when they were about to pull a prank or do something to embarrass her somehow. Not today! It wasn’t happening! She was not dealing with their stupid pranks today. She was already embarrassed as it was. She had already made such a fool of herself! Susie sat up and pulled on Noelle’s cardigan, causing her to fall toward her with a small yelp. A steady hand was pressed against her lower back, holding her in place. Just a breath away from Susie. She could feel her ears fluttering, her tail twitching behind her. She could feel Kris’ smug expression, their eyes burning holes into her as she stared at the girl in front of her. She tried to keep eye contact. She tried not to look at Susie’s lips, the way her scales seemed to glitter from the little bit of moonlight shining through the still open window.
Kris sighed, almost frustrated. She was about to turn, glaring at them, when Susie’s hand suddenly pressed harder against her back, pushing Noelle closer to fill the gap between them. Her eyes went wide, but she didn’t move. Then her eyes were closed, and she let her focus shift. She focused on the hand on her waist, on the warmth in her chest, on the feeling of Susie’s lips against her own. Until Susie broke away, staring at Noelle now. Her ears were still fluttering, even more now. Kris was behind them, quietly laughing up a storm. Susie didn’t look as confident or violent as she tended to, now sitting with her own expression just as cloudy. Her eyes were unfocused, but hyper focused. Her mouth was open slightly and quirked in a slight smile, something so cute Noelle wished she could get a picture.
Suddenly, Kris popped their head over Susie’s shoulder, looking at Noelle. Their expression now was one she wasn’t as used to. She had never seen it before. Their smile was still warm, she was drawn into it even, but there was something different in their eyes this time. They glanced toward Susie, who smiled back and lifted Noelle off of her lap with ease, then laid back down. Kris was right in front of her now, leaning close. Their eyes really were burning holes through her, the soft crimson being so mesmerizing she didn’t even notice just how close they had gotten as well until their lips met hers as well.
Gosh, she was going to melt into a puddle of nothing but hot chocolate at this point! Their hands found their way around her, one tangled into her hair and the other tightly gripping her cardigan. She felt her entire body lean into them as they kissed her. What was this? Why didn’t she want it to stop?
Kris pulled away from her then, slower than Susie had, and kept staring at her. That look in their eyes was still there. She couldn’t decipher what it was. Then they laughed. They wrapped their arms around her tightly, laughed, and fell back into Susie. Noelle felt Susie’s arms wrap around them both again, and she knew she was going to short circuit. She pushed herself out of both of their grasps, getting off of the bed and backing away to catch her breath.
Then a scream came from the TV once again, from the movie she had completely forgotten was on, and she jumped several feet into the air and fell right onto her back. Sprawled across the floor, the most embarrassed she had ever been. Gosh, could Saint Nick himself just come kill her already. She reached up to grab a loose blanket from her couch and pulled it over her face, ignoring the laughter from both Kris and Susie that rang in her ears. Well, not really ignoring it. She loved the sound too much. Just listening to them both made her heart race and her ears flutter all over again. Nothing felt real. Maybe she was dreaming. She picked up a granola bar and took a bite of it, earning another snort from Kris. It tasted good. Guess she wasn’t dreaming.
Kris got up first, walking over and, once again, falling on top of her. Like they always did. She just sighed, wrapped her arms around them, and looked over at Susie. She was smiling. That smile was… Oh, it was a new one. Noelle liked that smile. She had never had a smile like that directed toward her. Sure, she had seen Kris and Susie exchange smiles like that, and she had smiled at the two of them in that way when they weren’t looking, but having it directed at her was new. It was nice. She felt…loved. So very loved.
She wrapped her arms tighter around Kris, who laughed into her hair, lighter this time. Gentle. Everything about this was so gentle.
“Well if you guys are going to sleep on the floor for whatever fucking reason, I’m going to eat all the pudding and take the bed.”
Kris shot up as soon as Susie finished speaking, and immediately launched themself at her like some gremlin. Noelle couldn’t help but laugh at the two of them.
Maybe this could be her new normal. She wouldn’t mind that.