Chapter Text
Winter, Saturday, and the Holiday house: a pretty good combination for Kris and their brother.
It had become a habit for the Dreemurrs that on Fridays, after school, they would go with Dess and Noelle to their mansion (even if they denied it was theirs) to spend the afternoon there. Only this time, Toriel, their strict and worried mother, had granted them permission to spend the weekend there.
As Kris opened their eyes, they immediately recognized the countless stars decorating their favorite deer’s room, Dess. After an afternoon of video games and cards, everyone had fallen asleep in Dess’s room, as it was the warmest in the house.
Kris sat on the floor and looked around, noticing how, due to their movement, they had left Asriel uncovered, who was sleeping peacefully beside them, just like everyone else. They also looked toward Dess’s bed and saw the Holiday sisters asleep there. It seemed that, like dominoes, everyone woke up little by little after them, with Asriel being the first.
—Good morning, Kris —Kris felt their older brother’s arms wrap around them affectionately. They didn’t dislike Asriel’s hugs; in fact, it was the opposite, but they knew perfectly well that if they showed it, he wouldn’t let go all day… or maybe all week.
"Good morning, Noelle and Dess" —a small mischievous smile formed on Kris’s face as they completely ignored Asriel.
—I won’t let go until you say good morning —he replied, threateningly.
«And now, what will our hero do, prisoner of his sticky brother’s claws?» Dess laughed as she stretched on her bed and yawned. «Good morning!» As she finished speaking, a radiant smile appeared on her lips, dedicated to Kris.
—Hey, I have the right to be clingy —Asriel protested while still hugging Kris, whose arms hung limply with a faint blush on their cheeks.
—Shut up… I want to sleep —said a completely drowsy Noelle, surprising everyone present, who all turned to look at her. It took her a few seconds, but when she realized, she sat up in bed, alarmed. —S-sorry… um… good morning, everyone —
It was clear that no one expected that from her, but the laughter that followed her apology calmed her enough.
"Good morning, Asriel" —Kris finally said, resting their head on his shoulder, being released after one last squeeze from their brother.
Kris and Dess offered to get breakfast for the four of them, although in reality only Dess offered, and Kris was dragged along, wanting to get downstairs as soon as possible to drink a full glass of chocolate syrup.
Dess went down the stairs, closely followed by an impatient Kris.
«Well, Krismas, I suppose you remember what you owe me, right?» This question left Kris stunned for a few seconds as they thought about what they had gotten themselves into, quickly remembering their bet with Dess.
Their foolish youthful mind had believed they were clever enough to bet that they could beat Dess at Uno at least once in five attempts… They were utterly crushed. The worst part: they had bet a photo of themselves; fortunately, they were smart enough to refuse giving a baby photo, which was what Dess had originally wanted.
"I can’t believe I didn’t win a single round…" —they said in a defeated tone as they followed Dess into the kitchen, heading straight for the fridge to terrorize the chocolate syrup bottle.
"Asriel has one in his wallet, ask him" Kris said while pouring themselves a glass of pure syrup.
«I’ve already seen that photo a thousand times, so either you give me one, or I take one of you» —Dess said confidently while preparing breakfast for the four current inhabitants of the house. Carol and Rudy had gone to the hospital for a routine checkup, or at least that’s what they told their beloved daughters.
"Well, unless you have a camera" —Kris almost choked when they drank their entire glass of chocolate syrup in one gulp, leaving it on the counter and starting to pour another. "You’ll have to wait until I get one."
While a stunned Dess recovered from the shock of seeing such a tiny human devour the syrup in her kitchen, she turned her attention back to the four sandwiches she was preparing.
«Sometimes I forget your obsession with our syrup» —she let out a small giggle when she finished saying it, pausing curiously as she saw the human walking away distractedly.
Kris had noticed the beautiful piano decorating the Holiday kitchen, and they walked calmly toward it. As they settled onto the small piano bench, they saw Dess approaching, ready to be a happy listener.
The memories of when Dess had taught them to play the piano flooded their mind. Weeks went by until Kris finally mastered the instrument, all thanks to her. As a token of gratitude, Kris wrote her a song; nothing extravagant, just a simple melody expressing how they saw her.
Their hands moved almost instinctively, positioning themselves on the keys to begin the song. A simple yet beautiful melody filled the room as Kris’s face displayed a small smile. They glanced at their only audience: a smiling girl with closed eyes, humming along with the rhythm.
As the song faded into the background, Kris kept their eyes on the older deer and hit a wrong key loudly, almost as if fury had overtaken them for a single second, reminding them of an inconvenient reality.
Kris stayed still for a few seconds before feeling Dess take their hand to guide it to the correct key. She still had that radiant smile on her lips.
«I don’t remember the song ending there» —Dess said.
A calmer Kris started playing again, resuming the performance. The song filled the room along with the shared identity joy of the two young ones, though it ended soon since there wasn’t much left; nevertheless, it didn’t erase the smiles on their faces.
As they both returned to the kitchen counter, Dess kept humming the song. Each took two plates, preparing to leave the kitchen and go upstairs.
Dess kicked the door open, surprising everyone and interrupting their conversation, though the goat and the deer didn’t seem to care once they saw the food.
—Hey, why do I have less than you? —protested a annoyed Asriel when he noticed his sandwich was missing a quarter, while Dess’s plate had a sandwich and a quarter.
«Because, duh, I’m older than you» Dess said with a cheeky smile.
—Just because you’re 16 and I’m 15 doesn’t mean you can steal from my sandwich —Asriel said as he tried to recover what had been taken. Dess didn’t resist, having intended to leave it from the start.
Several hours later, after a hearty lunch, the four friends relaxed in Noelle’s room, as it had the console for Dragon Blazers. The scene showed Asriel helping and guiding Noelle, who had control at that moment. Behind them, Kris and Dess sat on the couch, both watching the scene with a certain fondness.
«You’re 13, right, Kris?» Dess asked, receiving a simple nod from them.
«So next year you and Noelle will have classes with Professor Gerson» Kris looked at her curiously; they only knew that Mr. Gerson was a local writer.
"Does he teach?" they asked quickly.
«Yes, he started last year, and he’s amazing» Dess’s face lit up as she remembered her first classes with the turtle.
"If Dess says he’s great, he must be" Kris’s sarcasm was obvious, though deep down, they believed it too.
«Little devil» Dess quickly wrapped her arm around them, pulling them close, messing up their hair as Kris laughed and struggled in vain.
"Let me go!" —they said, laughing.
«Not until you say I’m great» Dess demanded.
"No negotiating with rebellious deer" —Kris said, still laughing, trying to free themselves.
«Fine then» Dess retaliated, making them fall onto the couch and start tickling them. «Come on, say I’m great» she demanded again.
"You're great, you're great" —Kris said, laughing so hard while trying to stop her hands, which finally ceased after a few moments.
«Not so hard, was it?» Dess’s confident voice showed her happiness. Though used to receiving compliments, she always valued those from the human the most.
—Hey Kris, your turn to play —Noelle’s voice echoed in the room as Kris moved to take the controller from her hands.
—You two have gotten really close lately —Asriel said, sitting beside Dess, watching them play. «And if you’re not careful, I might take it from you» Dess’s laughter didn’t stop, even after Asriel lightly nudged her shoulder.
—Look, in this part it’s better to use fire spells than ice —Noelle played the same role Asriel had moments before.
"But ice spells are cooler" Kris protested, determined to use ice attacks in the Ice Castle.
—You only say that because Dess uses them —Noelle’s complaint fell on deaf ears; even if Kris knew she was right, ice attacks still worked.
To end the night, everyone decided to watch a movie in the Holiday living room, and at the request of the more timid ones, they chose a more family-friendly film.
Although Kris had complained at first about wanting a horror movie, they were so absorbed in the film that they didn’t notice when Dess got up from the couch or when she returned, sitting beside them with food.
«Here comes the airplane» —Dess said, moving a french fry up and down toward Kris’s mouth. Though it took them by surprise, they quickly ate it. Dess’s laughter followed shortly after.
"Food is food" —the human said, unbothered, turning quickly back to the movie, which seemed to interest everyone except the older deer, who couldn’t take her eyes off the human.
The memory of Kris’s words from hours ago invaded Dess: "unless you have a camera" She quickly got up and walked toward the stairs.
—Is something wrong? —Asriel asked, interrupting Dess’s action.
«I’m just getting something from my room, you guys continue the movie, I won’t take long»
As she entered her room, she cursed herself for being so messy. She started rummaging through her things, hoping the camera she’d been gifted on her birthday hadn’t been lost.
While moving her music CDs from her desk to her bed to search better, an image filled her mind: the human, or rather, the human in a photo. A smile also appeared on her lips.
When she finally found it, she hurried downstairs without bothering to put back everything she had thrown around looking for her camera, which she had used only four times.
She tried to make as little noise as possible while walking behind the couch, hoping to take the photo when Kris was unsuspecting, failing in her mission.
"Where did you get a camera?" the human asked, looking at her.
«…»
"…"
The movie in the background added a humorous touch to the scene, especially since the respective siblings hadn’t noticed it.
«Smile» —Dess said as she raised the camera and pressed the button, taking a photo in which, against all odds, Kris appeared smiling, and their beautiful red eyes could be seen, or at least that’s what the deer thought while admiring the photo.
"Are you going to spend the whole movie staring at my photo or what?" —Kris’s question snapped Dess out of her trance, unaware of how many seconds she had been staring at the photograph.
«It’s just affection» —Dess whispered to herself as she carefully put the photo in her wallet, sitting next to the human. This time, closer than when she had gone for the camera.