Archive of Our Own

It had only been a minute or so since Susie had left Kris and Noelle by themselves to go run and grab some fireworks she'd "hidden" in the bushes a few weeks prior, and they were already running out of things to talk about.

"So, Kris," Noelle started, digging her right hoof into the dirt, "How're you enjoying the festival?"

Fuck. Kris thought they'd be content to let her and Susie talk among themselves. Now with Susie gone, they were stuck struggling to rend the last remnants of napkin from their sticky fingertips so that they could sign effectively. "GOOD."

"Yay!" She grinned from ear to ear while raising her paws up to her cheeks. "I'm having so much fun, too!"

They nodded.

"I'm so glad Susie could make it!"

They nodded again.

"Fahaha, it's already weird without her around, isn't it?"

They nodded one more time.

"S-sorry, I'm talking too much again, aren't I?"

They shook their head. Well, maybe, but I don't mind.

"I just don't want to annoy S-" She was cut off as a purple-feathered turkey monster bumped into her, throwing her off to the side. Kris effortlessly sidestepped the rude pedestrian, then stepped off to the side. "I-I guess we're in the way, huh?"

Kris reached their disgraceful mitts outwards and grabbed onto Noelle's hand, then dragged her into the alley off to the side of Sans' convenience store. She nearly tripped over the curb, her drink spilling over herself. Sorry. They wanted to say it, but they didn't.

"Woah, Kris!!" She giggled as they made their way into the shadows between the buildings, away from the bustle of the Festival. "You could've just asked me to move, y'know?"

They signed out "SORRY" as quick as they could, not letting it linger any longer than needed for her to see it.

"O-oh, I mean, I don't mind!" She chuckled awkwardly. "You were just, uh, sticky, fahaha."

As if they didn't already have a hard enough time responding, they couldn't help but fixate on her fidgeting paws. Her fingers weaved between themselves, brushing off sticky residue that Kris had inflicted on them. Perhaps noticing their gaze, she wiped her hands off on her skirt, an unusually unkempt act for her. Am I making her nervous?

They tried to force themselves to say something, anything, meaningful. Their fingertips danced as they pushed together, as if looking for just the right word in a dictionary of millions. After a minute of belabored silence, they finally landed on one. "SORRY."

"Oh, Kris! You don't have to apologize... I've got wet wipes and everything. Really, it's no big deal!"

She did, indeed, have wet wipes, producing them from her oddly spacious skirt pockets and wiping her paws clean. After being offered one, Kris gladly accepted, cleansing their own digits. Too bad that wouldn't make it any easier to think of what to say. Too bad she doesn't know what I'm sorry about.

After finishing up with it, Kris handed it back to Noelle, who unceremoniously threw it to the ground. Susie is really rubbing off on her.

"So, Kris," she started, peering away from them and towards the ground, "How do you like the Festival this time?"

"IT'S FINE."

She nodded. "You never really loved it, did you?"

The Festival had never been great to Kris. The kiddy rides weren't exciting, and the whole business about King and Queen felt forced and uncomfortable. Their favorite memories had always been messing with Noelle or Asriel, and neither of those were on the cards this time. "JUST BORING."

"I used to think the same thing, Kris."

Kris tilted their head. If Noelle had been bored with the Festival before, she'd never shown it.

She seemed to pick up on their response. "Yeah, I mean, some of it is fun. But once your Mom is involved and running the show, it gets a little tedious. A month of planning isn't really worth it for a few hours of enjoyment, right?"

They shrugged.

"It's only as good as the people you're with. That's why I'm finally having fun this year!" Her grin was almost infectious.

Kris signed out "SUSIE."

Noelle blushed and turned away. "W-well, yeah, she really is great, and she brings a, unique perspective to all the attractions, doesn't she?"

They nodded.

"I mean, who could've imagined her beating the cup game by blowing over the cups?"

They smirked. Poor Cuptains.

"Or eating through an entire tray of your dad's flowers?"

Now their smirk was a grin. The both of them laughed and laughed, like a dam had been broken. For a brief moment, Kris freed themselves from their worries. Maybe the Festival wasn't all so bad. No matter what they'd have to do afterwards, just seeing their two friends enjoying themselves should be enough. They almost convinced themselves.

"She really is perfect, isn't she? I'm so lucky..."

Kris' lip creased, dropping its jovial look. They forced it into place, enough to not let on how they felt, or the way that their heart twinged within them. She's so lucky. "YOU ARE."

Her own smile only grew, as did her blush. "Oh, Kris, you always know what to say."

She covered her face with her paws to hide how she felt, as if Kris couldn't see. For the briefest second, it brought joy to them, the way she stood there and hid herself, so encumbered by love that she couldn't avoid it if she wanted. They wanted to be happy about it, and to be happy for her. Instead, it made them feel queasy. They turned away from her and leaned against the wall, their face obscured now.

Before she spoke, they swore they heard her gulp. "Oh, are you alright?"

Maybe I'm not as subtle as I think. One hand still stuck behind their back was enough to give a thumbs up.

"O-oh, okay!"

If they could just wait another few minutes, Susie would show up and save them. It happened enough in the Dark World. It's not like the conversation was helping them much, and they were never sure that Noelle even wanted to talk, anyway.

Nah, that's stupid. She loves talking. "WHAT ELSE DO YOU LIKE ABOUT SUSIE?"

Her eyes shot open. "O-oh, well, there's a whole lot!"

They continued to stare sternly at her. "LIKE WHAT?"

Noelle quivered some under their gaze. "I, well, I think her hair is really pretty."

Kris nodded.

"The high notes of her voice are almost Angelic!"

Kris nodded again.

"She has such great comedic timing!"

Another nod.

"I've never met such a good listener!"

Kris kept nodding, hardly keeping up with her, but their mind wasn't in it. Why'd I ask this stupid question? It was almost like they'd been trying to convince themselves out of something -- and they didn't know what -- but it hadn't worked. Rather, they'd only grown more certain.

"--and she totally loves Dragon Blazers, which is such good taste. Did you know Berdly thinks it's the weakest classic RPG series?"

They nodded, although they weren't entirely listening; they didn't know that, although it wouldn't have been a surprise.

"That's such a terminally online opinion. I mean, he obviously took it from a video essay, right?"

They kept nodding.

"W-wait, I got off track a little. Uh... so, why'd you ask that about Susie?"

They shrugged. "JUST WONDERING."

She opened her mouth to speak, then pulled back for a moment before committing. "You guys are really good friends, right?"

They nodded without a thought.

"It just happened so abruptly, did it?"

They nodded one more time. Not like she could ever know. She didn't know what Kris and Susie had been through, but she didn't need to. She's already so comfortable with Susie.

"Then I guess that's one more thing. She seems to open up quickly with people, if they'll just give her a chance. I wish I'd talked to her sooner..."

Noelle and Kris both looked away from one another. Thinking about the months Susie spent without so much as a friend wouldn't do them any good.

"It's just a good thing that we're here for her now. She'll never have to be by herself again if she doesn't want to!" She finally grinned again.

"She said that you and her hang out all the time, doing something super special and secret, fahah."

They hid their shock. Just how exactly did Susie describe it to her...

"I almost got jealous. But, then, she and I started to have something special of our own. Something that maybe can make up for all that time we could've all been friends together."

It was happening again. Kris couldn't figure why, but it really did hurt, like they'd been stabbed by several little needles, right about where their SOUL was. It was silly, even ridiculous. Everything she was saying was just so pure and goodhearted, it should have made them smile. It's naive. It's beautiful, just like Noelle and Susie's relationship, bringing out the best in both of them. They resolved to show just how they felt. "YOU'RE GREAT TOGETHER." It felt like a million matches had been put out on their skin, but they did it.

Noelle rushed at them and grabbed their hands into her own paws, fingers overlaid with one another. "Oh, Kris, you really think so?"

Somberly, they nodded.

"O-oh, right!" She dropped their hands, and Kris let them fall away without incident. For a moment, they imagined they could still feel her soft fur holding them up. "W-why do you think so?"

They worked up the courage to sign again. "ISN'T IT OBVIOUS?"

Noelle laughed. "Well, I just want to know what you think! You're a great judge of character."

As if. "YOU TELL ME."

She laughed again, albeit nervously. "T-then, uh, I could talk about the way she seems to stutter around me like she never does around anyone else. That means something, right?"

Kris didn't respond.

"And, she got me that little pin with the Angel on it. Well, she stole it, I think, but it's the thought that counts."

It was overpriced, anyway.

"Oh, and when she lifted me up to grab that balloon... I was swooned! I could even see her blushing..." Noelle seemed to reenact her memory wistfully as she trailed off, cheeks flushed. "Is that what you were thinking?"

The words spilled out of their wrists before they could be filtered. "THERE'S SOMETHING ELSE."

She gasped. "T-then, won't you spit it out? I mean, sorry, that came out all rude!!" More flustering. No less cute than when I used to mess with her. "Just, I really want to know!!"

Their fingertips obliged. "SHE'S NEVER LOOKED AT ME THE WAY SHE LOOKS AT YOU."

"Kris??" Her jaw dropped. "W-"

"Hey, nerds!" Saved by the bell. Susie's voice echoed out from behind them, back towards the street. They both turned to her just in time to witness her arms full of illicit fireworks, exactly as promised. "These things are supposed to be the bomb! Get it?"

Noelle laughed, as if she'd instantly forgotten what she just heard. "My mom'll be so mad if she sees those!"

"Isn't that the point?"

They both giggled. Susie offered her free hand to Noelle; she took it in stride, walking out to the street together with the explosives expert. Their bodies blocked the light that stretched down the alleyway, obscuring Kris in its shadow. For a moment, they'd almost forgotten them.

"Wait, Kris!" Noelle shouted at them, forming her paws into a makeshift loudspeaker. "I know you'd never want to miss this!"

Their mouth twisted, and they weren't sure if they were scowling or smiling. They weren't sure which one they even wanted to do. All they knew was that she was right; there was no way they'd miss another second that could be spent with either of the two of them.