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“Susie,” Toriel called from the kitchen, “would you mind giving me a hand with these dishes?”
Kris and Susie exchanged confused glances. Usually, Toriel would ask Kris to help her with chores—which they did obediently, if reluctantly—rather than trouble their guest. Then again, Susie had been visiting the Dreemurrs’ so often, now, maybe Toriel had forgotten she was an outsider.
“U-um, sure thing!” Susie replied. Still, she pulled a face at Kris as she stood from the couch.
Kris didn’t offer her any sympathy. Instead, they smiled smugly, pleased to have gotten out of chores without even trying. Susie flipped them the middle finger—Kris’ smile only widened—and then made for the kitchen before Toriel could call her again.
Toriel had already begun cleaning the dishes in the sink full of foamy water, her apron on, sleeves rolled up, and pink rubber gloves up to her elbows. She smiled gently at Susie as she approached, while Susie did her best to act casual, as if that tender expression didn’t make her heart race.
“Could you please dry the dishes and then put them away for me, dear?”
“O-of course.”
Susie quickly got to work, her reluctance to disappoint Toriel overriding her frustration at being roped into doing housework. She diligently but carefully dried each dish that Toriel polished, doing her best not to accidentally dent anything under her own strength, or chip it with her claws. Susie usually ate out of disposable aluminium and plastic, premade food she either swiped from the store or a vending machine, when she wasn’t pilfering Kris’ lunch; she wasn’t used to handling such expensive yet fragile ceramic.
Admittedly, it wasn’t only the risk of breaking things that made Susie nervous. She hadn’t had the best experiences with trying to do chores in the past, and she was all too used to her father belittling her for her mistakes. Toriel, however, was kind and patient like she always was, and Susie found herself relaxing her guard, the motions of cleaning dishes soothing her in a way she’d never quite felt before.
Halfway through the pile of dirty dishes, Toriel spoke up. “Susie, there is something I would like to ask you,” she said, and while her expression and voice were soft, Susie immediately recognized the serious teacher undertone.
“Wh-what is it?” Susie asked, her heartrate kicking up a notch. Her mind rapidly filed through memories of the day, trying to pinpoint where she had gone wrong ahead of time.
As if sensing her panic, Toriel smiled reassuringly at her. “I have noticed that you are spending a lot of time over at our house in recent times,” she began, still gentle. “Which is not to say I mind—in fact, things have been much livelier with you around.”
Susie opened and closed her mouth, lost for what to say. She hadn’t been expecting this conversation. She’d been putting off thinking about it, even though she knew it was inevitable…
“Still,” Toriel went on, her smile wavering as her concern became audible, “I cannot help but wonder…Susie, is there something going on at home that is making you stay over?”
“Oh, uh—no, nothing like that,” Susie said, immediately. “It’s just, like…my dad works pretty long hours, y’know? And, uh, it gets kinda lonely in the apartment without anyone else there…”
It wasn’t a complete lie, even if Susie still felt bad for feeding it to Toriel. Her dad did work long hours, trying to scrounge up enough money for them to live off, even if a significant amount of it would end up going towards alcohol. It wasn’t—it wasn’t entirely his fault. He had an addiction, and he was struggling to kick the habit to provide them some stability. He disliked moving around as much as Susie did, after all. Even if neither of them had still unpacked many of the boxes from when they’d first moved in…
Toriel narrowed her eyes a little. “And your father does not mind that you are away from home so much?”
Susie didn’t miss how Toriel didn’t question if there was anyone else. Well, of course she wouldn’t, right? She was a now-single mother raising her gremlin of a human child, too.
“Nah, he’s alright with it,” Susie said, truthfully. “As long as I, like, attend school and don’t get into trouble and all that stuff, he doesn’t care what I do in my spare time.”
He knew she’d always come crawling back to him, eventually. He was the one person in her life who’d never abandoned her, and he assured her he wouldn’t leave like her mother had done. Real family’s gotta look out for one another, he’d say, patting her on the head, while she’d stand there stiffly. Nobody else understands what it’s like, eh, kid?
Toriel nodded along; if she doubted Susie’s words, she didn’t show it. “Well, I am glad to hear that, Susie. Regardless…”
She handed a freshly scrubbed plate to Susie, but when Susie reached out to take it, Toriel carefully intercepted it with her other hand. The glove was warm and fragrant from the hot, soapy water.
“…if there is any trouble going on at home,” Toriel said, firm but no less kind, “you are welcome to stay here for as long as you need. I will do what I can to help, all right?”
Susie swallowed. “U-um, sure. Th-thanks.”
Toriel smiled, pleased, and let go so Susie could accept the washed plate. Her warmth lingered even after Susie dried her hand; she told herself it was just the water.
Eventually, all the dishes were cleaned, dried, and returned to their respective drawers and cabinets. Toriel rewarded Susie’s help with a large slice of butterscotch pie, freshly baked that evening. Susie’s chest felt tingly inside as she carried her plate—and one for Kris, too—back into the lounge.
“Dessert’s up,” Susie announced, handing Kris their plate before reclaiming her seat at the couch.
Kris accepted the plate, but they rested it in their lap instead of digging in. “Why did you lie?” they asked in a murmur, almost drowned out by the TV’s audio feed.
Susie’s fork froze midway to cutting a piece of pie. Sometimes, she seriously hated how perceptive Kris was. They always seemed to be their sharpest when it concerned her, too. It was annoying. Inconvenient. They never understood when Susie wanted to be ignored, instead.
She raised an eyebrow at them. “I didn’t lie.”
“You didn’t tell the truth.” Kris reached up to adjust a lock of their bedhead, which was their way of saying to Susie, I saw that bruise you’ve been trying to hide.
Susie gritted her teeth. She was sorely tempted to turn the conversation on them and point out their hypocrisy, but she beat the impulse back, instead. She’d already gotten on Kris’ case about their self-destructive escapades, and neither of them needed nor wanted the reminder.
“Look,” she hissed, lowering her voice, “do you want me to get kicked out of my apartment?”
Kris’ shoulders tensed. “No,” they mumbled.
“Then shut up and let me handle this, okay? We’ve already got one noise complaint from the neighbors. I have enough to worry about as-is.”
Thankfully, Kris took the hint and didn’t say anything else. After sulking in silence for a while, they picked up their plate and started to cut themself tiny forkfuls of their slice of pie, chewing slowly with their gaze half-heartedly focused on the TV. The giant monster movie was B-rate, with poorly aged special effects, but it was something to whittle away time on, at least.
“Maybe I shouldn’t stay the night,” Susie said, without prompt, after she’d devoured her slice. “Since your mom’s suspicious and all.”
“Stay,” Kris insisted. “She won’t do anything if you’ve told her it’s nothing.”
They’d know better than anyone else, Susie supposed, but she still couldn’t fully trust it. And that sucked, because she wanted to trust Toriel would stay in her lane. Would keep smiling at her, being kind to her, and letting her into this house without complaints. Questioning nothing, changing nothing.
“At least go to Castle Town if you have to leave,” Kris added.
“I didn’t mean I was going to go home,” Susie said, quickly. “Just, tell your mom that.”
The subtle downward curve of Kris’ lip was all Susie needed to know they didn’t quite believe her. And…okay, maybe that was warranted, now she’d shown up at their doorstep hiding a bruise more than once.
Kris got halfway through their slice before they set their fork down again. Susie threw them a concerned glance; they usually ate Toriel’s pie, if nothing else, with consistency.
“What is it?” she asked.
Kris hesitated, staring down at their plate. “It’ll be lonely if you go.”
Susie looked away, her face warming. She didn’t know why, of all the things she and Kris got up to together, this was what embarrassed her the most. Kris could always go to Castle Town and cuddle up to Ralsei if they got lonely, so…why did they keep picking her? It had to be just because she was more convenient. Right?
She tried to play it off with a sneer. “What, you need me to scare off the creatures living under your bed?”
Kris smirked. “Yeah. I need a big, strong dragon to protect me.”
Susie wanted to pretend they were simply joking around. It was easier to accept than Kris honestly asking for her company.
“Well, I guess if you’re that helpless, I wouldn’t mind sticking around,” she said, breezily. “No monster’s better than a dragon when it comes to guard duty, anyway.”
Kris’ expression softened out, and that definitely didn’t make the heat in Susie’s face flare up. Not at all. At least, they took mercy on her, returning to chip away at the remaining half of their pie slice.
Susie rubbed the heel of her palm against her forehead. Ugh, hanging out with this kid—and Ralsei, too—really had made her turn sappy. The worst part was knowing she didn’t actually hate it, at all. Kris wasn’t exactly the best bedmate—they drooled, they hogged the blankets, sometimes kicked her awake in the middle of the night, and then they had the gall to say she snored—but Susie hadn’t realized how nice it felt to have someone else asleep against her. Thin arms settled around her waist, hugging her close; their breath tickling her scales; their weight over hers, light yet solid. Reassuring. It baffled Susie so much. She was a vicious monster, a violent beast among beasts, yet Kris wasn’t afraid of her one bit.
At last, Kris ate their whole slice, which Susie was pleased to see. She was even more pleased when Kris passed her their plate, letting her clean off all the crumbs they’d left behind. Then Susie gathered their dishes and carried them into the kitchen.
Toriel was reading some romance novel at the dining table; she looked up and smiled when Susie wandered in. “Will you be staying the night again, dear?”
“Um, yeah,” Susie said, as she set the dishes in the sink. “I mean, Kris wants me to, so…”
“Oh, of course,” Toriel said, tittering affectionately behind one hand. Then she creased her brows a little, taking on an air of maternal stern. “Just remember, do not get up to too much mischief before bed, all right? You both have school tomorrow.”
Despite herself, Susie blushed. “Yeah, um—I’ll do my best,” she said, laughing nervously and scratching the back of her neck. She knew it would be an impossible task, but who was she to say no to Toriel?
She scurried back into the lounge and flopped beside Kris with an exaggerated sigh. Kris smiled at her knowingly.
“Don’t say anything,” Susie growled, pointedly jabbing a claw at them.
Kris held up both hands in surrender, as if saying, Wasn’t going to. Susie huffed and rolled her eyes.
They watched the movie to its end. Over its course, Kris edged close enough to Susie to lean their head on her shoulder. Susie drew them snug against her side with an arm around their waist, weakly convincing herself it was less hassle than trying to dissuade them. Kris was smaller and lighter than her, anyway, so it wasn’t that bad.
Susie didn’t want to get used to this life, knowing it was going to inevitably come to an end, yet she couldn’t help herself. It was warm in this house, there was delicious home cooking, and the people in it were needlessly kind to her. She hadn’t done anything to earn or deserve it, but maybe, it was okay if she indulged herself for a little longer.