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Christmas: the most joyous and festive occasion of the year. An occasion taken very seriously by the residents of Hometown. Festive lights hung from every house, perfectly decorated trees, streetlights adorned with wreaths and bunting. It was no surprise, really, given Carol was the mayor and all. But still, Susie had been taken aback.
In the various towns and cities she'd lived in throughout her childhood, none had taken Christmas anywhere near this seriously. In some places it was merely a corporate cash grab, in others it was celebrated by a few festive families — Susie's was not one of them. Thus, her Christmas knowledge was scarce.
The sounds of Christmas songs rang in her ears, deafening against the ceaseless chatter within the Holiday mansion. She'd been invited to the annual Hometown Christmas party — the first one being celebrated since she moved in to the town. Noelle insisted she just had to attend, stressing everyone would be there, and she did not lie. The generously sized home was packed, it was complete chaos. Despite being dragged along by Noelle, the deer girl was now thoroughly occupied entertaining guests, and had left Susie alone. Well, alone with Kris.
The human was hunched in a corner, hands over their ears, gaze fixated on their feet tapping against the floor. They'd been this way for at least a good 10 minutes, and the party had hardly started an hour ago.
"You okay dude? You look- uh... You look like you're havin' a pretty freaking rough time right now." she commented, looking down at her best friend worryingly.
"...loud." is the only response she was afforded.
She sucked air through her teeth "Ah, yeah. 's pretty loud huh? You wanna see if we can hide out in Noelle's room for a bit?"
At this, Kris cautiously turned their head towards Susie, giving a meek nod. Though they still didn't lift their head enough to make eye contact. This was the only confirmation she needed to begin pushing her way through the crowds of people.
Susie did not like crowded areas, she felt like her large monstrous frame took up far too much space, more space than she could ever deserve. But thankfully the one upside was that when she wanted people to move, they moved. In no time, she was tapping on Noelle's shoulder.
"Hey, uh-"
Susie's voice immediately broke Noelle's focus on her conversation with... one of the Cattenheimers.
"S-susie! Gosh, I'm so sorry! I've gotten a little wrapped up in-"
"It's fine! You got guests to entertain. I was just wondering if me and Kris could crash in your room for a bit? 'S kinda rowdy down here."
"Oh... uhmm, yeah sure!"
Susie could tell Noelle's response was half-hearted, as she began getting dragged back into her interrupted conversation. But still, it was permission! So Susie quickly began to make her way across the room again where Kris awaited.
It wasn't long until she was back by the side of what was now a curled up ball of what she called her best friend.
"Hey, Kris! Psst!! Kris!" Susie started, poking and prodding to try and get the human to unfurl themself from their position in the corner. "Noelle said we can go up to her room! Let's go already!!"
Suddenly, they stood. Clutching on to Susie's arm for support — a request for her to lead the way. And so she did.
The pair hugged the wall in order to squeeze past the swarms of party guests, briskly made their way up the staircase, and soon arrived at the door of Noelle's room. Susie began to crack it open and step inside, but just as she did, Kris tugged on the sleeve of the arm they'd been hanging on to.
"'Sup dude? Everything okay?" Susie inquired.
Wordlessly, Kris responded by gesturing towards the ceiling. Susie's eyes followed, wandering up until her gaze landed on something attached atop the outside of the doorframe.
"Uh... What's up with that weird ass twig?" She joked.
At this, Kris smirked. The kind of smirk they only reveal when they're about to get up to trouble... or make fun of Susie. "Don't know what a mistletoe is?"
"A "miss all toe"?? The hell would I know? Is this another one of these dumb Christmas traditions??" She said, irked at Kris's teasing tone. She'd become privy to a number of strange Christmas traditions in recent weeks. It was like there was a never ending list of insider knowledge about the holiday, and Susie was the only one in town left out.
Kris continued to smirk, a slight giggle mixed in their tone. "When two people stand under a mistletoe together..." they began, pausing for dramatic effect.
Susie scoffed. "What? Are we cursed now or something?? Didn't know you were so superstitious!"
"Nah." They moved a little closer to Susie, now grasping her arm with both of theirs in a half-hug. They gazed up at her slyly. "We're s'posed to kiss."
Susie's eyes widened. "Buh- WHA!" She recoiled backwards — well, as much as she could considering Kris was still clinging to her. "That- That's so DUMB!" she eventually managed to sputter out. "C'mon, let's just head inside already. You weren't feeling good, right? You need to rest."
Kris pouted at this, whining a little. Susie immediately let out a quiet grumble. She recognised this behaviour all too well. This was how Kris acted when they wanted something from her — half of her snack, a piggyback ride home — this behaviour was always a bad omen. But no matter what, there was no way she could've prepared for what she was about to hear next.
"I'd feel much better if I kissed you, though~"
"KRIS!" Susie snarled under hear breath. She was stunned by an overwhelming sense of cringe. Did Kris really just say that?!
She was so caught off guard she hardly realised how she'd now been backed into the edge of the doorframe, pinned in place by none other than the little human. Susie noted it felt strange being pinned against a wall by someone more than a foot shorter than her, but now was not the time to dwell on it.
Kris began to trail their slender fingers up Susie's arms. The girl could feel her heart pounding inside her ribcage, her face now surely a few hues redder than a few minutes ago. Trailing hands eventually found their way to her face — though Kris only managed so by pushing themself up onto their toes. Susie could hardly breathe, hardly think, yet she managed to form a sentence despite it all.
"Y- don't tell me you were serious?!"
All Kris did was smile sweetly — the kind of sweet that's laced with deviousness. Then, after taking a moment to chuckle under their breath, they spoke. "If you're really against it, you can always say no!"
Susie stared at Kris, Kris stared at Susie, and after a moment, they started closing the gap between the two once more. Susie swallowed hard before gently but firmly pushing Kris away. Their grin faltered and gaze fell to the floor as she began making her way inside Noelle's room.
Once she'd settled on Noelle's couch, she let out a shaky sigh before patting the spot next to her. "C'mon, it'll be easier to reach if we're both sitting down. Besides... I don't really want an audience?"
At those words, Kris's demeanour immediately brightened. Susie could swear she saw their eyes sparkle from under their veil of hair. They wasted no time joining her on the couch, their hand finding a comfortable resting spot atop hers. Then, the distance between them began to close once more.
Susie could hardly believe this was really happening. Her heart was still pounding, her palms sweaty and body shaking. As Kris leaned in, she scrunched her eyes shut tight and pressed her lips together in some awkward gesture of preparation. Now, she could feel the warmth of Kris's breath against her scales, light and tentative, almost as if their nerves were getting the best of them too.
And then, it happened. With a slightly comical "Mwah!" sound, Kris planted their lips right upon Susie's... cheek?!
She flung her eyes open and stared at the human in disbelief, before reaching to clasp the kissed spot. "What...? You...! I thought you were... we were-!!" She was too embarrassed to form a coherent sentence, realising she may have completely misunderstood what kind of kiss she was being offered.
Kris was grinning. Of course they were grinning. Though, Susie could swear their face was rosier than before. "What? Don't tell me you were expecting something more~" They teased.
"D-DUMBASS!!!" Susie huffed, turning to hide her flushed face. She probably would've died of embarrassment right on the spot, if it wasn't for Kris's delighted laughter bringing her back to life.
As humiliating as the whole ordeal may have been, it seems like the kiss really did help Kris feel much better.