Archive of Our Own

It was afternoon on a chilly Winter’s day. School had not long finished, and because the cold wind nipped and bit at those in its path, most students rushed home to their warm abodes. The keyword being most. Kris and Susie were amongst the exceptions. Despite the weather continuing to grow colder and nastier with every passing day, the two refused to let it deter them from their daily tradition of heading over to the lake and ‘chilling out’ as Susie puts it.

Even though the two had rightfully gained the reputation of being Hometown’s most chaotic duo, most times they visited the lake, they did nothing. Instead, they were happy to simply park their butts and admire the scenery in front of them. And the scenery really was wonderful. The other day Kris said in passing how it looked like something out of a painting and even if Susie made fun of them for being cheesy, she secretly agreed.

Susie would occasionally take up stone skipping when they visited the lake, but by this time of year, its surface had completely frozen over. Although that hadn’t stopped Susie from picking up the largest rock she could find and launching it at the ice every so often.

On this day, however, she wasn’t in the mood for lobbing rocks and breaking ice. This day was the 18th of December, exactly one week to go till the big day. Christmas

Susie hated Christmas.

She hated all the obnoxious music and celebrations. She hated watching people give each other gifts. She hated staring into the window of toy stores and watching parents pick up presents that she so desperately wanted for herself. This was going to be her first Christmas since arriving in Hometown and even if she had made some new friends, she still wasn’t looking forward to it. It’s not like she could just crash at one of her friends’ places. Christmas was for family, and she wasn’t anybody’s family.

So, not in the mood for any chicanery, she resigned herself to simply sitting down and watching the view, not letting the bitter coldness of the dirt beneath deter her. Kris, who loathed the cold, resorted to squatting in order to not get any snow on their slacks.

“Christmas is in a week,” Susie said absentmindedly as she made shapes in the snow with one of her claws.

“Who are you, Noelle?” Kris asked in a slightly muffled voice, scarf tightly wrapped around themself.

“Shut up, dude,” she said. She went to give them a punch in the arm as per the usual routine, but they sidestepped and used their palm to smack her fist away at the last second.

“Ugh, don’t you get tired of squatting?” she bemoaned. Kris shrugged.

“Kinda, but I don’t like getting snow on my clothes,” they explained.

“Well maybe you cou—“

“Maybe I could sit on your lap instead?” Kris suggested, beating her to the punch.

“Jinx, sure,” she said in a casual tone. If anyone else in Hometown suggested something as intimate as sitting on her lap, Susie’s answer would be a swift punch to the face. But for some reason, when it came to Kris… being physically close to each other felt strangely normal. Not that that stopped her from feeling weird sometimes.

“Thanks,” Kris said as they plopped themself down on her legs. Susie responded by using Kris’s head as a chin rest. The warmth from the small human radiated off their tiny frame and onto Susie.

“It’s not fair that you’re warm-blooded and I’m not,” she sighed.

“It’s not fair that you’re a giant badass dragon and I’m not,” Kris instantly replied. Susie wrapped her huge arms around Kris and pulled them closer.

“Well, this way, I can feel your warmth and you can feel my… scales? I guess,” she suggested. The feel of Kris’s body further relaxing was the answer she received.

“Best heating method ever,” Susie said.

“Best arms ever,” Kris said as they picked off some dry skin from her forearm.

“Weirdo.”

“Takes one to know one.”

Susie sighed. For someone who often hardly spoke, they always had a quick and clever comeback up their sleeves.

“What are your plans for Christmas?” Kris asked abruptly. Susie blinked her eyes rapidly as she wondered where the hell that question came from.

“Where the hell did that question come from?”

“You mentioned it a minute ago. How it’s a week away. Figured it was still on your mind.”

“Oh, yeah. I did,” Susie said, less than enthusiastic.

“Well?”

“Well, what?”

“Your plans.”

Susie stayed quiet for a moment. Then, a moment longer. She knew exactly what her answer was going to be, and she hated it.

“Nothing,” she said breathlessly, allowing the weight of her chin to bear down on Kris’s head more as she exhaled. She could feel their head shifting slightly as if they were trying to look up at her. They didn’t say a word. They often didn’t, but sometimes when Kris was silent, it felt like their way of inviting her to say more. This felt like one of those times.

“I, uhhh, won’t have a great deal to do. My fa—“ she cut herself off.

“My, uhhhh, my…” Her words failed her. Kris reached up with one hand and gently scratched her snout, just above the nostrils. The steam could be seen as she breathed out in surprise. The one good thing about winter is that it made her feel more like an actual dragon. She continued.

“My… people. Aren’t around. So, not much to do. No gifts, no dinner. Heh, not even a Christmas tree. Can you believe that, Kris?” she asked, trying to make it sound funny. Trying to make it sound like it wasn’t sad.

“You could have Christmas at mine,” they said not a second after. Susie felt her back stiffen.

“…What?”

“You could have Christmas with me and mum. She always cooks too much, so there’ll be more than enough left over for you. Because it’s last-minute we probably won’t be able to get you any presents, but there’ll be a Christmas tree alight.”

As Kris explained, Susie felt a strange feeling bubbling within. A pang in her chest, a tightness in her throat. She didn’t deserve this, she knows that. She’s always known that. And yet, as she lay here, listening to the offer being made, even though she knows she is not deserving of such kindness, she finds it hard to answer. She wonders why people have to be nice to her so often. And she wonders why it makes her so upset.

“You mean it? You really mean it?” she asked, trying her absolute damndest to not sound emotional, but clearly her shaky voice, which sounded much less gruff than usual, portrayed her as Kris awkwardly turned around to face her.

“I mean it.”

“But… wouldn’t your mum…?”

Kris didn’t give her the chance to finish her sentence.

“She’d love to have you over… I’d love to have you over,” their voice trailed off slightly. She looked down at them. They looked up at her. Those damn crimson eyes of theirs. They looked so beautiful amidst the winter snows. They always did of course, but something about the weather this time of year made their eyes all the more captivating.

She abruptly embraced them in a back-breaking hug that seemed to take both of them by surprise.

“I don’t know what to say,” she said as she rested her head on their shoulder.

“Don’t need to say a thing,” Kris said in a strained voice.

“By the way, I can hold my breath for a couple minutes, so feel free to keep squeezing the life outta me.”

“Cool,”

Susie hugged tighter.

“Feels… strangely nice,” Susie whispered

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Susie continued to squeeze the life out of Kris for another couple of minutes until, Kris reluctantly had to pull themself away for some much-needed oxygen. Kris said their goodbyes shortly afterwards before they eagerly ran home. Susie hoped that Toriel would be okay with it, but she prepared herself to be disappointed. She lazily walked back to the apartment complex, dragging her feet as she went. Eventually, she made it to her flat. In winter, the room was so cold that she had to keep her jacket on inside. The bed made a horrible creaking noise as she eased onto it, always scared the springs would give out any day. She curled herself up into a ball so that she was small enough for the blanket to fully cover her. Winter wasn’t easy for a dragon like her. Neither was Christmas. But as she willed herself to find some sleep, she kept having to ignore a silly idea in her mind that maybe, just maybe…

This year, it wouldn’t be so bad

Susie felt a buzz in her back pocket. She rummaged around before pulling her old flip phone out. She needed a new phone. One message. From Kris

- Mum said yes :p
- Hell yeah dude

Susie forced herself to put her phone away before she could send some sappy message thanking them. She’d probably save it for the day.

One week later

Susie was awoken by the cold morning air biting away at her. Today was Christmas Day. First, she yawned, then she stretched, then she shivered. Despite keeping her jacket on all night, she found herself feeling a familiar frostiness. She ambled up to the window and stared out at the sky. It was probably 7 or 8 in the morning. Kris had eagerly told her to head over to theirs at 10. She sighed. Time to kill. She quickly decided she wasn’t going to kill that time in her miserable flat. With nothing else to do, she hastily put on her boots that had seen better days and stepped out.

Susie could feel her muscles tense as she exited the apartment building. She hugged herself as she hastily made for the school. Her many years of breaking and entering made it a cake walk to unlock the school door. After that, she made a beeline for the school closet and gleefully leapt forth into the endless dark.

She stuck the landing as was the norm by now. As she did, she felt the familiar coolness of Castle Town, which was still vastly preferable to Hometown. Before she could go and meet who she wanted to, she was surprised by a warm, fluffy embrace.

“Ho ho ho Susie, merry Christmas!” Ralsei called in a jolly voice. Confused, Susie pushed the prince off her so she could get a better look at him. Sure enough, he was wearing the same attire as usual, but it had been hastily painted red. On top of that, he was wearing a fake beard. At least, she assumed it was fake.

“Uhhh, Ralsei? What’s up with you?” she asked.

“‘Tis the season of jolliness, is it not? Ho ho h—“

“Shut up.”

“O-okay,” Ralsei stuttered.

“Why are you dressed like Santa?”

“Well, who else would, Susie? King is still in the dungeon, and no one else seems interested in it. And besides, as Prince of the Dark world, it’s my duty to bring joy to all my subjects, especially at this most wonderful time of year.”

“Guess that makes sense. Oh, and, uhh, merry Christmas to you too,” Susie said in a drab voice.

“Awww, thanks Susie!” Ralsei said as he gave yet another hug, only to be promptly pushed off once more.

“Yeah yeah, whatever.”

“Are you alright, Susie? You seem… moody. Or, moodier than usual I suppose,” Ralsei asked as he dusted himself off.

“I am not moody!” Susie barked in response.

“Ugh, I’m just… I don’t know, it’s Christmas.”

“And you don’t like Christmas?” Ralsei asked.

“…Not usually. But this year, I’m spending it with Kris. I should be happy. I guess I’m just nervous.”

“Ah yes! Kris told me about your plans earlier. They sounded positively delighted. I hope you two have a wonderful time!”

“Kris is here?”

“Was. They popped by last night, on account of the fact that they’d be too busy today. Which brings me to my question. How come you’re here Susie? Shouldn’t you be with Kris?”

She shrugged.

“Eh. Still got, like, an hour to kill and it’s way too cold outside.”

“Ah, of course. That makes sense,” Ralsei said with a giggle.

“It’s a good thing you did come by, otherwise you might have missed out on the—“

“Cake?!” Susie eagerly interrupted.

“Yes, I baked a cake for you and Kri—“ before the fluffy prince could finish his sentence, Susie giddily rushed past him and towards the town.

“Susie! W-wait up!” He hopelessly called. His efforts were to no avail, as Susie quickly entered the castle and laid eyes upon the delicious cake. It was covered in red, white and green icing. Small cookies resembling Kris and Susie adorned the top, a small slice had been taken out of it. Knowing that dark world food had no effect on her appetite in the light world, she clumsily grabbed the sweet treat in both hands and awkwardly pushed it down her throat. The cake was so large that she was reluctantly forced to actually chew it a couple of times. Bits of icing and cake and cookies spilt out of her mouth in the epic struggle. But by the time Ralsei arrived, she had gotten it down. The mess on her face and by her boots were the only signs that there had once been a cake.

“Okay,” was all Ralsei said.

Susie continued to mess around in Castle Town for a while longer. Lounging in her room, decorating Ralsei’s, terrorising people with the help of Lancer; the usual. Eventually, she figured it had been long enough and headed to leave. Just before she could step into the light, she felt a faint tugging on her arm. She turned around and saw Ralsei staring at her with his usual smile.

“When Kris visited last night, they told me how they were worried that you might not have a good time… but they were still quite excited. I guess I’m telling you this because I just wanted to say, I hope you have a good time, Susie. Even if I can’t be there for you, I want you to know that I’m confident you and Kris will have a wonderful Christmas!”

Susie went silent, stared down at the ground, then back up at Ralsei. She stuck her palm in his face.

“Dork” she sniggered. She turned back around to the light, but stopped herself at the last second. She looked over her shoulder at the prince.

“Thanks. Me and Kris will come by together when we get the chance. Bring Christmas to you too.”

She stepped into the light and floated upwards.

As she felt herself reemerge into the school hallway, she instinctively dug out her phone and checked to see the time. 10:59 AM. One message from Kris.

- Hurry up nerd or im eating the food
Susie ran as fast as her legs could carry her.

Mere seconds later, she arrived at their door and began knocking rapidly. No sooner the door swung open.

“Yo.”

“Yo,” Susie said in return, trying to act casual, but her voice was breathless. Kris snickered.

“Got you that worried, did I?” Kris asked with a sly smile.

“Nah, but there was one other thing…” Susie’s voice trailed off, before she suddenly gave Kris a not-so-soft punch in the gut.

“Ow, the hell is wrong with you?!” they hissed.

“I’m not a nerd, nerd,” she hissed back.

“Are.”

“Aren’t.”

“Are.”

“Aren’t.”

“Are.”

“Ar—“

“Merry Christmas, Susie! It’s wonderful to see that you could make it!” Toriel happily shouted as she emerged from the kitchen, oblivious to what she had interrupted.

“Are you alright, Kris? You’re rubbing your stomach,” Toriel asked. Susie looked down at the floor slightly and began scratching the back of her head.

“Just hungry,” they said casually as they straightened their posture. Toriel giggled.

“I should’ve known, but the food isn’t ready yet. In the meantime, how about we open some presents?” she asked with a beaming smile. Susie turned around and closed the door.

“That means you too, Susie,” Toriel happily hummed. Susie quickly turned back around.

“Presents? F-for me?” she stammered.

“Of course, right over there, by the tree!”

Susie failed to notice until now, but on the stand where the TV used to be was a Christmas Tree, decked in all the standard decorations, along with some monster-themed ones. More importantly, boxes wrapped in gift wrapping were littered below. Some were green, others were red.

“The red ones are yours, Kris insisted that it was your favourite colour. I apologise that your pile isn’t as big as theirs. This whole thing was somewhat last-minute,” Toriel explained with a nervous chuckle.

“…It’s cool,” Susie said timidly after a brief pause. All of this still felt so surreal to her. Awkwardly, she eased herself down onto her knees and shuffled towards her presents. There were five in total, ranging in size. The smallest, which could easily fit in her palm, was at the front. And the largest, about the size of her torso, was at the back, hugging the branches of the tree.

“Put the largest one there cause I figure you wanna start with the smallest,” Kris explained without looking her way, already beginning to viciously tear into their own presents.

“Yeah.”

As Kris guessed, she started with the smallest. Whatever it was, it was flat and flimsy. She ripped the wrapping off as gently as possible. It was an envelope with the words “To Susie” written on the back. Susie could feel her heart quicken and her body grow warm. She wondered why she found this all so nerve-wracking. She used the claw on her left index finger to open the parcel up, revealing a letter. She opened it up.

“To Susie,

Merry Christmas! We’re both wishing you a holiday filled with lots of love and joy. When Kris asked me if you could stay at ours for the day, I was ever so excited. You’re one of the most kindhearted and sweet people I’ve ever met (Even if you pretend otherwise, teehee!). I sincerely hope you enjoy your presents, our home and our company on this joyous day.

XXX

From Toriel and Kris”

It took Susie a while to read it due to the cursive writing. She noticed that the x’s and Kris’s name were written in a much scruffier style.

“Uhhhh, what do the x’s mean?” she asked.

“Hugs and kisses,” Toriel and Kris answer in unison. Susie looked over to Toriel. She was sitting on the couch, cup of Joe in hand and gleefully watching the two open up their presents. Susie looked over to Kris. They were continuing to tear the wrapping paper apart, but she could faintly see some pink in their cheeks. She could feel her own cheeks growing hotter by the second. She gave her head a good shake before moving on to the next gift. It wasn’t a great deal bigger than the letter, but it was a bit thicker. She peeled away the wrapper to reveal…

“The Blood Crushers trilogy in HD?!” she gasped excitedly. Kris smirked.

“That one is from Kris, my dear,” Toriel explained.

“Wait, how will we watch it without th—“

“Azzy’s computer,” Kris answered as they carefully examined a bottle of black nail varnish. Susie felt herself getting annoyed as the image of Kris with black fingernails got stuck in her head. Once more she shook her head before hastily clawing the next present open. It was a box of chalk in a multitude of colours. Susie licked her lips.

“Errr, that one was also from Kris, but they would not explain to me why they thought you would like it so much,” Toriel said, her tone of voice indicating that she was expecting some sort of explanation. It was at that moment that Susie realised Toriel was entirely oblivious to her chalk-eating habits.

“Oh, uhhhh, I just think they’re cool. To, like, draw with and stuff,” Susie answered. She herself didn’t feel convinced by the answer.

“Okay?” Toriel said, before taking a sip of coffee.

“I hope you like the next gift, Susie. It’s from m— Kris Dreemurr! Don’t eat all the chocolate now! You won’t have an appetite for dinner!”

Susie turned to Kris to see them devouring an entire box of chocolate with reckless abandon. It covered their mouth and fingertips as it melted. Toriel let out a forlorn sigh as she set her cup down and began to wrestle the box out of Kris’s hands. They growled like a dog all the while until eventually Toriel managed to snatch it away and promptly headed towards the kitchen.

“Hmph!” Kris grumbled.

Susie thought about how they were weirdly cute when they were grumpy.

“Why are you shaking your head so much?” they asked as Susie shook her head again.

“Nothin’. Shut up.”

She clawed away the wrapping on the present, curious to see what Toriel had gotten for her. It was a red dragon plushie, adorned with flimsy wings, tiny horns and a couple of teeth that protruded out of its mouth. It was slightly larger than the plushie she had of herself in her room back in Castle Town. She held it gently in both hands, the dragon’s black, beady eyes staring back up at her. She gave it a gentle squeeze.

“You must forgive me, Susie. I wasn’t entirely sure what to get you. I know you’re probably too old for such things by now, but I couldn’t think of what else to get you for the life of me!” Toriel nervously giggled.

“I like it,” Susie said in a soft voice, still staring down at the toy.

“…You do?” Toriel asked. Susie averted her gaze from the plushie and stared at the old goat.

“Yeah, really. Th-thanks,” she stuttered a little. Toriel smiled warmly.

“Well, that is most pleasing to know, my dear.”

Suddenly, she stood up and clapped her hands together.

“Well kids, wanna open your last presents at the same time?” she asked. Kris’s eyes lit up like fireworks.

“You’re gonna love this,” they exclaimed. As Susie grabbed the final present, she noticed that despite its size, it felt similar in texture to the plushie. As Kris grabbed their own, she noticed theirs also seemed to be just as soft. The two stared at each other with bright, beaming smiles before mercilessly ripping the wrapping paper to shreds.

Laid in front of them were onesies. Kris’s was a blue puppy. Susie’s was a green dragon. They were thick and fluffy, and Susie could see the stitch lines in them.

“Kris insisted on it, so I sewed these up. Only just got them ready in time,” Toriel said with a giggle.

“Can we try them on now?” Kris asked.

“No, you’re only going to get food all over them,” Toriel firmly answered.

“Please?”

“No.”

“Pleeease?”

“…No.”

Kris initiated the puppy eyes.

“Kris, what have I told you? No puppy eyes in the house.”

Kris brushed their hair aside so that their glowing red eyes could be seen in all of their puppy pleading glory.

“…Fine, but, you’re taking them back off when dinner is ready,” Toriel relented.

“‘Kay, thanks,” Kris said casually as they instantly scurried up the stairs to their room. Toriel sighed once more.

“I just can’t say no to them. You can get changed in the bathroom if you wish, Susie.”

“S-sure, thanks,” she said as she pushed herself off the floor, onesie bundled up in her hands. She closed the door behind herself and immediately took a swig of apple-flavoured shampoo without a second thought.

“Mmmm, apple flavoured,” she hummed to herself whilst licking her lips. She continued to hold the bottle in her hand.

Today had been good so far, but in a weird way. She enjoyed opening the presents and felt immensely guilty. But every so often her guilt would be interrupted by thoughts of Kris. Their writing kisses on the Christmas letter, the image of them wearing black fingernails, how cute they were when they sulked. And now, as she gently held the bottle in her hands, a new thought entered her mind regarding Kris. They, using this shampoo… whilst in the shower. The same shampoo she happily drank any time she came over. She wearily set the bottle down and held her head in her hands. She looked at herself in the mirror.

“Get it together, Susie. Stop it with these stupid thoughts. They just invited you over because you have no one else to go with. They’re just your friend. So stop having these awful thoughts before you ruin the best thing you’ve had in years, alright?”

With her self-motivational speech out of the way, she finally got around to getting changed into the onesie. Warmth radiated off it and coated her body. It was a perfect fit. Not too tight and not too loose, unlike most of her other outfits. If it didn’t look so childlike, she’d happily wear it outside during this weather.

“Fuck yeah, I’m a mother fucking dragon,” she mumbled to herself before leaving the bathroom.

She was immediately greeted with the sight of Kris, dressed in their onesie, arms folded.

“Took you so long?” they asked with an impatient expression.

“Cute,” Susie blurted out against her own will, before promptly covering her mouth in horror.

“What?” they asked.

“Nothing. Just said that I was admiring myself in the mirror.”

“That second sentence was considerably longer than the first one. I find the proposition that you said the same thing in both sentences dubious at best,” they drily explained. Sometimes, Kris could be a real nerd with their words when they wanted to, probably from playing too much Minecrap with Berdly.

“Well, maybe you should get your fuckin’ hearing checked, dude.”

“Susie, language!” Toriel barked as she entered the kitchen.

“Now, shoo you two! I need to commence with the cooking and I won’t be able to concentrate if I keep getting distracted by how positively adorable you both look,” Toriel explained as she literally shoo’d the pair back into the living room.

“What now?” Susie asked.

“Bloodcrushers?”

“We don’t have a TV anymore, dumbass. We gave Tenna to that ghost months ago.”

“We could watch memes on my phone.”

“The only memes you watch are those stupid brainrot ones.”

“We could watch a video analysis about the effect that the fall of Constantinople had on LeBron James’ legacy.”

“Sometimes you say shit that is so weird I have no idea how to possibly react.”

“I know.”

“…I like that about you. That you’re so goddamn weird.”

“I know.”

“…”

“…”

“Kris I’m not watching the LeBron James video.”

“Fuck.”

“Again, language!” Toriel called from the kitchen.

“Dude, does your mum have super hearing or something?” Susie asked.

“All mothers do,” Kris remarked as they slouched down on the couch. Susie leapt backwards onto the couch, before shuffling perhaps a little closer to Kris than she normally would. Against her better judgment, she gingerly placed an arm around their shoulders.

“Thanks for the chalk, bro.”

“No problem.”

“It was my favourite present.”

“I know it was.”

“What was yours? Didn’t get to see all of them.”

“She got me some earrings, haven’t put them in yet.”

“You’ll look cute when you do,” Susie said without thinking.

“Th-thanks,” Kris stammered, for once not responding in a flat, deadpan voice.

“No problem, dude,” Susie replied as she tugged at her onesie’s collar. The two went silent for a moment, the sound of Christmas cooking and Toriel’s humming that emanated from the kitchen were the only sources of noise. Kris half-heartedly scrolled through their phone for a couple of seconds, before putting it back down and staring up at Susie.

“You really think so?” they asked earnestly.

“Y-yeah, of course dude,” she said nervously.

“…Thanks,” they said before they resumed scrolling.

“Mum should have got you one too, we coulda matched,” Kris said. Susie’s eyes went wide.

“…I… I don’t have ears. Or at least, not ears that you can put piercings in,” she said, downtrodden.

“Shame, you woulda looked good.”

“You think?”

“Y-yeah, of course dude,” they said, crudely imitating Susie’s stuttering from a moment ago. She promptly elbowed their arm.

“Ow,” they said.

“You deserved it,” she huffed. As the moment passed, she felt herself weirdly sad about the fact that she couldn’t get matching earrings with Kris. She then felt herself getting annoyed at the fact that being around Kris so much seemed to be turning her into more and more of a softie by the day.

“Maybe we could get matching friendship bracelets instead,” Susie suggested.

“That’s gay,” Kris offhandedly responded.

“You’re gay,” she hissed back. Then, after a moment, she felt panic.

“Wait, no. Not gay, ‘cause, you’re like, uhh, not a guy. Ugh, god, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.” she frantically expressed.

“Lol, it’s okay, Susie. Gay isn’t just a guy liking a guy. It just means being attracted to the same gender. It’s like, an umbrella term or something.” they calmly explained, having not looked away from their phone the entire time.

“Oh, I didn’t know that,” Susie muttered.

“Yeah, I think because I’m nb that automatically makes me gay or something. I don’t know, never paid too much attention to labelling myself.” they expressed in the same mumbly deadpan voice as always. Since before Susie had met Kris, she was made aware of the fact that they weren’t a guy or a girl, and never really made much of it. She had met plenty of other humans in her day and a couple of them also didn’t fall into the normal categories, so she didn’t think it was particularly abnormal. It was so normal to her that she didn’t even consider using it back when she used to bully them. To her, Kris wasn’t a guy or a girl, Kris was just Kris. Sometimes she thought to herself that their behaviour was more akin to some kind of goblin or troll than any other person she had ever met. Still, hearing them actually talk about it for the first time made her worry. Worried that she was subconsciously hurting them this whole time in ways she didn’t even know.

“Hey, Kris?”

“Does it make you uncomfortable when I call you dude, or bro, or man, or any other stuff like that? You’ve never talked about this kinda stuff before, so I’ve never known how you feel about it. If I’ve hurt you, I’m deeply sorry. I could call you gal, or dudette or something…” she quietly trailed off. Kris finally put their phone back down and looked towards her. They stared at her for at least ten seconds with an indecipherable look on their face… before they suddenly burst out into laughter.

Susie leaned back in shock. Kris was never one to laugh. A wry smile or a quiet “heh” or perhaps even a slight chuckle was the most she’d hear out of them usually, so to hear them full-on belly-laughing was quite the sight. They slapped their knee and wiped away tears from their eyes.

“Who are you, and what have you done with my friend Susie? ‘Cause the person in front of me is the biggest softie on the planet,” they howled.

“Sh-shut up, du- uhhh, whatever. Just shut up,” she mumbled as she crossed her arms.

“You can call me whatever, dudette,” they snickered as their laughter finally died down.

“Fine,” she huffed with flared nostrils. Susie remembered that just a couple of minutes ago she had thought about how Kris was making them soft. And they, the cause of her newfound softness, were teasing her over it. She felt a slight tug on her wrist.

“I appreciate the concern,” they hummed. Their voice was slightly livelier than usual and their small lips twisted into a small smile. And their ruby eyes stared up at her with a softness they didn’t often show.

“Y-yeah, it’s no big deal,” Susie affirmed as she averted her gaze. She wondered how much longer Toriel was going to take with this food.

“Food will be about another two hours, kids!” Toriel shouted from the kitchen. Susie let her arms flop down by her sides as she stared up at the ceiling and groaned.

“What are we supposed to do for two hours, man?” she bemoaned.

“We could go outside,” Kris suggested.

“Too cold,” Susie instantly answered.

“Try out our presents?”

“Sure.”

The pair shuffled down off the couch and onto the soft carpet floor. Kris casually snatched up one of Susie’s chalk sticks and flung it into their mouth. The series of expressions they made as their face contorted over and over suggested they deeply regretted the decision, but they stubbornly swallowed the dusty delight. They viscously cleared their throat.

“Smooth, tangy even,” they said in a dry, raspy voice. Susie silently stared on, concern written all over her face.

“Uh, is it even okay for humans to eat that stuff?”

“Guess we’ll find out.”

Without skipping a beat, Kris went to examine one of the other presents they had gotten. It was a cube, small enough to fit into their tiny hands. Each side was adorned with different features. One side had a switch, another had an analogue stick, another had five small buttons, and so on. It clicked and clacked as Kris silently fidgeted with the small object. Susie felt immensely jealous.

“Dude, that thing looks dope as fuck.” she said.

“It is,” they responded without looking away.

“Can I have a go?” she asked.

“Nuh-uh.”

“Please?”

“Get lost.”

Susie stifled a laugh. They really were like a kid sometimes. She cleared her throat.

“I’ll do the puppy eyes,” she said in as threatening a tone as she could muster.

“No you can’t, that’s my thing.”

Susie snarled. That sounded like a challenge if she had ever heard one, and she never backs down from a challenge. She pulled the hood of her onesie down and flung her hair back. She leaned forward until her elbows were dug into the carpet and her snout was resting in her palms.

“Hey, Kris,” she whispered. Begrudgingly, they looked up. Susie had no idea what she was doing. The science behind Kris’ puppy eyes was a mystery to her, all she knew was that it involved having the eye wide open. And so that was what she did. Miraculously, it seemed to work as Kris almost instantly shoved the small cube into her face and turned around to focus on the other gifts of theirs.

It went on like that for a while. The two would mess around with the presents they had and Kris would occasionally show Susie something on their phone as the minutes slowly ticked by. At one point, her stomach grumbled, loudly. It made Susie feel weird. There had been plenty of Christmases in the past where she constantly had to put up with the rumbling of her stomach. But on this day, with the prospect of a hearty meal tantalisingly close, it seemed to only make her more hungry.

“This is gonna be the best meal you’ve ever had,” Kris said.

“It better be, I’m starving,” Susie replied. Kris looked at Susie, then down at their presents, then at hers, before looking at her face once more. They shuffled closer.

“Have you enjoyed it so far?” they asked, their voice having a hint of anxiety to it. She raised her eyebrows.

“Duh. Why wouldn’t I?” Susie answered. Kris leaned out and placed a hand on top of hers. She looked down. Their hands were so tiny compared to hers and for some reason the size difference made her feel weird. Lots of things about them made her feel weird, especially on this day.

“You mean that? You’ve really enjoyed yourself?” they asked with a slight frown.

“Y-yeah. You and Toriel have been amazing today. To be honest…”

She didn’t finish.

“What?” Kris asks with a tilted head.

“I… I don’t know if I really deserve all of this,” she said with a dismissive chuckle. Kris had a pained smile on their face upon hearing those words.

“Why would you believe such a silly thing?” they asked. The way they asked it made Susie wonder if it really was silly to believe she didn’t deserve this. She gave a shrug.

“I don’t know. Lots of reasons I guess. What have I done for you to let me into your home and do all this for me? How have I ever been a friend to you? You’re always the one who’s doing crap for me.”

Kris reaffirmed their grasp on Susie’s hands and gave a gentle squeeze.

“Remember Card Kingdom?” they asked in a hushed voice, making sure Toriel didn’t hear.

“Y-yeah, of course,” she whispered back.

“Well, don’t you remember? When King had me in his hands, and you saved me, and told him to get away?”

Susie nodded in response.

“I… I always liked you, even before. But at that moment, I knew you were the best friend I’ve ever had.”

She turned her head to the side.

“You saved me first,” she whispered.

“Does it matter who saved whom first?” they asked. She shrugged, then sighed.

“I don’t know how you can be so nice to me, after all the crap I did to you,” she lamented.

“Because that wasn’t you. That was just who you were pretending to be. It doesn’t completely excuse it of course bu—“

“And that’s another thing,” Susie interrupted.

“I’ve never even apologised to you. And the reason why is that I’m a coward. I thought that if I ever brought it up, it’d just bring back all the memories for you, and you wouldn’t want to be friends anymore. So I stayed silent and hoped neither of us brought it up.” Her voice was getting choked up as she tried to keep quiet. Kris raised their hands up to her face and gently tugged, encouraging Susie to look back at them. Her eyes were watery.

“You have apologised. You apologised by being my friend. By hanging out at the lake after school. By pouring juice down my mouth at church. By watching stupid monster movies. By telling me things you’ve never told anyone else. So don’t even think of crying, because there’s nothing to be sad over, ‘kay?”

Kris’s eyes. Their crimson red eyes. Despite their menacing appearance, they held such compassion and warmth behind them. Susie’s heart was beating a thousand miles an hour. For some reason she didn’t initially understand, she reached up and grabbed their wrist, securing their hand in place against her face.

“Your hand is so warm,” she whispered. Their cheeks turned a brighter colour and they pulled their gaze elsewhere. As they did, Susie asked herself in her mind:

“Am I in love?”

“Kids, food will be ready in five minutes! Take those onesies off!” Toriel called from the kitchen. Kris quickly scampered away and up the stairs. Susie decided she’d answer her own quandary later.

With that out of the way, she pushed herself off the ground and headed into the bathroom to get changed. By the time she was finished changing, Toriel was just about ready to begin plating the food.

“Just in time, Susie my dear. Please, sit! I’m just dishing up now.” the old goat bleated. Not needing any further encouragement, Susie took her place in the middle seat, in between the two Dreemurr’s. Toriel would rush back and forth, pots and pans in hand as she gradually filled everyone’s plates.

Roast turkey, beef wellington, honey-glazed ham, oysters, creamed spinach, potatoes au gratin, creamy sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, chicken and most of all, gravy.

Susie could feel the drool pouring out of her mouth as each piece of food was added. Every time she wiped her mouth, more and more drool would follow. And yet, she tempered the urge to dig in. Kris had made it clear earlier that when the time came, Susie would have to wait for everyone to start before she could eat herself. And so, Susie begrudgingly waited. Her stomach churned as the meal in front of her grew to an almost intimidating level. It got to the point that she had to sit on her hands in order to avoid temptation. She wondered if this was the hungriest she had felt in her life. There were of course times in the past when she had been hungrier, but never in her life had she felt such a primal urge to devour what was before her. Toriel, oblivious to the torture she was putting Susie through, poured her a glass of ice-cold water. Toriel calmly took her seat, opposite Kris.

“Okay everyone, dig in!” Toriel said. And on that note, the feast began. Susie did not hesitate in the slightest to begin relentlessly mauling her meal, only stopping occasionally to ever-so-briefly catch her breath. Every bite, every chomp, every lick of her lips brought with it a delightful burst of flavour unrivalled by anything else she had ever eaten. At the back of her mind, Susie worried that she might just be making a bit of a mess, but if she was, neither Toriel nor Kris mentioned it. As a matter of fact, Toriel didn’t seem to acknowledge the beastly way in which Susie devoured her hard-made food at all, simply smiling to herself as she ate her own meal. Kris, on the other hand, would occasionally steal glances in Susie’s direction whenever they sipped their drink. Each time, Susie would briefly steal a glance back to see why Kris was staring at her, only to be confused by the expression on their face. Their expressions were often hard to read, but on this occasion, it was even harder. They looked… jealous, but also happy? Susie wasn’t sure and she didn’t particularly care, the food on her plate was too good for her to dedicate any higher brain activity to deciphering Kris’s bizarre expressions.

But, alas for Susie, her meal was soon empty. She had no idea how long it had taken her, had it been minutes? Less than a minute, perhaps? She wasn’t sure.

“I take it that you enjoyed the food, Susie?” Toriel calmly asked.

“Yes, Miss Toriel. It was…” Susie paused as she felt a burp escape from her against her will.

“Uh, s-sorry, I didn’t mean to!” Susie said. Toriel simply chuckled in response.

“It’s quite all right, Susie. Just cover your mouth next time.”

“Will do,” Susie meekly replied, placing a hand on her stomach. She felt a strange feeling inside herself. Susie often found herself feeling hungry, no more so than just moments ago. But now, she felt a different feeling in her stomach. Was she full? There were of course, plenty of times when Susie didn’t feel the need to eat, but she had never felt like this before. It felt as if, if more food were placed on her plate, she wouldn’t actually want it.

She surveyed both Kris and Toriel’s plates. Much to her surprise, Toriel was closer to being finished than Kris was. Susie scratched her head in confusion. She had seen them ruthlessly demolish several of Ralsei’s cakes in the past and yet, they had merely poked at their mother’s cooking. Seeing them waste such succulently sublime food triggered a primal rage deep within Susie.

“Well, I’m beat. I think I shall run a bath. Will one of you two be a dear and clean the dishes when you’re finished?” Toriel said as she arose from her seat.

“I’ll do the dishes,” Kris responded so quickly that it caught both Toriel and Susie off guard.

“Kris? You’ve never been very eager to clean the dishes in the past. Not that I am going to complain of course.” Toriel said before turning to Susie.

“I’m happy you’ve enjoyed yourself, Susie. Your presence on this day has been more than welcome.”

“Y-yeah, no problem ma- Toriel. I’m just happy to be here,” Susie stumbled over her words. Toriel giggled in response.

“How sweet,” she uttered. Just before she made for the stairs, she turned back towards the two teenagers.

“If you’re somehow still hungry later, there’s some figgy pudding in the fridge. Don’t make a mess you two!” And with that, Toriel sauntered up the stairway.

“You have the coolest mum ever,” Susie said without thinking.

“She has her moments,” Kris replied. Susie scoffed.

“Ungrateful as usual. And what’s up with you hardly touching your food? You sick or something?”

Kris smiled at hearing her question. But to call it a smile would be kind. It would be better described as a sinister grin.

“Glad you asked,” they said in a low voice as they slowly pushed their still very much full plate over to Susie.

“I’m not hungry. And I’m sure you’d be more than happy to take over. It’s a crime to waste food as good as my mother’s cooking.”

Susie found herself caught in a dilemma. On one hand, as Kris put it, it would be a crime to let such amazing food go to waste. And knowing Kris, they’d probably make fun of her and call her a lightweight or something along those lines if she reclined. On the other hand, she was already feeling a little full. On top of that, she was feeling doubt again about whether or not she deserved all this.

Then, she remembered the conversation she and Kris had just minutes earlier, where they reassured her that she did deserve it.

“Fuck it,” was all she said before she took on the challenge.

“That’s the spirit,” Kris hummed.

For the next couple of minutes, Susie remained extremely focused on eating the leftovers Kris had so graciously left for her. It was far from easy, but she was determined that this meal would not go to waste.

As she demolished the meal with all the might she could muster, Kris watched on. Elbows on the table and head in their hands, looking strangely content as they watched the vicious battle of monster vs. food.

After what felt like an eternity, Susie definitely and triumphantly gulped down the last bite of turkey.

“Phew,” she said wearily, her words were sluggish and drowsy. She rested a hand on her belly. She felt like she had gained a couple of pounds at the very least. Out of the corner of her eye, she could still see Kris glaring at her with an enigmatic look. They tapped their tiny slender fingers on the tabletop rhythmically.

“My my. I expected you to leave some of it as leftovers, but you didn’t leave a bite,” they uttered in a strangely alluring voice.

“Heh, well, you know me. Never one to… oof, back down from a challenge,” Susie sluggishly remarked, stifling a burp.

“Indeed,” Kris said with a smile as they stood up and approached. Against her will, Susie let out another burp before patting her stomach.

“Sorry. I’m just… really stuffed, I guess,” she said drowsily.

“I know,” Kris replied, now standing over her.

“…You enjoyed it though, right?” they pressed, a hint of hesitation in their voice.

“Duh, yeah. That’s the best I’ve ever eaten! Just, I don’t know when I’ll be able to eat again without feeling like I’ll burst.”

Kris smiled at her comment. Then, to Susie’s surprise, they leaned in slightly, placing one hand on the top rail of the chair.

“Good. I enjoyed it too,” they said in a hushed voice.

“You did?” Susie asked, confused. Kris leaned in slightly closer.

“Immensely.”

They were now so close that some of their hair touched hers as it dangled. Susie had never gotten such a good look at their mesmerising red eyes and the bizarre feelings that came with them were stronger than ever.

“Why?” she asked.

“I’ve never seen someone so stuffed before,” they whispered breathlessly. They moved their spare hand down and placed it on Susie’s belly. Due to her shirt being a tight fit and the immense amount of food she had just eaten, the shirt was stretched just enough that a bit of scaly skin was now exposed. It was on this skin that Kris rested their small, soft palm.

Susie initially jerked a little, surprised by their cold touch and let out a quiet hiss. Panic flooded Kris’s face, their lips moved but no words came out. But then, before they could get the chance to find their voice, Susie’s body relaxed back into their touch. In order to make it clear she liked it, Susie held their hand in place with her own. Kris’s panic dissipated just as soon as it had arrived, replaced with the same strange look they had been donning for the last couple of minutes.

They leaned in ever so slightly closer and lip met lip. Susie felt Kris’s hand melt onto her stomach further as they continued to press their lips against each other. But just as soon as it had started, Kris’s lips parted as they pushed themself away. Their cheeks were flushed red, their breath ragged and their lips moist. Susie licked her lips.

“Apple flavoured. No, seriously. Do you—“

“Apple flavoured lip balm. Bought it yesterday,” Kris said, still catching their breath.

“You bought it yesterday?” Susie asked. Kris’s cheeks somehow became an even brighter shade of red momentarily.

“Y-yeah.”

“So, you were planning on this?”

Kris nodded their head whilst looking elsewhere. Susie let out a slight chuckle as she smirked.

“Wow, perv.”

“D-don’t call me that!” they quietly shouted.

“Heh, I’m not complaining. I think that was the tastiest thing I’ve had all day,” Susie hummed. To her surprise, that comment didn’t make Kris embarrassed and instead did the opposite, somewhat making them more composed again.

“I was hoping you’d say that. Everything I’ve done today, I’ve done it because I wanted to make you feel good. The presents, the food, everything.”

Now it was Susie’s turn to be embarrassed.

“It worked,” was all she could muster herself to say. Kris’s soft hands moved up her face, gently grabbing hold of her lower jaw and pulling her face so she was looking directly at them.

“Good. Pleasing you is the most pleasing thing to me in the world… and I like pleasing myself very much.”

Kris was starting to close in again. The idea of tasting their apple-flavoured lips again was tempting, but Susie worried she might also die from embarrassment if Kris overwhelmed her further. Then, she remembered something.

“W-wait!”

“What?”

“I almost forgot. I got you a present too.”

Kris’s eyes widened to a degree that Susie didn’t think was possible.

“You did?” they asked, their usual dryness completely absent.

“Yes, jeez. A-and don’t get all excited, because it’s probably not that good anyway…” Susie’s voice trailed off.

“Nonsense,” Kris instantly responded.

“If it’s from you, it’s automatically great,” they added. Susie blushed.

“I-if you say so. Uhhh, close your eyes.”

Kris did as commanded, closing their eyes… they also took the liberty of sitting on Susie’s lip.

“…What the hell are you doing?” Susie quietly asked.

“What does it look like?”

“Why the hell are you doing it?”

“‘Cause I wanna.”

“But that’s cringy as fuck.”

“So, you’re fine with us kissing, but me sitting on your lap is too far?”

“…Fine,” Susie relented. Kris let out a little pleased hum as they wiggled slightly, getting more comfortable. With that out of the way, Susie awkwardly dug around in one of her pockets for a couple of seconds before fishing out a small box, its lid only kept in place by a flimsy ribbon. She gracelessly dumped the box in their palms.

“There, you can open it,” she said, voice stiff. Kris opened their eyes and examined the box for a couple of seconds. Weighing it in their hands, giving it a slight shake, even smelling it. Susie groaned.

“Ugh, just open it already!” she spat. Kris chortled.

“You seem more nervous than I,” they observed.

“Duh, yeah. I don’t know if you’re gonna like it.”

“Already said I will.”

“Can you please just open it already?”

“Fine, fine.”

Without further ado, Kris pulled the ribbon loose with a single effortless tug and flung the lid aside. As they stared at the contents of the box, their body seemed to stiffen slightly. Their eyes narrowed and their head hunched forward. Susie felt like her heart might just burst out of her at any second. Kris meticulously reached forth and pinched the gift out of the box before letting said box slip out of their fingers. They now held the present in both hands.

It was a leather dog collar. At the front was a bone-shaped tag, name already inscribed.

“Kris”

They finally broke their gaze away from the collar and looked towards Susie, a strange glint in their eyes.

“Can I put it on?” they asked nervously.

“Y-yeah, ‘course man. It’s your gift,” Susie replied, just as nervous.

“Can you help me put it on?” Kris asked, voice so hushed the words hardly crept past their lips. Wordlessly, Susie gingerly reached forth with her hands and carefully grabbed the collar. With the faintest pull, it slipped out of Kris’s hands and into her own. They turned their head, looked down and brushed their hair out of the way, exposing the back of their neck. Susie could almost hear her heartbeat as she diligently attached the collar. Somehow, this was infinitely more intimate than the kissing session just moments ago.

Kris straightened their posture. From Susie’s view, the collar seemed to be just the right length. Kris took out their phone and went straight to the camera app, carefully examining themself without uttering a word.

“W-what do you think?” Susie asked, tired of the deafening silence. Kris slowly placed their phone down on the table, then swiftly swung around and embraced her in a hug. After a second or two of deliberation, she returned the hug.

“I don’t know how to thank you,” Kris mumbled into Susie’s shoulder, voice sounding slightly choked. Susie grabbed them by the shoulders and pried them out of the hug.

“I can think of one way,” she said, licking her lips. Kris smiled right back.

“I can think of another.”

“Oh yeah, what’s that?”

“Care for some figgy pudding?”

Susie’s stomach growled.

The end