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“That had to mean something…”
Ralsei looked up from his tea and gazed across the table at Kris.
“Pardon? Sorry, Kris, did you say something?”
They stirred a bit in their seat, anxiously picking at the cake Ralsei had prepared for them.
Kris usually wasn't one to initiate anything, let alone a one-on-one meeting, so when Kris had quietly asked if they could talk alone the next day, he had jumped at the opportunity. Luckily, the Lightners' rooms were still combined from their tea time the other day, so the only thing he really had to do was bake the cake… Though that hadn't stopped him from obsessively tidying up and making sure things were absolutely perfect.
Ralsei was proud of the cake he had made. The tea, while nothing exceptional, was also quite pleasant… But Kris didn’t seem to like it. They had just picked at it the whole time and taken a few sips of tea. Well, they weren’t a big eater, but still… He couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment after all his hard work…
But that wasn’t important right now; something was clearly up with Kris! They were more fidgety than usual, and maybe if he could get to the bottom of what was going on, Kris would loosen up and try a bit of the cake!... N-Not that it was bothering him!
“Kris, it’s ok! You can tell me! I… I can tell something is wrong!”
Kris suddenly sat straight up in their seat, and Ralsei could’ve sworn he saw their face turn a darker shade of blue.
“N-nothing’s up, I just…” They trailed off. Their face kept switching expressions, and they couldn't hold eye contact with him. After a few seconds, they sighed and deflated in their seat. They rested their head in their hand as they continued to pick at their food.
“It’s… it’s just… something happened the other day… with… Susie.”
Ralsei raised an eyebrow.
“Oh?”
Something happened with Susie? He hoped it was nothing bad. Things had been… tense, these past few days to say the least. After everything with the Titan, they had both seemed a bit somber, so hopefully their relationship hadn't suffered because of that, let alone because of anything he had done.
“Nothing bad, I hope?”
Kris sighed again. Gosh, he hoped he wasn’t making this worse for them…
“Not bad, just… strange? I dunno…”
“I… I see…. D-do you want to talk about it? I assume that’s why you came today? U-unless I’m mistaken, in which case I apolog-”
Kris held up their hand to signal him to stop. Usually, that would make him feel awfully self-conscious, but the way they did it somehow didn’t feel rude at all.
“It is why I came… I just… give me a minute, alright?”
Ralsei nodded and took another bite of cake. Even though this wasn’t about him, he couldn’t help but feel nervous about what they were going to say… He really, really hoped it was nothing serious… He wanted nothing more than for his best friends to be happy, and the way this conversation was going, it seemed to be something quite grim.
Suddenly, Kris cleared their throat, and Ralsei snapped to attention… His heart was pounding in his chest as they opened their mouth, please let everything be okay, please let them still like him, ple-
“We… We kissed..”
Ralsei dropped his fork.
Immediately, Ralsei’s mind began racing. Kris and Susie kissed? Oh my goodness, that wasn't what he expected at all. Sure, the two had gotten quite close, but to actually go and k-kiss each other? Goodness… a-and why did they want to talk to him about it? What was he going to do? Oh gosh, his reaction was really over the top, wasn’t it? He needed to pull it together.
He hastily picked up his fork and cleared his throat.
“O-o-oh! W-wow, Kris, that’s… that’s… wow! W-what, um… How?”
Kris let out a beleaguered sigh and leaned back in their chair. They craned their neck so they were staring at the ceiling.
“The other day… You weren't there, I guess… It was in the TV world… When Susie came to get me from the… “bathroom.” She almost um…. Got hurt… and I had to grab her really quickly to pull her away from the… the um… the thing… I wasn’t really thinking, though, and I ended up pulling her really close… Susie didn’t even know she was in danger, so she just thought I did that for no reason, right?”
They suddenly sat up straight to face him, a look of exasperation in their eyes.
“But instead of getting mad, or, or, punching me or whatever, she said some… really… out of character things, and then shoved her hair into my face. Apparently, she thought I was trying to smell her hair because she always smells mine.”
Ralsei’s brow furrowed. He remembered her saying something about Kris’s hair at some point, but was she really sniffing their hair that often? That seemed a bit odd, but Kris said it as if it were nothing. Interesting. Ralsei nodded to let them know he was still listening.
“So then, yesterday, as we were walking home from the church, she brought it up again. She said she knew what I was really trying to do, and said she didn’t mind. I didn’t know what she meant, so I told her that, but she didn’t believe me and kept insisting it was fine. Finally, she just… kissed me. It was quick, and…”
Ralsei watched as the blush on their face spread even further.
“Well, she didn’t really know what she was doing, and… Anyway, after that, she just wiped her sleeve on her mouth, said ‘huh’ like she realized something, and kept walking. I barely had time to process it before we got back to my place, and then… well, she just kinda left after that.”
They looked a bit sad for a split second before quickly regaining their exasperated expression.
“B-but you see what I mean, right!? That… that had to have meant something. You don’t just… kiss people like that. But she hasn’t said anything about it, and now I’m just… ugh.”
Kris put their face in their hands and groaned. It seemed like they needed a second, so Ralsei took a second to digest everything, and he wasn’t talking about the cake. It was a lot to take in, but… maybe it was better to start with his biggest question first.
“Well, Kris… That certainly is a lot. I know I’d be quite shocked if someone did that to me! Even imagining it is…”
Ralsei felt his face heat up.
“B-But anyway… Are you sure Susie knows that’s not normal?”
Kris let out a grim chuckle.
“Funny… I kept asking myself that too. I mean, it isn’t impossible, but c’mon, right? She’s seen movies, she’s played video games. People kiss in Dragon Blazers. I know Susie can seem clueless about certain things, but, like… It’s a kiss!”
Ralsei nodded.
“Hmmm, maybe you’re right, that does seem a bit far-fetched now that I’m thinking about it… Did you ever say something to her that would have made her think it was normal to do that with you?”
Kris crossed their arms and closed their eyes, deep in thought.
“I… don’t think so. We don’t talk too much when I’m… you know.”
He did.
Kris groaned again, shaking their head at nothing.
“I just… I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since it happened… Like, you don’t just… do that, right? Maybe she was just acting normal after she did it, but really she was freaking out like I was… Maybe she really doesn’t know… Maybe… It really didn’t mean anything.”
They sank into their seat as they finished speaking, turning their head to stare at the wall dejectedly. Ralsei cleared his throat.
“Kris… do you… want it to mean something?”
They didn’t move an inch. To be honest, Ralsei expected more of a reaction from that question.
“I probably do, but… You know how it is.”
They motioned to their chest.
“Even if it did mean something, it wouldn’t mean anything with me. It’d mean something with… It.”
Ralsei frowned. He knew that wasn’t true.
“Kris… I understand how you could feel that way, but… I really hope you don’t truly think that. Even if… It wasn’t there, Susie would still love you!”
Kris let out a frustrated scoff.
“How can you know that?”
“Because, Kris. I see how she looks at you. I see how she acts when you say something you would never say. She doesn’t like it, Kris. She likes it when you act like you, not it. I know it’s hard to believe that in your current situation, but… Well, this isn’t forever, right? Someday, I know you’ll be able to be just yourself with her!”
Ralsei smiled as hard as he could. Kris stared into his eyes for a few seconds before letting out a sigh and grinning slightly.
“Right. So I should just run to her right now and profess my undying love for her?”
Ralsei felt his cheeks warm up. That wasn't what he meant at all!
“G-Goodness! I never said that, Kris! M-maybe you should take it a bit slower! Y-You could just ask her out for tea sometime! T-then from there you c-”
Kris laughed.
“Ralsei, I was just messing with you. I get it… Listen, I don’t know if this is gonna lead to anything bigger, but… thanks for talking today.”
He smiled warmly. It was always so nice to talk with Kris. Even if it wouldn’t happen very often, he would cherish every second he got.
“Of course, Kris. No matter what happens, I’m sure you and Susie will be quite close for the rest of your lives!”
Kris blushed as they began to stand up.
“I’d like to think so, too. I gotta head out now, I’m getting kinda… tired.”
They touched their chestplate lightly and nodded slightly at Ralsei. He gave them a knowing look in response and nodded back.
“Alright, Kris, goodbye! I’ll see you soon!”
Kris waved as they walked out of the room, and Ralsei waved until he couldn't hear their footsteps any longer. As his hand fell to his side, he looked dejectedly at the table.
They hadn’t eaten any of their cake…
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Nah, that meant nothin’.”
Ralsei looked up from his cake and gazed across the table at Susie.
“Wh-what meant nothing, Susie?”
Susie momentarily stopped chugging tea straight from the pot to give Ralsei a sheepish look.
“Oh shit, I say that out loud? Heh, whoops.”
Ralsei had been picking up from earlier when Susie walked in completely unannounced and sat right down where Kris had been. While he was a bit shaken up from his conversation with Kris, he was never one to turn away guests, especially when it was one of his friends!
“Well, now you have to tell me! What was that about Susie?”
He had a feeling he knew what it was about, but he knew not to press Susie. If he tried that, she’d probably just leave. She stared back at Ralsei with a conflicted expression. After seemingly convincing herself to talk, she cleared her throat as nonchalantly as possible before continuing.
“Oh nah, it’s nothin’... I just… Well, I kissed Kris yesterday.”
She took a deep swig from the teapot after speaking. Her face was hidden behind it, but Ralsei could feel how tense she was from across the table.
“I see.” He responded, calmly stirring his tea as he did.
Susie slammed down the teapot and leaned towards Ralsei, desperate confusion plastered across her face.
“THAT’S IT?”
Ralsei stifled a giggle. He didn’t get opportunities to tease Susie often, so he had to take advantage of them when he could. Really, it was her fault for teaching him how fun it was! He kept a straight face, continuing to slowly swirl his spoon in the tea.
“Whatever is the problem, Susie?”
Susie seemed to realize how ridiculous her reaction was for claiming that the topic wasn’t a big deal, and quickly sat back down, clearing her throat much less nonchalantly this time.
“Uh… nothin’, just… expected a bigger response from ya. Y-you aren’t super experienced with stuff like that, so-”
Ralsei quickly cut in.
“Stuff like what, Susie?”
That caught Susie way off guard. She stared dumbfounded at Ralsei, maw hanging open as she tried to form words.
“Uh… s-stuff like, you know… kissing, and junk… I guess.”
Ralsei barely kept his laughter in.
“Oh, I see! Well, in that case, why don’t you enlighten me! You said you kissed Kris, right? Now, why would you go and do something like that?”
Susie’s face flushed as she scrambled to form a response.
“W-Well, like, I… The other day, Kris like… tried to kiss me when we were in the TV world! I thought they were in the bathroom, but really they were off playin’ some weird game, and I went to check on them, remember? So like, I was just chattin’ with ‘em and all of a sudden they pulled me close and held me there. It was… weird. They’d never done anything like that before.”
Ralsei took a sip of his tea and responded.
“And then they tried to kiss you?”
“W-Well… Like… They didn’t actually do anything after that, but like, I could tell that’s what they wanted to do, they were prolly just too scared. B-But I sure as hell wasn’t gonna do it! So instead I just shoved my hair in their face, heh. Gave ‘em a taste of their own medicine, ya know?”
Susie chuckled. Ralsei couldn’t remember a time when Kris had ever done that, only times when she had sniffed their hair, but he decided not to interrupt and just nodded.
“They tried to turn it back on me by calling ME weird, but I just brushed it off and left. So then later, after everything in the church earlier, we were walkin’ back to their place, and I guess I felt kinda bad for ‘em, so I offered to kiss ‘em. You know, just bein’ nice. They tried to act all confused, but I wasn’t buyin’ it, so I just went ahead and kissed ‘em. Then they got all embarrassed, which was pretty funny, but yeah. That’s it.”
Susie leaned back in her chair and kicked her feet up on the table, looking proud of herself. Susie was many things, but a good liar was not one of them. She had sped through the actual kiss way too fast for Ralsei to just let it slide, plus it was actively contradicting what Kris had said earlier.
“So, stop me if I’m wrong, Susie, but… Kris never actually tried to kiss you?”
Susie shook her head, “Ralsei, Ralsei, Ralsei. What did I just say? I told you, it was a feeling. I could tell they wanted to. They were just too scared.”
“Well, Susie, that’s nice and all, but it’s… well, a kiss! That’s a pretty big deal, don’t you think?”
Susie shrugged, desperately trying to look unfazed.
“I figured you’d say that, but I think that’s a dumb way of looking at it. There’s no rulebook that says it has to mean anything, ya know? Relationships are a lot more… uh, what’s the word… nuanced… these days, Rals. Not everything is so black and white anymore.”
While he didn’t disagree, Raslei could tell she was being dishonest. That whole thing felt rehearsed. Luckily, he knew just the way to get her to reveal her true feelings.
“Wow… that’s amazing, Susie! If that’s the case, then why don’t we kiss!”
Susie’s eyes went wide as she slowly stopped rocking in her chair.
“U-Uh…. What?”
“Well, Susie, you just told me that your relationships are more nuanced. So, surely if you’re fine with kissing Kris, then you’d be fine kissing me too!”
She shuffled uncomfortably in her seat, avoiding eye contact.
“W-Well, I mean like… It’s… more complicated than that.”
“Oh? What’s so complicated about it? Aren’t we friends?”
“O-Of course! But like… You know… It’s.”
Ralsei had her right where he wanted her. He stifled a chuckle as he continued.
“So… you don’t want to kiss me, but you’re ok with kissing Kris?”
Susie was blushing and picking at her scales, still not able to look him in the eye.
“W-Well, it’s just… different. Like… It’s Kris.”
“I’m afraid I don’t know, Susie.”
“It’s… It’s just. It’s different, ok! Me and Kris, we got something… special, ya know!? We like… We just… It’s just different!!!!”
Susie was blushing furiously and gripping the table while scowling at Ralsei. Part of him wanted to push harder, but his true nature won out, and he simply smiled.
“I understand, Susie. You and Kris have something special together. You understand each other better than anyone else ever has before. Every moment you spend with each other feels like the best moment of your life. It feels deep, and true. It’s more of a feeling than something you could put into words, but it’s perfect, and you want to protect it no matter what.”
Susie was silent for a while. She just stared down at the table. Finally, after a few false starts, she spoke.
“I… I guess so, yeah.”
Ralsei smiled warmly.
“And that’s great, Susie. It’s wonderful to feel like that… but, you know… You’re not exactly doing a great job of convincing me that kiss meant nothing, blushing like that.”
Susie suddenly looked up at Ralsei, looking panicked. Her entire face was flushed. Ralsei couldn’t hold back his laughter any longer and started chuckling behind his hand. That was all Susie needed, and she immediately jumped to her feet and shot an accusatory finger toward him.
“GODDAMMIT RALSEI, I KNEW YOU WERE ACTING TOO NICE!!! W-WHATEVER, I DUNNO WHY I THOUGHT YOU’D GET THIS ANYWAY!!!!”
As much as she tried to act angry, Ralsei knew she wasn’t truly mad, just embarrassed and unsure of how to act. However, because he knew this, it just made him laugh harder. Susie scowled as best as she could, but he could tell she was just doing her best not to laugh as well.
“God, you’re such a dork, man… W-Whatever, I gotta bounce… But uh… thanks for this… I think? I’ll see you soon.”
Susie quickly ran out of the room before Ralsei could try to stop her. Right as Ralsei stopped laughing, she ran back into the room and picked the entire cake up off the table.
“I’m taking this.”
And with that, she was gone.
… Those two were adorable.
And hey, at least someone enjoyed his cake.