Work Text:
Kris has been acting Weird, like, they're always kinda Weird, but this is different, she can tell.
Recently, a new guy moved in, or more like back in. Some College age bloke Susie couldn't honestly give less of a shit about, personally, but Kris definitely doesn't like him. They haven't actually said it yet, but everyone with a single thing rattling around in their heads can tell it pretty much immediately.
They've been agitated since he's come into the picture, just a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any moment. They avoid him like the plague, and to their credit, he does the same damn thing, just with a hell of a lot less malice in it, weirdly enough.
She can already tell they have some history, and not just because he's lived here before.
Pretty much everyone, Susie included, have been stepping on egg shells around Kris for weeks now, and she's sick of it. Sure, everyone's entitled to their own privacy or whatever, but this feels big, significant, she's got to know what's going on with them.
And that's how she's ended up here, in the Dreemurr family living room for what's probably the millionth time. Miss Toriel was thrilled to have her despite all the tension around town as of recently, but had to leave shortly after for a "staff meeting" at the school, trusting Susie not to cause a mess while she's gone.
Kris is still up in their room, and Susie is left downstairs, mental preping herself for wherever this conversation will go. She's really going in completely blind, she's got basically no idea what's actually going on, just that it's serious. For all she knows maybe he killed a guy, or maybe she's just blowing this whole thing out of proportion, and nothing's actually wrong.
There's only one way she can think to find out, asking Kris themself. She finally decides to just bite the bullet and starts hiking up the creaky stairs up to their bedroom, feeling the anticipation and uncertainty eating away at her guts.
When she finally makes to up to Kris' room she knocks out of anxiety first, something she never does.
She waits for a second, listen intently until she heard a click, and the door creaks open. Kris themself doesn't poke their head out like they usually would whenever someone knocks on the door. Susie hesitates for just a moment before pushing the door open fully.
She finds Kris sitting off the side of their made bed, their arms wrapped around themself and their legs dangling off the edge. They're completely still, unnervingly so, and she can't see their face clearly behind all that hair in the way.
She swallows before she musters up the balls to start talking.
"Hey man, you good..?"
She tries to sound casual, and fails miserably, sounding even more nervous then she would've if she'd just come out swinging. It's not like she's got the balls for it yet, not good with emotional shit, she'd say.
Kris doesn't respond, just barely shuffles a bit in their seat, not looking up her, Susie feels like she's fucked it up already, what "it" is.
"What's up with you? You been acting off for weeks now, what gives?"
Now that gets a bit more of a response, they grunt and shrug, obviously not willing to talk just yet.
Susie already feels frustrated, she wants to know what's wrong with them so badly and they're giving her nothing, just grunts and shuffling around. She doesn't want to push them too far, but God damn does she need to know already.
"Seriously, dude, what the fuck has been up with you?"
She tries again, this time being more direct.
"I'm- ahg, I'm worried about you, dude. I mean like, I know you've always been weird, but I can tell there's something really up, spit it out."
Kris groans, annoyed by her insistent prodding. They know she's just worried about them, kind as she always is, at least to them. They finally manage to say something in response.
"It doesn't matter."
They try to dismiss it, hoping she'll just drop it and let them curly even deeper into themself. Their voice a mumbly and quiet but the irritation is clear nonetheless.
Susie is not at all that satisfied with that answer, now she's definitely convinced there's something really really wrong with whatever happened between Kris and that guy.
"Like hell it does! I'm serious here man, what happened?"
Her patience with this whole thing is running thin, though she's smart enough to tell that she should be careful about this, no matter how eager she is to finally know what's the big deal.
"I'm being serious, Suz, it's really not a big deal."
They try once again to deflect her further, yet they can't actually see a world where she'd give it up that quickly, she's determined to a fault, leaving them feeling cornered, emotionally speaking.
She itches to know what they mean with that cryptic shit, what "doesn't matter"? Does it really?
"What isn't a big deal? What's been going on with you and that bloke?"
She all but yells at them, hoping it'll actually get through to them how serious she is about getting to the bottom of whatever this is their not telling her, to help them, fix whatever is up, maybe.
Kris is shaking at this point, she can't tell if their gonna cry or blow up on her, to witch she quickly figures out a second later.
Kris finally gets up and looks at her, their face painted in an ugly scowl.
"Why does everyone keep asking that!? Why do you care so much? Can't you just leave me alone for once?!"
They shout, pulling strands of their hair out in frustration and shaking even more then before.
Susie is left speechless for a moment, she expected them to crack eventually, but she definitely wasn't expecting that. It stings, she'll admit, but that still won't stop her.
She's finally getting through at least, she hopes this'll be worth it, to understand what the fuck is up with them.
"I wanna know 'cause I care about you! You can't just shut everyone out like this!"
She pleads, feeling just as frustrated and lost. She feels something boiling, just beneath the surface, and so desperately wants to dig it up.
"Well stop! I already told you it doesn't matter!"
They retort, their voice getting louder as more cracks start to form. She finds this a weak attempt to shut her up, though it still hurts they won't just talk to her already.
"It obvious does if you still won't just tell me"
This is starting to get repetitive, she hopes she's actually getting through to them, to figure out what's really happening, but they won't stop fighting her on it.
She might not know everything about Kris, but this is different, she needs to know why their acting like this all of a sudden.
"It's none of your business! I don't owe you an answer and I sure as fuck don't owe him shit!"
They scream yanking some more of their greasy hair out with it.
This isn't about Susie's snooping anymore, it never really was, not that that really matters when their yelling at each other.
"I'm not saying you owe anything to me or him! I'm just worried about you! Please, what's going on?"
She pleads, actually asking please for once. Her voice gets quieter. For the first time in their whole friendship, she's the calmer one in the room.
Kris' face scrunches up further, they let their face fall into their hands, just cradling themself for however long it maybe.
Susie reaches her hand out to pat their shoulder, then catches herself before she can touch them, it's probably not a good idea to try until they actually ask her to.
"Fucking spineless, prick.."
They mumble into their hands, their voice as shaky as the rest of them, she thinks they might actually start crying for real, not like she'd blame them.
"Asshole..."
They mumble again, this time a little louder.
They step back and fall back onto their bed, Susie follows them, sitting up next to their crumpled up form. They're still shaking, and breathing weird, but the bed feels safer then standing.
The both of them just sit in silence for what feels like hours, but is actually around ten minutes or so.
"God, I fucking hate that guy"
They eventually spit out, she wants so badly to as why, but it's probably not her time to talk, they need their space to think.
"Spineless, couldn't face his own shit, wish he could've just stayed gone.."
Now they're crying, tears start welling up in their eyes the angrier they get, not yet ready to run down their face.
"Couldn't keep it in his fucking pants"
Susie feels her guts coil into themselves at that last comment, she isn't stupid, she's seen a fair bit of shit in her life, she just hopes she's wrong about this, god does she prays she's wrong.
"Didn't he jump towns when you were, like, nine?"
Is all she manages to get out, already feeling sick but trying to sound cool as she waits for an answer, and fails as miserably as before.
Kris just curls tighter into themself. They don't look at her, they don't even make an attempt to say anything, and somehow, thats even worse.
She's going to be fucking sick.
"Oh God. Fuck, dude, I- fuck"
She can't force anything else out, doesn't even know where to start trying to find the words.
Kris breathing gets even more unsteady, they can tell she's already figured it out and it feels suffocating, they feel exposed, rotten. They start to cry quietly, as pathetic as it makes them feel
They both stay in that same silence for ages, not knowing how or what to say, what could they? Nothing she can think of saying sounds right in her head.
It takes everything in her not to punch something, it's not the time, no matter how eager she is to run out and beat that guy till he can hear his grandma's voice.
"..I'm sorry"
They finally break the deathly silence that has fallen onto the room, feeling cold all of a sudden
"You ain't got anything to apologise for, it isn't your fault."
It feels so good to hear that from her, from anyone really. The shame boiling beneath their skin never let them tell anyone, too ashamed. They can already feel their throat closing up, cutting their voice from them.
"It was never your fault.."
That's all it takes, that conformation that it was never them, nothing that they did, or said, for their quiet tears to turn into weeping, much less quietly now that they're not even trying to hide it. She's not gonna judge anyways, she gets what it's like to just need to cry already.
The moment is tender, like they've been cracked open and let be seen, fully, and without punishment. The only sound in the room being Kris' weeping. After a minute, they sit up and practically jump her, wrapping their arms around her in a hug they have been needing for so long.
She doesn't say anything, just wraps her massive bear arms around them and hugs back, burying her snout in their mop of choppy, messy hair she loves so dearly.
The two of them practically melt into one, pressed so closely to one another they don't know where they end and she starts. It feels incredible, finally being seen and heard in a way that makes them feel warm instead of sick in the head.
"Thank you."
They mumble, it's muffled by Susie's chest, yet they find they don't really care, she can hear them, and what's all that matters to them right now.
----
The guy leaves town again as fast as he came back, packs his shit in the middle of the night and dips just as he did before. Though, most do say they could hear the sound of things breaking the night he fled, nothing comes of it anyways, his house is found empty by the next morning.
And Susie swears up and down she doesn't know shit, so it's left to be brushed under the rug. Good riddance.