Work Text:
Ever since she was small, Susie found she liked to people-watch. It was just… so interesting seeing people go about their lives, seeing people do things and talk to each other. She’d spent a lot of time curled up on benches and tucked into street corners, watching the world pass by with something heavy and unnameable sitting in her chest. Nobody ever paid her any mind, and sometimes she wasn’t sure if that made her feel better or worse.
Sometimes, if she was especially bored or needed the distraction, she’d come up with her own stories for people in her head. Though, most of the time she was content to just watch them. The world was so full of movement and detail, how could she not be entranced? It was far better than the alternative, anyway.
Recently, though, she found herself watching crowds with a lot more intent. Take now, for example, where she was scanning the bustling streets of Hometown for a specific person. Well, three specific people, technically, but only one of them was supposed to be here right now. She was leant against the outer wall of QC’s diner with her jacket wrapped tightly around herself, her eyes flicking back and forth, back and forth, until-
There!
-They found what they were looking for.
Kris, donning their usual striped jumper with a black tote slung over their shoulder, was making their way towards the diner. They tapped away at their phone as they walked, and Susie deduced that they were probably asking Berdly when he would arrive (she still had no idea why they’d invited him, but as long as he wasn’t an ass, she didn’t care). Fucking finally.
“Hey, dumbass! Get your head out of your phone n’ get over here!”
They glanced around for a second before their gaze met hers, and their mouth twitched into a smile. Tucking their phone into their bag, they quickly crossed the street to greet her. Susie held her hand up, and they met it with theirs in a high-five that resonated in the air.
“The hell took you so long? I’ve been waiting here forever,” she asked, stuffing her hands into her pockets.
Kris let out a small huff. “It’s only 2:03,” they said, “How long have you been here?”
Susie faltered. How long had she been here? She was pretty sure she left around 1:40, and it was about a 7 minute walk to the diner, so…
A chill breeze sweeping through the street pulled her from her thoughts. She shuddered, pulling her jacket around herself again. Kris’ brow furrowed from behind their fringe.
“Aren’t you cold blooded or something?” they asked.
“Well, duh. I’ve been waiting for you guys to show up for forever now. Your blood would be cold too if you were me.”
Kris let out a long-suffering, but amused sigh, and began to usher her towards the diner. Susie just rolled her eyes and went with it.
The door to QC’s diner swung open with a satisfying chime, and Susie was instantly hit with warm air and the smell of fresh pancakes. Some jazz was playing quietly in the background, accompanied by the clattering of forks and chatter of various patrons. The waitstaff (not Catti, thank god) wandered between tables with plates of food that made Susie’s mouth water. QC stood behind the counter polishing some glasses, but looked up to greet them when she heard the door.
“Afternoon, kids. What can I getcha?”
Susie opened her mouth to give an order, but realised it’d be at least 10 minutes until someone else got here, and it’d be kinda rude to eat without them. She scratched her neck sheepishly. “Uh, actually, could we just, like. Sit down for a bit first?”
“We’re waiting on a few others,” Kris added helpfully. Susie shot them an appreciative look, and they bumped their elbow into hers.
“Sure thing, hun,” QC replied kindly. “Do y’all want some menus to help you choose while you wait?”
“Oh, uh, sure! Yeah, that’d be sick. Thanks.”
QC set down the glass she was holding and turned to pull something out from behind the counter. A moment later she returned with two sheets of thick, colourful card.
“Here you are, hun. Take a seat wherever you’d like.”
Susie took the menus from her with an appreciative nod, then made a beeline for their usual booth. Collapsing onto the plush leather bench with a satisfied huff, she dropped the menus in the middle of the table. Kris slid into the seat opposite her and picked one up. She watched their eyes scan through the text for a moment before picking up her own and beginning to browse.
Even though she hadn’t exactly been to many diners in her life, Susie swore up and down that QC’s was the best out there. They had the fluffiest pancakes she’d ever seen topped with an ocean’s worth of butter and syrup, hot chocolate that was thick and creamy and went down your throat smoothly, hashbrowns that were the perfect ratio of crunchy on the outside to fluffy on the inside, and a whole host of cookies and bar cakes that rotated regularly. Up until a few months ago she’d only ever eaten here once, but since becoming friends with Kris and Noelle they’d made it a regular meetup spot. Because of this, Susie made it her mission to try as many things on the menu as possible.
“Looks like they have new waffle flavours.”
Susie looked up from her menu with wide eyes. “Shit, for real?”
Kris hummed. “Check the bottom half.”
She skimmed to the bottom and sure enough, there was a whole section on waffle fillings, toppings and serving sizes. They had blueberry, banana, chocolate chip- the whole nine yards.
“Oh, we are so trying those,” she said eagerly, looking through serving sizes. “Think we could just get, like, a big plate of ‘em and share that?”
“‘Prolly.” Kris set their menu down on the table again before lowering their head to rest atop their folded arms. When they didn’t move after a minute, Susie started to get suspicious.
“Kris, c’mon, you can’t seriously be tired already.” She poked them with the corner of her menu a few times, which only made them bury their head further in their jumper. “Did you even sleep last night?”
They raised one hand and waved it in a so-so motion. Susie let out a huff, raising the menu and lightly swatting them with it. The arm still in the air waved around frantically to grab it, but she just lifted it out of reach with a laugh.
“Nope. You have your own weapon, dumbass. Use that.” She indicated towards their own discarded menu, to which she only got a grumble in response. Rolling her eyes, Susie relented and dropped the menu back onto the table in front of her.
“Seriously, though. If you’re having trouble sleeping again, you can always tell us, y’know,” she said softly, “I’m sure Ralsei has like… a book he could use to read up on it. Or read to you. That always puts me to sleep.”
That got a small chuckle out of them. They lifted their head enough to look at her, and let out a soft sigh upon meeting her worried stare.
“S’alright. Sans made me work an early shift yesterday, ‘n that kinda messed me up. But I’ll be alright.”
Satisfied with that answer, Susie went back to browsing the menu, occasionally looking back at Kris. They’d adjusted their position slightly to face the window, watching the bare trees bend and wave in the wind.
“ …Thanks, though.”
Susie looked back at them with a grin. “‘Course, dude. Can’t have you falling asleep when we’re hanging out. That’d suck ass.”
They hummed in agreement, and went back to staring out the window. Continuing her search of the menu, Susie’s eyes landed on the drinks section, advertising several different (but all equally delicious looking) milkshake flavours.
“…Hey, Kris,” she began, “D’you think Noelle would wanna get one of those dumb couples milkshakes with me? Y’know, the ones with two straws. Or would that be too sappy?”
Kris thought for a moment. “She’d probably love that. But isn’t it kinda cold for milkshakes?”
Mentally, Susie facepalmed. “Damn, you’re right. Guess I’ll have to save that idea for summer…”
“Couldn’t you just ask QC to put two straws in something else?” they suggested, “Like coffee or hot chocolate or something.”
She slammed her palms onto the table. “Dude, you’re a genius!”
“‘S what I’m here for.” They gave her a quick smile before burying their head in their arms again.
The time passed by quietly after that, but neither of them minded much. Kris seemed content to doze off while they waited for Berdly and Noelle, so Susie figured she’d just poke them when they got here. Instead, she busied herself with looking through the menu to determine what they would get. Noelle had very kindly offered to pay for the group today, which had initially made Susie feel a tad awkward, but she’d brightened up when Noelle suggested she help by deciding what they’d get.
“It means we can start hanging out quicker!” she’d explained, “Since we don’t have to stand around deciding what to get beforehand.” She spoke so earnestly that Susie couldn’t help but agree.
Several minutes passed before the chime of the door drew from her intense decision-making. She looked up to see Berdly shuffle awkwardly through the door, jumping a little when it swung shut behind him. He wrung his hands together as his head swivelled around, likely looking for Kris. She hadn’t seen him this anxious since the puzzle rooms in the computer lab dark world.
Deciding to take pity on him, she raised her arm to catch his attention. “Hey Nerdly! We’re over here!”
Berdly’s head snapped to face the sound of her voice, and almost instantly his expression shifted from one of anxious hesitance to his usual smug persona. He walked over to the table to greet her.
“Ah, Susan!-”
“Not my name.”
“…Good to see you haven’t frozen over! The weather is practically glacial, is it not?”
She squinted at him for a second. “Sure, dude. Take a seat, Noelle’s not gonna be here for a bit.”
“Ah, yes. I was told.” He paused, looking at the empty seat beside her. “Is, uh, Kris…?”
Wordlessly, Susie pointed to the Kris-shaped lump slouched against the table. A noise emanated from the lump. Berdly blinked at it, then looked back at Susie, who just shrugged.
“Something about a morning shift. We’ll hit them with the menus if they don’t wake up when Noelle gets here though, don’t worry.”
“…I see.” Berdly moved down to sit next to them but paused, before straightening back up again. “Hold my seat for me. I have to do something first.”
Susie blinked at him, but just shrugged as he made his way up to the front counter. He politely called over QC and engaged her in some kind of conversation, before pulling his wallet out of his pocket and handing her a few bills. QC set about making something with the drinks machines behind the counter, and about a minute later Berdly was walking back to the table with a warm drink in his hand.
“Here.” He set the drink down in front of Kris before sitting down next to them. “To… repay you for yesterday.”
Kris unfurled themself from their previous position, staring at the cup for a second before picking it up. They held it with both hands wrapped around the mug, seemingly savouring the warmth before taking a long, slow sip. After realising they were being watched, they put it back down on the table and turned away with a flushed expression.
“…S’good hot chocolate,” they mumbled, “Uh, thanks, Berdly.”
Berdly waved his hand. “Of course. I couldn’t let your good deed go unrewarded.”
Susie stared between the two as they sat in awkward silence. Did she miss something?
“Er- Anyway! How has everyone been? Keeping warm, I should hope?”
“For the most part,” Susie said, “Been spending most of my time inside replaying Dragon Blazers, really.”
Berdly perked up at this. “Oh, really? Well, I suppose there is no better way to spend a chilly afternoon. How far in are you?”
“The bit right before the ice palace. Noelle’s guiding me through a bunch of secrets she found, so we’ve been sitting on calls whenever she’s free going through them all.”
“How intriguing! Would you care to tell me of the resultant data?”
Conversation flowed easier after that, with Susie animatedly telling him about the bugs and secrets she’d found so far. He would occasionally chip in with his own thoughts and knowledge of the game, and surprisingly, she found herself actually enjoying talking to the guy. Usually they wouldn’t hang out on their own, and they hadn’t always been on the best of terms, but it seemed like he’d gone through his own growth. Kris seemed content to just watch the two of them talk, nodding along while sipping at their hot chocolate.
“So when you get to the backstage of the Northernlight Theatre, you can actually find the original script, which describes-”
Ding!
“Oh, gosh, I hope I’m not too late…”
Closing the door carefully behind her, Noelle stepped into the diner. Her vest was slightly skewed and her face looked flushed from exertion, but that didn’t matter to Susie as she flung herself from her seat to greet her girlfriend.
“Noelle!”
“Susie! Sorry about the dela-ay!” Noelle squeaked as Susie lifted her up and spun her around, laughter bubbling from her throat. “Fahaha, okay, okay! You can put me down now!”
Susie complied, but kept her arms around her as she stared at her with a dopey grin on her face. Giggling, Noelle reached her hand up to cup her face, tilting it down to kiss the tip of her snout.
“I’m happy to see you too, silly,” she beamed, “Sorry I was late, the changing rooms at cross country wouldn’t open because of the cold. We had to call Officer Undyne over to get them to open again.”
Susie shifted to wrap just one arm around her shoulders as they walked back to the table. “S’fine, just glad you’re here now. You hungry?”
“Oh, definitely. Cross country was a doozy today!” She slid into the booth seat, Susie following shortly after. “Heya, Kris! Berdly! Sorry I took a bit to get here.”
“Worry not, Noelle. Although your absence was felt, Susan and-” Susie shot Berdly a half-hearted glare, and he paled slightly before continuing, “-Er, Susie, and I, were quite engaged in discussing the hidden gems within Dragon Blazers.”
“Oh, you mean the easter eggs? Yeah, that’s been a lot of fun! Susie, have you gotten past the Ice Drake yet?”
“Ugh, no,” she groaned, “Stupid thing keeps freezing my warrior, so I can’t get enough hits in.”
Noelle let out a soft giggle, and Susie’s frustration melted away. “That’s fair. I remember I had to get Kris to help me out on that one, and even then it took way too long. And they’re, like, the best player I know!”
“Noelle, while I’m certain Kris is fine at Dragon Blazers, I’ll have you know I’m in the top 300 speedruns for the game! Should you get stuck again, I suggest you seek out my services instead,” Berdly preened.
“…Funny, I remember you calling me at near midnight one time begging me to help you beat the Weaponsmith.”
Berdly swivelled to face Kris with a mortified expression, and Susie burst out laughing. It took a minute for Noelle to calm her down again, all the while Berdly sputtered out excuses of ‘my game was glitching’ and ‘someone had hacked my controller’.
“Okay, but the Weaponsmith? Seriously? He doesn’t even actually kill you!” Susie taunted, “He literally gives you a shield to fight with!”
Berdly scoffed. “He doesn’t even let you- ugh, forget it. We should order our food.”
“Oh, I almost forgot!” Noelle dug through her satchel, eventually pulling out her wallet. “Susie, did you pick something?”
Grinning, Susie picked up the discarded menu. “Figured people could pick out their own drinks, but for food we’re gonna go for a waffle platter. Sound good?”
“I’m fine with that! Does everyone know what drinks they want?”
Kris held up their half-full cup of hot chocolate. “I’m good here.”
“I’ll take an espresso, thank you.”
Noelle nodded at Berdly, then turned to Susie. “What about you?”
“Uh, actually…” Susie hesitated. “Was wondering if you wanted to share a drink. Like, one of those milkshakes you see in movies with two straws. But not a milkshake ‘cause it’s cold. And that’d be, uh, dumb.”
Noelle let out a high-pitched squeak as her eyes went wide. “O-oh? Yeah! Yeah, we could do that! So, um, is the cinnamon hot chocolate ok with you?”
“Sure! Yeah! That works!”
The smile Noelle gave her was worth all of her anxieties and more. Susie watched contentedly as she called over a waitress and gave her their order. The lioness smiled at the two of them knowingly when Noelle sheepishly asked for two straws in their hot chocolate.
“I’ll bring your order over later. If you need anything just holler, OK?”
Noelle politely thanked the waitress before turning back to the group. “While we wait,” she began, reaching into her bag, “Is anyone up for some games to pass the time?”
Everyone stared as she set the Uno box on the table in front of them all. They sat in silence, exchanging glances, until Kris spoke up.
“If we do this, just know that none of my actions for the next 15 minutes are personal.”
Noelle’s face lit up in a grin. “Oh, you’re on, Dreemurr.”
It only took 3 turns for things to devolve into chaos. Somehow Kris had gotten near every +2 card on the goddamn planet in their hand, Berdly and Susie kept fighting over swapping the playing pile between red and green, and Noelle had reversed the turn order, much to Susie’s chagrin. The game continued for a while, until somehow, Berdly was down to one card. Susie grumbled at the smug look he gave the rest of them. She still had 11, not a single red to her name, while Noelle had 6 and Kris had 4.
“Gosh, I need to start using up some of these cards.” Noelle pulled 2 cards from her deck, which turned out to be a yellow +2 and a +4. She gave Kris a (somewhat) pitying look. “Sorry, Kris, but that’s just the way the fruitcake crumbles sometimes!”
Kris shuffled through their remaining cards, and Susie watched them try to stop a grin from creeping across their face. They made eye contact across the table, and Kris ducked their head down to stop themself from laughing.
Once they had regained their composure, they pulled a card from the front of their deck. “All good, Noelle. You’ve just given me the opportunity to do the funniest fucking thing right now.”
Slowly, as if savouring the moment, Kris placed another +4 card onto the pile. The table fell silent before Berdly erupted with rage.
“NO! NO! YOU DON’T GET TO DO THAT, KRIS! YOU DON’T GET TO! YOU CONNIVING LITTLE- THAT’S NOT EVEN ALLOWED! IT’S NOT IN THE OFFICIAL RULES!”
“Hey now!” Susie cut in, pointing an accusatory claw at him. “That’s not what I remember you saying when you passed all those +2s onto me earlier.” Strangely, this did not help quell his anger.
Beside her, Noelle collapsed against the table, shaking with laughter. She raised her palm towards Kris, who met it in a very weak high-five. Berdly scowled at the action, but relented under Susie’s smug gaze, picking up 10 new cards.
“Fine then. If that’s how you ruffians wish to play…” Berdly pulled a single card from his hand, and placed it onto the playing pile. Susie’s expression quickly morphed to one of horror.
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“ …I change the pile to red.” He released the wild card from his grasp, settling back in his seat.
Susie groaned as she began to draw more cards to her already hopeless hand. At this point Noelle and Kris were practically breathless, Noelle reaching across the table to grab Kris’ shoulders for support. Berdly wiggled his eyebrows at Susie from across the table, which she responded to by flicking a card into his glasses.
Thankfully, their food arrived before any further fighting broke out. The group worked quickly to clear the cards from the table so the waitress could set down what was honestly the most beautiful sight Susie had ever bore witness to. Dozens of waffles with different mix-ins were laid out in a spiral on a large oval platter, with adorably small containers of syrups, jams, and fruit slices sat in the middle.
“Oh, I definitely made the right choice.”
They were given 4 smaller plates alongside their drinks before they were left to their meal. Kris immediately began stacking the chocolate chip waffles onto their plate, and Noelle had to smack their hand away before they snatched them all. Susie busied herself with taking one of every waffle variant and arranging them messily on her plate, before drenching them with golden syrup. Couldn’t go wrong with the classics.
While Berdly was preoccupied watching Kris make funny faces on their waffles out of fruit shapes, Noelle softly nudged Susie’s shoulder.
“Do you, um, want to try the hot chocolate now…?”
Susie felt her face flush as she remembered the glass with two straws. “Uh- yeah! Yeah, sure!”
They both hesitantly leaned down, and… hey, actually, this hot chocolate was really good! The cinnamon helped add that extra bit of cosiness to it, and the layer of whipped cream on top was sweet and light. Susie closed her eyes in bliss, and reopened them to find Noelle staring at her fondly. They stared at each other before they broke off into a fit of laughter.
When they’d calmed down, Susie gently bumped her forehead into Noelle’s. “The hot chocolate’s nice.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Almost as sweet as you.”
Noelle let out a little squeak, before burying her face in the lapel of Susie’s jacket. Susie had to jerk her head up to avoid being whacked in the face by an antler, but she smiled all the same. Noelle shifted after a moment so that she was instead resting her head on Susie’s shoulder. Letting out a content huff, Susie wrapped an arm around her girlfriend and turned back to her plate.
“This was a nice idea,” she said after a moment, “Thanks.”
Noelle looked up at her with a fond smile. “Thanks for joining me.”
Their moment was interrupted by a sharp gasp from the other side of the table. They both turned to see Kris pressed against the window, Berdly leaning over their shoulder to peer outside as well.
“It’s snowing!”
Sure enough, when Susie looked outside, small white dots danced and swayed in the air as they gradually fell to the ground. People in the streets were laughing and dancing in the snow, trying to catch the falling flakes in their mouths.
“Wow…” Noelle breathed, “Y’know, I’ve seen it so many times, but snow just gets prettier every time I see it.”
“Isn’t it the first time this winter?”
Noelle nodded at Kris. They turned back to the window, pressing their cheek against the cold glass. A little cloud of condensation formed where their breath hit it.
“It’s… nice.”
Susie hummed in agreement. She thought for a moment, and then softly asked, “D’you think it snows like this for Ralsei?”
Berdly turned to face her. “I thought the dark worlds were cut off from the outside,” he said, settling back down in his seat.
“I mean, yeah, but they’re still entire worlds. Plus, there’s wind n shit near the fountains themselves.”
“Aren’t there two weather reporters in Castle Town?” Noelle added.
“Yeah! We can ask ‘em when we next visit.”
“Ah.” Berdly wrung his hands together. “Will you tell me what they say? I’m quite curious to know.”
Susie stared at him. “ …Or you could just, y’know. Come with and find out yourself.”
“While I appreciate the offer, I’m not sure if Queen would exactly… want me around. I wasn’t the nicest when I visited their domain last.”
Kris nudged him with their shoulder. “Dude, don’t be too harsh on yourself. The Cyber World darkners would love to see you again.”
“Th-they would?!”
“Yeah!” Noelle smiled, “And if you want someone to come with you, I’d be happy to show you around.”
“…You’d really be ok with that?”
“Of course! What would you want to see first? There’s all sorts of places to visit, like…”
For hours, they talked about everything and nothing. School, family, adventures in Castle Town. It was nice to unload everything after a busy week over good food with familiar company, and the only thing she could think to make it better was the presence of her other friends. The little diner booth was filled with the sound of chatter and laughter, and it made Susie’s heart feel so full it ached.
Out of the corner of her eye, a small movement caught her attention. Hiding behind their mother, a small rabbit monster watched their group with nothing but curiosity in their eyes. Susie was pretty sure she recognised the kid from the apartments on the east side of town. When they saw her watching them they ducked behind their mother’s skirt a little more, but seemed to relax when Susie shot them a smile and a small wave. Tentatively, the kid waved back.
Susie watched them as they walked out of the diner with their mother, and she thought back to all the time she’d spent watching people. In recent months, she’d spent a lot less time idly watching the world go by, and she realised that was because she was spending more time being active in it. Her days were filled with friends and adventure now. She wasn’t just a lonely kid watching others live their lives from the sidelines anymore. She was living her own.
Feeling something nudge her foot, she turned back to the table to find Kris staring at her. Berdly and Noelle seemed caught up in conversation about something or other, so they silently held a thumbs up and tilted their head.
Susie nodded her head, because yeah. She was alright. In fact, she was doing great. Life was… really good.
Because now, instead of watching strangers in crowds, she looked for familiar faces, and when she did, she looked forward to greeting them.