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"Hey, check it out!" Susie yelled to her friends as she broke into a run. "Ferris wheel!"
She fell in line as Noelle and Kris hurried after her. The ferris wheel here wasn't nearly the size of the one back in Cyber World, but somehow that only made it feel all the more important. This one was just for them. For Susie and her friends.
Heh... crazy to think about really...
"C'mon, c'mon, move it already." She groaned, rocking impatiently on her feet. "Can't this line move any faster?"
"Relax, Susie. We'll get our turn. The ferris wheel isn't going anywhere, fahaha." Noelle laughed before taking a moment to look between the three of them. "Oh, but umm... who's going to-"
"Aww, c'mon." Susie unintentionally cut her off as she continued to look at the line pause in place. "Do they have to stop it every time a cart gets to the bottom? Why can't they just jump out while it's still moving?"
"I don't think that would be very... safe, Susie." Noelle said nervously.
"Nah, they'd be fine. And it'd just make the ride more exciting anyway!" She grinned over at Kris. "Right, Kris?"
A pause. Just a slight one in the way they always did when asked a question. A quick flicker of movement behind their bangs, a brow creasing in thought, she'd come to recognize. As though they were worried they would say the wrong thing and couldnt take it back.
"Right!" They said a moment later.
Susie smiled. Kris never said the wrong thing. She didn't think they could if they tried.
"Hell yeah!" They both threw up a hand, their palms cracking together with a sharp smack. The motion tossed Kris's hair aside just long enough for Susie to catch the excitement shining in their eyes. They were doing the same thing she was.
Enjoying everything they could. Every moment they could possibly keep.
"All right, we're next! Get going, Kris!" She shoved them right into the open cart before grabbing Noelle's hand to pull her in after.
"Susie, I don't think we can all-" Noelle started, but was cut short.
"Hey, hey, hey!" The operator called, throwing an arm across the entrance. "Two riders per cart."
"What? Why?" Susie demanded.
"Weight limit."
"That's a bunch of-"
"Rules are rules. Now who's riding? You two are holding up the line."
Susie blinked, glancing over her shoulder. Sure enough, a whole line of people stood behind them, frowning and tapping their feet.
Well... She guessed Noelle and Kris could go first. Only fair, she'd known Kris a lot longer than Susie had. She turned to tell Noelle to hop in, but stopped short.
"A-actually, Susie, I think that, uh, well, I-I think that we could..." Noelle stammered, the tip of her nose glowing bright red.
What had her so nervous, Susie wondered.
Wait a minute. What was that Noelle had said yesterday? About her and Kris? About the last time they'd ridden a ferris wheel together?
Oh.
Oh, right.
"Scoot over, Kris. You and Noelle already had y'all's turn."
Technically.
Also technically, Noelle and Susie had just had theirs a couple days ago. She let go of Noelle's hand and hopped into the cart beside Kris. Today was her turn with them.
Fair's fair and all that.
"Well, uhh..." Noelle gave them a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "You two have fun. I'll just... wait here... again."
The door closed, and Susie watched as Berdly went to stand next to Noelle before Catti casually grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him back, sliding him over beside Jockington while she took his place.
Woah...
Nice beard.
"Damn, he looks cool." Susie grumbled as the cart began its ascent. "Me and you should grow beards, Kris. Show that poser how it's done!" She barked out a laugh.
They didn't laugh with her. Not that they ever really did. But she caught the little smirk tugging at the corner of their mouth. That tiny smile always felt more genuine than any words they ever said. Like, for just a second, she got to peek at the Kris hiding behind their bangs.
"So, uhh..." She rocked the cart gently beneath them with the heel of her boot as. "Ferris wheel? This all there is to it? Not really the most exciting ride..."
The cart swayed with a soft creak before settling again, continuing its slow climb toward the top.
"Still..." She let herself sink against the guard rail. "Today's been fun. Been... nice... hangin' out and stuff. I never really did anything like this before."
Her eyes drifted down to the floor of the cart.
"I remember a few weeks ago... All I would've been interested in doing here would've been figuring out how much food I could snag." Her hands disappeared into her pockets with a sigh. "How much I could carry somewhere and just... I dunno. Eat? Try not to think too much about it. About everyone else going off and having fun together."
She glanced back over at Kris.
They were still standing there in that awkward little pose they always had. Hands at their sides. Feet together. Back ramrod straight. Like some statue locked into position.
And yet... Even through the curtain of dark hair, she could feel their eyes on her. She had their full attention. Maybe they had a funny way of showing it, but she had it.
They were the first person she could remember in a long time who'd ever really given her that.
"Even with all the world-ending stuff..." she continued. "And even with everything going on with that Knight, and Undyne, and who knows what else..."
A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
"...I'm kinda glad it happened. 'Cause without all that... we don't get any of this." Her hand made a small gesture between the two of them. "Me, you, and Ralsei."
Her smile softened.
"Even if..." She hesitated. "Even if he can't be here for this part." A sigh slipped from her chest. "I really wish he could."
At the very same moment, she heard a sharp intake of breath beside her.
"Yeah... you wish he was here too, huh? Heh... We should go visit him when we're done here." A grin spread across her face. "Maybe make a ferris wheel in the Dark World. You think he'd like that?"
She turned toward them. Their lips twitched into a frown. Then a small smile. Then...
Another frown. Quick. Almost too quick to notice before their mouth opened.
"Close your eyes and think about Ralsei." There was something in their voice. Just enough for Susie to catch. Enough that she didn't question such a weird request.
"Yeah, uhh... sure thing."
She closed her eyes. The first thing she pictured was the little fluffball smiling back at her. They might not be there with him, but he wasn't alone. Lancer was there. Queen, too. Even Rouxls. All the Darkners they'd brought home. But even still...
Something told her...
"He's probably holed up in that room of his." She murmured. "Still thinking he doesn't deserve anything more than that..."
Susie let out a quiet breath in longing.
"Why d'ya think he's like that?" She asked.
No answer. Instead, she heard soft footsteps against the metal floor of the cart. One. Then another. Until they felt so close that she thought Kris was about to brush against her shoulder.
But the footsteps stopped short.
"Maybe we just..." They said quietly. "Don't know the whole story."
Susie nearly opened her eyes. Their voice was...
Softer than usual.
"Maybe he has his reasons." They continued. "Maybe... maybe he's not as good a person as we think."
The words lit a spark of anger in her chest. But only for a second. Something in their voice smothered it before it could catch. The words sounded... heavy. Heavier than she could quite pick up.
Even still, she tried.
"He's one of the best people I've ever met." She frowned. "How could you think he's not?"
"We just met him." Kris's voice barely rose above the gentle clatter of the ferris wheel. "He has a whole life we don't know about."
Another pause.
"What if..." Their fingers curled around the cool metal railing. "What if he did something before? Something... bad. Something he couldn't take back."
"I don't think he-" Susie stopped herself. She couldn't honestly say Ralsei had never done something terrible. She had no way of knowing...
But what she did know-
"I'm sure if he did..." She said quietly. Cautiously. "He didn't mean to. Someone like that..." A small smile tugged at her mouth. "He ain't about to screw up on purpose."
"But what if he did?" The words came out sharper than before. They stabbed through the air like a blade. "What if he messed something up so bad there wasn't any way to fix it?"
Their voice caught.
"Or what if..." A slow breath slipped through clenched teeth as they continued. "What if the only way he could fix it... was to do something even worse?"
"I mean..." Susie scratched at the back of her neck. "I guess then... I'd help him. Whatever he thinks he needs to do... we'll do it." A shrug. "So long as he thinks it's the right way then I'll-"
"But what if they don't!?" The words burst out before she'd even finished and Susie jumped.
She'd only heard Kris yell once before.
"What if they..." Their voice faltered. "He..." Another breath through their teeth. "What if he knows what he's doing is wrong... but he can't stop anyway? What if..."
Their hand trembled against the railing, rattling it like the doof on a cage.
"...no matter how bad it is. What if it's the only way to make up for what he did?"
"Like I said, I'd help him anyway." She shrugged. To her it was nothing complicated. If a friend needed help-
"But what if..."
"Alright, stop it!" Susie opened her eyes and turned so fast she forgot how close they were. Her shoulder bumped into Kris, knocking them backward onto the floor of the cart with a dull thump that rattled the metal beneath them.
"That's enough of all that!" She huffed. "I don't care what he did, or what he's gotta do in this little made up story. He's our friend! We're helping him. And that's the end of story. You got that?"
No answer. Kris just sat there. Head lowered to the floor, hands limp to their sides.
"Kris." Her voice softened. "Look at me."
Slowly, they lifted their head. Their eyes never opened, but tears slipped from beneath their lashes anyway, tracing quiet lines down their cheeks.
"...Kris?"
Their mouth parted. Closed. Opened again. Their jaw trembled... but nothing came out. The only sound was the ferris wheel clicking another few feet higher.
"Kris..." Susie swallowed. "I don't know what you think Ralsei could've done. Or what he might have to do to fix it, but..." She crouched beside them, closed her eyes again...
Then wrapped her arms around them. Ralsei always said hugs were the best way to heal. And that her hugs were worth more than anyone else's. Right now... She believed him.
She had to.
"I'd follow him right down to hell if that's what it took." She squeezed a little tighter. "And when we're done..." A crooked grin tugged at one side of her mouth. "...I'd drag his fluffy butt right back out again."
For just a heartbeat, Kris stayed completely still.
Then they broke.
Their arms wrapped around her so suddenly it almost knocked the breath from her lungs. They held on with both hands. Tight enough to almost hurt.
Like if they let go, they'd fall right off the cart. Susie gave a frown as she rested her chin gently atop their head. She didn't know what made them grab her like that... but she'd wait as long as she needed to.
"Can we open our eyes now..." She murmured, trying for her usual grin even as her chest tightened, "...or we gonna keep 'em shut like a bunch of weirdos?"
"...just-" Their voice cracked. "Just until the ride's over..." Another breath. "...Please?"
Susie didn't ask why. She only held them a little tighter.
"...Yeah."
The ferris wheel climbed. The wind whispered past them. Below, the festival laughed and shouted and played music like the world hadn't stopped revolving for a single second. Up here...
None of that seemed to matter.
"Sure thing, Kris."