Work Text:
“Kris…” Susie looks around at the destroyed church, a once place of cleanliness and purity now reduced to smashed pews and torn banners. Their adventures in the dark world were nothing short of chaotic and life threatening. With both of them almost dying trying to save the world from the Roaring Knight.
“Was Toriel… Even…” she turns her head back to Kris, who stands there motionless. It was hard to tell if they were thinking or uncaring. But Susie was sure it couldn’t be uncaring after everything that happened.
The two teens don’t speak; there's no need to. They were both thinking the same thing. If Toriel wasn’t at choir like they thought, then where was she? Could the Knight have taken her to the shelter just like Undyne?
They couldn’t be sure what happened to Kris’ mother; what they did know is that it was late, and they had fought enough battles for today. It already sucked that the food in the dark world never seemed to count for real hunger, only health.
The reptile-resembling monster turns around and starts walking towards the church doors. “... Let's just go” she leaves her human friend inside, waiting…
Kris walks— or rather, lets their soul make them walk around the church. Their soul had an interest in secrets; every little thing had to be interacted with, every secret boss had to be fought no matter how tired or sore the host was. It was just the way their soul worked, and they could do nothing to stop it.
They approached a door, their soul wanted them to turn the knob. So they obliged by turning the knob and doing nothing else. They couldn’t see how their soul reacted, but whoever was controlling them right now must be freaking out.
A bit more walking around satisfied their soul, and they eventually left to go find Susie.
Susie was leaning on the wall outside; pushing herself off once her eyes spotted Kris despite being covered by her thick hair.
They both say nothing, just exchanging glances before they both start walking down the sidewalk back home. The moonlight shined down, illuminating their path with its familiar white glow.
“It smells nice…” Susie mentions. “After the rain…” No response. Everyone was used to Kris not responding to them. That's what made them such a great listener, no response, no judgment.
They eventually reach Kris’ house. The lights were on inside and the faint sound of music was seeping through the walls. Susie was still behind Kris. Strangely, nobody had ever seen her go home. But she couldn’t be homeless. Kris knew she had parents… Or at least they thought so…
Kris opened the front door and walked inside the house, a warm comforting feeling washing over them both. Only then did Susie speak again. “So… uh… do you mind if I…”
The warm atmosphere completely flips to one of discomfort. Suddenly, nobody was sleepy anymore. Toriel was there, dancing, with the convenience store “janitor”. The music was almost too loud, and splashes of wine fell onto the floor from the goat woman's glass as she swayed with the skeleton monster. She seemed so out of it, while Sans on the other hand seemed completely in touch with reality.
Susie gave Kris a strange look, trying to see how they felt, but they averted their head from the situation. Their fists were clenched at their sides and their posture had returned to a hunch.
Toriel laughed as she danced, seeming to have the time of her life while her brain was clouded from drinks. “I haven’t danced the “jitter bug” like this in ages!” She practically shouted, her smile widening. “Well, you aren’t bugging me to jitter away” Toriel found that hilarious, laughing louder than before. “Why… why didn’t the skeleton…” Her sentences had multiple pauses between them. How much wine does one drink to act like this?
The two adults laughed and danced while telling horrible jokes, not noticing the children that had just walked in. Only once Susie said something was their presence acknowledged.
“Are… we, uh… interrupting? Something?” Susie couldn’t look at Toriel this way. There was something about the position she was in that reminded her of… Nevermind. It just gave her a bad feeling.
Both Sans and Toriel looked at her, then at Kris. Toriel seemed happy to see them. “Oh Kris! Snoozie!” She walked over to the record player and turned it off. Sans’ skeleton face always wore a forced smile, making it hard to tell how he felt.
“No, No you are not interrupting anything!” She accidentally spills a little more wine onto the carpet, the carpet Kris used to sit in front of with their big brother and play video games on while their parents talked in the kitchen… The scent of butterscotch cinnamon pie, the sound of laughter, and Asriel beating Kris’ ass at Smash Brothers filling the atmosphere.
“We were looking for you at church, and…” Susie mentioned while looking back at Kris, who still had their head turned away. “Sorry, sorry I cancelled choir practice today due to the rain.” She placed a paw on her cheek, gazing at the short skeleton for a moment. “And…” She turned back to the children with a bright blush on her cheeks.
“Err, Kris, Susie, have you met Mr. Sans?”
“Heya,” Sans waves a little; he seemed very laid back.
“Oh Susie! Did you want to stay over again?” When she stepped closer, it was more noticeable how drunk she actually was by the way she swayed over. “You could just sleep in, uh, Asriel’s bed!” She giggled.
Kris’ hands shook, their breathing became heavy as the air was too thick to breathe. Their happy life, the happy life they had always hoped would come back, was gone. They would never get to experience the comfort of a loving family again. That little sliver of hope that they would all live happily ever after together like a normal family was gone… F O R E V E R.
Kris suddenly turns around and runs, surprising everyone. “Kris!” Susie shouts, but Kris doesn’t listen, their legs moving faster before they could think about anything else.
Puddles splashed around them, dampening their socks as muddy water crawled into their shoes. They didn't care how uncomfortable it was, or maybe they just didn’t notice. Thoughts of how their life was before flooded their heads. The joyful peace they felt, the control they had.. Now they are just… a toy. An emotionless husk for their soul to control, a monotone human for people to assume that they didn’t care about what anyone did. Well, they weren't okay. They weren't okay with their mom getting drunk with some guy that's been here for only a few days, they weren't okay with hurting Noelle, and they weren't okay with being a host for whoever to control.
Kris slides across the mud to stop themself, looking at the lake just a couple centimeters shorter than the ground they were standing on. Their reflection stared right back at them, and the soul wanted to interact with it. “... It’s not you,” Kris responds right before their legs give out and they sit with their knees up to their forehead. “It's me… I’m me…” They clawed at their chest, their hands almost burning as they rubbed against the fabric.
“Kris!” a familiar voice spoke, followed by a sigh of relief. “There you are!” Susie's voice rang in their head, but it eventually fell out the other ear. Their head had no room to process the words being spoken to them
The reptile monster walked up to Kris, nudging them playfully. Kris could feel the smooth skin of her hand. “You made me hold my breath for you, dumbass!” Kris doesn’t respond to the nudging, but is now out of their endless spiral of thoughts.
Susie eventually senses the mood and takes another deep breath. She looks up at the sky, examining the stars that always calmed her down on sorrowful nights. “How are you?” The question was genuine, a simple small talk starter turned into a genuine question.
Kris felt the soul respond, forcing out a “It’s been worse” with their usual dull voice, trying to hide the lump in their throat. ‘Keep it neutral’ after all, they didn’t want to burden Susie with emotions she didn’t know how to comfort.
Susie looks towards the ball of Kris for a moment, nodding. “Yeah, I understand” she puts her hands in her pockets and makes an attempt to comfort her friend. “I was expecting to see anything, Kris. I was even prepared for your mom to turn me into a pie for not bringing you home on time.” She chuckled a little before sitting down with Kris, cautiously wrapping her arm around their balled form.
“It sucks.. I'm a little pissed too, y'know.. We spent the whole day fighting, breaking our own backs trying to save your mom, just for it to turn out she was never there. Getting fuck drunk with the new guy too.” Kris nodded. They weren’t upset about that part really, but trauma dumping on Susie isn’t a good idea. Besides, it’s better if she doesn’t know.
“You…” She spoke again, resting her head on top of Kris’. “What do you plan to do?”
The soul took a little more time to make a decision, but eventually made Kris speak. “I’ll hang out outside” That sounds so sad. Why are you making me say that??
“You’re kidding,” she responds, leaning off of Kris. “It’s dark, wet, and gloomy out here. I don’t want you getting sick, dumbass”
Kris uncurls from their ball, but still looks straight down at their legs. “I’ll stay overnight at the school” Okay yeah try not to make me sound homeless please.
“What? The school? In the dark world.” Kris remembers how Ralsei told them and Susie that the dark world could be a second home, a place to forget about the troubles in real life. That sounded perfect and not at all homeless behaviour as long as you know there is actually a place to go.
Susie looked away. “Alright then. If that's what you want; I don't mind doing a bit of vandalism for you," she laughed, patting Kris on the back before standing.
Once they got there, Susie picked up a rock from the ground. “I’ll stay here. ‘Case your mom decides to look for you, ‘kay?”
Susie leaned back and whipped the rock at the window, destroying the glass. “Don’t get hurt” She bends down on one knee and locks her fingers together, allowing Kris to step into her hand and climb through the window.
Kris lands on the floor with a thud; sprints towards the closet door with a singular goal in mind, get to their own room. They had never mentioned it, but they really appreciated Ralsei making a room for them, since they never had a room of their own with all the decorations they could ever want. It made them feel just a little more wanted.
They jump into the dark void inside the supply closet, sparkles washing over them as their clothes change from the green and yellow sweater they usually wore into heroic armour that clanked every step they took, their shoulder scarf flapping behind them.
They start to slow down when they reach the main part of Castle Town, their breath a little heavy as they try to collect their emotions and not have a breakdown in front of all the citizens.
“Kris?” They hear a soft familiar voice say. “Kris, what are you doing here? N-Not that I don’t enjoy seeing you!” Ralsei mentioned as he tread softly towards Kris, his hands behind his back like usual. Kris stood still and acted as normal, expressionless but could not hide the small amount of emotion that seeped through. And to their dismay, Ralsei noticed. He always notices when people are feeling down, after all his goal is to make everyone feel their best.
The Darkener tilts his head to the side, his hanging ears following with the motion of gravity. “Kris,” he tried to see under their bangs to read the emotion in their eyes. “Are you okay?”
Something about that singular question, those few simple words said in that genuine, concerned tone, made Kris pause. They weren't okay. They were never okay. But how could they ever express it? They were a pathetic excuse for a human.
“K-Kris!? You're shaking!” Ralsei sounded panicked, shifting forward to try to touch Kris, but they refused, stepping back. Their soul wanted to do something else. They wanted to go explore around.
The recruits in the surrounding area caught Kris' attention; some were staring at them. No, that was the last thing they needed, an audience to see them crumble like a statue that finally broke after many years of wear.
Specifically, Rouxls Kaard noticed. Nobody liked that.
“Kris, art thou okay? thou art not lookinge so goode,” he states with his usual wannabe medieval accent. Despite how annoying his two-mouthed smile may be, his eyes showed concern and confusion. And you have to give the guy credit for at least being interested in how well Kris was doing.
Eventually, Kris could overcome the soul, sprinting as fast as they could past Ralsei, almost bumping- or tripping over Lancer. Their armour clanked together as they ran, rushing up the stairs with Ralsei not far behind. “Kris-” they slam the door in Ralsei’s face and lock it. Luckily, Ralsei had returned their rooms back to normal, so they were able to have their own space once again.
Kris could hear the faint sound of Ralsei and maybe some others discussing something. They are talking about me. And they knew it. They gripped their chest once again, but this time reached their hand inside to grab their soul, ripping it out with that familiar bling and a horrible painful grunt. They quickly shove it inside their drawer, slamming it shut before jumping onto their bed in frustration.
Eventually the voices stopped, the sound of footsteps fading out behind the door reaching Kris’ ears with a distasteful echo rattling in their skull. It left an unsettling silence for them to sink into. They wrapped the surrounding blankets around themselves, trying to find comfort, and forget about how the convenience store guy was dancing with their mom… hanging out like they didn’t exist… Like their opinion didn’t matter…
—--------
“You want me to.. Comfort Kris!?” Tenna gasped out in shock. Ralsei nodded. “Mr. Tenna, you have been there all of Kris’ life! Even if it doesn’t seem like it, I think you’re the one that understands Kris the best.”
Tenna’s antennae drooped a little, he wasn’t disappointed, just extremely anxious. He tugged at the collar of his suit like a nervous cartoon character. “Ralsei, fluffy prince.. I-I’m not sure if I’m the right Darkener to go comfort a teenager. Sure, I know Kris well but only when they actually.. Watched me… a-and teenagers are 
” his hands were placed on the sides of his TV head as his screen turned black and his upper body rotated side to side.
“Tenna!” Ransei jumped to get the overly tall man’s attention again. “Sorry Mr. Tenna, but Kris isn’t letting us in and I’m really concerned…” Ralsei sighed, hiding his face a little further under his scarf. “I understand if you don’t want to..but can you please try?” Ralsei looked up at the TV Darkener with pretty pink eyes that he obviously wasn’t doing on purpose, either way it was working.
Tenna straightened his tie and cleared his throat, turning his box head to look behind him for a moment before turning back to Ralsei. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to try and talk to them” “Yay!” Ralsei cheered, his arms stretching outward away from his torso. “While you do that I will go make a cake! Maybe a fresh cauldron cake will cheer Kris up if their good pal Tenna can’t.”
Tenna smirked, a little more confident than before. “That sounds 
, Ralsei boy!” c’mon Tenna you got this. It’s just good ol’ buddy Kris! Nothing to be worried about. Not like you tried to kill them and had a complete BREAKDOWN in front of them! They probably forgot about that!
—--------
…
Maybe they were being dramatic…
Their mom deserves to be happy too, she was in an unhappy marriage for a long time after all. Taking care of them must be hard. Such a waste of time they were. All they did was sleep in class, they gave up all their hobbies and stopped playing the piano at church. So disappointing. What a selfish child!
The sound of knocking interrupted Kris’ thoughts. Kris heard a soft, nervous knock. “Kris?” a familiar static voice said, his voice having the faint sound of snow on a disconnected TV. “May I come in?” he asked, concern laced in his speakers.
The lightener sat up in their bed, looking towards the door. They contemplated if they actually wanted Tenna to come into their room. He seemed fine now, but it’s well known that he has major issues himself, after all one of the quiz options was "I'll never do anything else I’ll only watch TV” during one of his episodes. There was another knock. “Are you still there? Are you sleeping?”
Kris makes the decision to get up and unlock the door, peaking out just to get a look at Tenna. He looked nervous, fiddling with his gloved hands while down on one knee to be at least close to Kris’ height. “Hi Kris Cross How's my favorite 
contestant doing? Feeling a little under the weather?” Kris stared at Tenna, their emotionless expression all Tenna could see. Well, except for one thing.
“Your eyes are red…” Kris flinches a little, wiping their eyes and looking away. Tenna opens the door a bit more, having to crouch to get in.. “Kris, what's wrong? Ralsei told me you ran into your room and you looked distressed?” Kris stepped away from the door and Tenna, still looking down so their hair would cover their eyes.
Tenna shrinks a little to fit in Kris’ room, a cartoony slide whistle could be heard while he shrunk.
He closed the door before walking closer to Kris, his steps cautious.
“Kid.. Please, talk to me… I watched you grow, I’ve seen you 
, I’ve seen you 
” Kris’ expression turned into one of grimace, their lips piercing together and their hands moving to hold their arms.
“I know you, Kris Cross.. I’ll understand whatever you tell me” Teanna sighed. “But if you don’t want to talk about it.. I’ll still understand” Tenna looked a little disappointed but made sure Kris couldn’t see it. They don’t need to feel bad about not wanting to talk about it-
Just as Tenna was about to open the door and leave, he felt a slight pull at his red suit, Kris looking to the side as tears welled up in their eyes. “Please stay… I can’t be alone…” with it Kris thought, their voice trembling. Tenna flinched a little, his Antennes straightening like exclamation points. “Oh Kris…” He reached down and carefully picked up Kris, finding it difficult to hold Kris in a respectful way so he held the teenager under the arms until they reached their bed, placing Kris in his criss-crossed lap and moving the hair out of their face. “Do you wanna tell me what's wrong?”
Kris sniffled, wiping their face with their sleeve. Sitting here, in Tenna's hold… It made them feel a lot better.. It made them feel.. Safe and comforted.. Something they haven’t felt in a long time. Even if Tenna was deranged, he had been there when the family was fighting, there to distract Kris with their favorite cartoons, there when.. Everything was okay.
“I..” Kris responded after a while. “Mom was um… Getting drunk with another guy and I guess.. It made me uncomfortable so I ran here…”
Tenna seemed a little bit upset at this, he didn’t like it when things changed and this was certainly a massive twist. “D-Does your dad know about this-” “They are divorced..” Tenna’s metaphorical jaw dropped, how much had happened since he was last turned on. “Oh man.. Everything's changed.. Heh… I never knew…” Tenna seemed just as distressed with the change. “What- What made you uncomfortable about it, Kris?” He asked, placing a hand on their back to try and sooth them.
Kris took a deep breath. “I.. I was just worried. Me and Susie… We thought she was in danger but it turns out she was just.. At home.. With a guy that hasn’t even been here for a week…” Tenna nodded, looking down at Kris and analyzing their every feature. “Is that all..?” He asked, not in a dismissive way no, but in a way that questions if Kris was telling the whole reason why they were upset.
“... No…” They respond, picking their words. They didn’t want to make Toriel out to be some evil mother, but they also knew they wanted- needed to talk about their feelings.
“I.. I suppose I have felt like my feelings never mattered..” They looked around their room, examining the trophies above their bed, and the dark empty place on the opposite side of the room. It was like their room back at home but they were the one getting everything they wanted, not Asriel. “Asriel got a lot of attention- Not a lot.. Just enough that I could notice they at least looked at Asriel differently then they did me… I am the only human… I don’t really belong”
Kris’ voice shook along with their hands. Their head hung low once again. “Sometimes I would.. Hide away in other rooms.. I would leave the sink running in the bathroom and make a small amount of noise. I hoped that maybe.. Somebody would get concerned and come to check on me…”
“Nobody came…” Kris didn’t realise they were crying until Tenna wiped their tears away with a handkerchief he had in his dress jacket. “Oh Kris, that sounds 
I’m sorry I wasn’t there to give you all the love and attention you needed” Tenna felt guilty that he didn’t even know Kris felt like this, he wanted to be there for Kris and it seemed he couldn’t when they needed him the most. “Yeah…” they responded, leaning against Tenna and returning back to their neutral expression and monotone voice. They didn’t wanna get all mushy with Tenna even if they did like receiving the comfort he gave.
The TV Darkener frowned, not knowing how to comfort Kris further but desperately wanted to do something.
His face turned to snow for a moment, the static sound catching Kris’ attention. His screen flicked to a man in a colorful suit sitting on a chair. The quality was low, but Kris recognised who it was through the gaps in their hair.
“It's you I like, It's not the things you wear, It's not the way you do your hair. But it's you I like” The man's voice was calming, the song he sang brought back memories of when Kris was flipping through channels, feeling particularly left out as their family was discussing how Asriel’s horns were growing. Even if the setting wasn’t as entertaining as any cartoon they’ve ever watched, something about the man’s song and the fact it seemed like he was looking directly at Kris, it made them feel a lot better about not fitting in with the rest of their family.
“I hope that you'll remember. Even when you're feeling blue. That it's you I like, It's you yourself. It's you. It's you I like.” Kris was now crying again, but this time with a smile on their face. The screen became static again before turning back to Tenna’s face. “Thank you, Tenna… For being there for me all those years”
Tenna became a little surprised but eventually flashed Kris a smile. “That makes me so 
to hear, Kris Cross” Tenna held the teenager close, but their size difference made it feel like Tenna was holding an average sized child. And Kris liked that, it felt like a part of them was missing and this was that part, the simple pleasure of knowing you’re cared for.
And for now, that's all Kris needed.