Work Text:
"Hey, Kris?" Noelle asked, suddenly whispering. Kris looked up from their ballot paper, staring at her with that same deadpan expression they always had.
"What if... We didn't vote for them?"
Kris blinked softly, then slowly frowned. "Why." They asked, though they didn't really intone it like a question.
"W-well, I mean..." Noelle began, smiling bashfully as she rocked back and forth on her hooves. "Dess and Azzy deserve to win, sure, but... Wouldn't it be fun if we were the festival king and queen instead?"
Kris blinked at her again, and for a moment, Noelle felt really stupid for even suggesting something like that. She was about to retract her statement before Kris spoke again.
"Sure."
"H-huh?" She asked.
"Sure." They repeated, this time smiling softly at her before they began to scribble down on their ballot. Noelle felt little butterflies fly around inside her chest in response.
"A-alright!" Noelle said, taking her ballot paper and starting to scribble Kris's name under 'King'.
"Why do I have to be the King?" Kris asked, looking over her shoulder. Noelle looked up at them, then at their ballot paper, where Kris was scribbling her name into the 'King' part.
"W-why are you putting my name under king?" She asked, frowning at them. "I'm supposed to be the queen!"
"Why can't I be the queen?" They asked back.
"B-because I'm a girl!" Noelle cried out. "You're not a girl."
"I'm not a boy either." Kris replied. Noelle had to admit they had a point there.
"T-true, but..." She tried to come up with some clever response, before shaking her head. "I-it doesn't matter! Just... Put our names down wherever!"
Noelle put their name under 'King' and hers under 'Queen'. Kris did the same, only the other way around and slightly misspelled.
"There." They announced, showing her the ballot paper. Noelle giggled as she saw the names Noel Hollyday and Kris Dreamer written down.
"Perfect!" Noelle grabbed their ballot paper and her own, throwing them in the box. She couldn't help giggling again as Kris led her away from the voting stall to make way for another person waiting to vote.
"Do you think we'll win?" She asked, her eyes full of hope.
Kris looked at her funny for a second, before smiling and nodding. "Sure." They said again. Noelle's smile grew bigger, and she grabbed their hand as they continued looking around the other festival stalls.
They had some ice cream and candy apples together, played a few games, and even took a shot at the power tester, hitting the bell at the top. Noelle pretended not to notice officer Undyne helping them win.
As the afternoon slowly turned to dusk, the bells on top of the Holiday manor started to toll. Noelle excitedly grabbed Kris's hand, dragging them across town and into her front yard, where a stage had been set outside her house to announce the festival's king and queen.
"I'm so excited!" Noelle whispered into their ear as more and more of the townsfolk gathered around them, just as eager as her to see the crowned couple. Her hand on theirs tightened just a fraction. "We'll win for sure, right?" She asked, looking at them hopefully.
Kris looked back at her, and just stayed silent, smiling at her again. Noelle felt those same butterflies from before flutter around on her chest.
She looked away as she felt her cheeks warming up. She imagined what it would be if they were crowned the winners. Kris and herself would go up to the stage, they would get their crowns, and perhaps...
Perhaps Noelle would work up the courage to try and kiss them, like she saw Dess and Azzy doing once.
Noelle was pulled from her daydreams as Kris shook her, pointing off towards the stage. There, Mayor Holiday, her mother, was taking the stage, holding a microphone and a sealed envelope. All around them, people started quieting down as Carol began preparing to speak. Noelle felt her heart pounding in her ears.
"Dear neighbors, thank you all for coming here today." Carol began, smiling curtly at the crowd. "I hope you've all enjoyed the festival thus far."
A few cheers and hollers resounded around them, and Noelle found herself mentally slapping an imaginary controller to skip through the text like if she were in a videogame.
"Now, without further ado, it's time to announce the festival's king and queen." Carol continued, and Noelle held her breath, her hand tightening on Kris's.
"This year's king and queen are..." Carol slowly took the envelope and opened it, her smile growing just a tad more before she announced the winners. "December Holiday and Asriel Dreemur!"
As the people around them began to clap and cheer, Noelle felt the world slowly collapse around her.
We didn't win.
She distantly heard her sister cheering louder than everybody else, excitedly dragging her boyfriend towards the stage to be crowned together. Noelle felt an emptiness in her chest as even Kris let go of her hand to clap for their respective siblings.
Even they are clapping for them... Did they know we weren't going to win?
Her vision blurred, and before she knew it, a few sobs were escaping her. Kris turned around at the sound, and their smile instantly turned into a frown, moving closer to her. "Elly?" They asked softly, looking at her.
"I-I'm fine, it's just..." She hiccupped and sobbed again, wiping the tears from her eyes as she tried to manage a smile. "I'm just... Happy for them."
Kris stared at her, and Noelle could only sob as she tried to keep that smile on her face. After a few seconds, Kris just grabbed her hand and started dragging her away. "Come on, let's get outta here."
"H-huh?" Noelle asked, looking back towards the stage where Dess was putting on her king crown. "B-but, what about the parade?"
"Screw that." Kris said, smiling back at her. "There's better things to do."
This time it was them who dragged her across town, eventually coming up to the ferris wheel. Kris walked up to the man running the stand and looked up towards him. "We want to ride the ferris wheel."
"Hmm? I can't allow children to go unsupervised." He said, before spotting Noelle crying behind Kris. His eyebrows rose up in mild surprise, before Kris insisted once again.
"We want to ride the ferris wheel." They said, more serious this time. The man looked between them for a few seconds, before sighing and opening the door for them.
"Alright, but just this once." He said. Kris smiled and thanked him, before dragging Noelle inside.
They both took a seat together, and before long the ferris wheel started to rise up. Noelle looked outside for a few seconds, before sighing and looking down at the ground.
She should be happy for her sister. She should be happy for Azzy. She knew she was being childish, but she couldn't help feeling this way.
For once in her life, she tried to be selfish, and it ended up backfiring in her face in the most spectacular way.
"I was so stupid..." She whispered, a few tears falling from her eyes. "I should have known we wouldn't win."
Kris stayed silent, just staring at her as the cart slowly moved closer to the top. Noelle slowly looked up from the ground towards their face.
"You knew, didn't you?" Noelle asked softly. Kris frowned, but stayed silent.
"Why didn't you... Say anything?" Noelle asked again, another sob escaping her as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Was it a prank all along?"
Kris stared at her for a few more seconds, before slowly getting up from the seat. Noelle looked at them quizzically, before the realization hit her suddenly.
The fur of her back stood up. Her tail tucked itself between her legs. Her hands gripped the edge of her skirt as she slowly began to hyperventilate.
"N-no, K-Kris, please..." Was all she managed to say, before Kris smirked at her and started jumping up and down in the cart.
She screamed, her hands flailing about to find something to hold on to. She managed to find the handrail, holding onto it as if her life depended on it.
"K-Kris! Stop!" She tried to say, but Kris wouldn't stop. They continued to jump, laughing merrily. Noelle slowly opened her eyes, still absolutely terrified, but for some reason, hearing them laugh calmed her down slightly.
"K-Kriiiiis!!" She whined, pouting at them. That finally managed to make them stop, Kris smirking at them before plopping down on the seat beside her again, making the cart rattle one last time.
Noelle slowly felt her heart stop racing, and when it did, she finally managed to frown and shove Kris lightly, her hands balled into fists.
"K-Kris, you know I hate it when you do that!" She said, but Kris just laughed again, smiling at her.
Noelle tried to stay angry at them, but just looking at their smile, slowly made her smile back. Before she knew it, she was giggling softly along with them, wiping more tears from her eyes.
Without realizing it at all, she had completely forgotten about the king and queen vote.
"G-gosh, Kris, you're... You're such a bully sometimes!" Noelle laughed, her eyes narrowing slightly. "I'm telling Dess."
Kris's eyes narrowed back, and they got into position to jump up again. Noelle tensed up immediately and yelped, but Kris only laughed, sitting down again.
"Kris!" Noelle exclaimed again, making them snicker again. The butterflies from before had returned with a vengeance.
The ride came to a stop shortly after that, and both of them were promptly chewed out by the operator. Noelle apologized profusely, while Kris shrugged their shoulders and pulled along on Noelle's sleeve, walking away. After a few steps, a new voice called out to them.
"There you two are!" December said, running up to them, her boyfriend right behind her. "We were looking everywhere for you! Why did you run off?"
"S-sorry, Dess." Noelle began to explain, still rubbing her eyes lightly. "We just wanted to ride the ferris wheel and–"
"H-hey, why are your eyes all red and puffy?" Dess asked, kneeling down to check on her sister before turning to look at Kris, her gaze murderous. "Kris, don't tell me you shook the cart again, did you?"
"N-no, Dess, it's alright!!" Noelle said, grabbing onto her sister's arms, making her look her way again, her eyes softening immediately. "Kris was just... Cheering me up!"
"Cheering you up?" December repeated, blinking a few times. She looked between her sister and Kris, who tried their damn best to look as innocent as they could while still wearing that smug smile on their face.
"...Alright, if you say so, Elly." December said, not taking her eyes off of Kris, smirking softly. "But I've got my eye on you, Dreemurr. Same goes for this dork." She said, punching her boyfriend's arm.
"O-ow! What does this have to do with me?" Asriel whined, rubbing his arm. December laughed as she hooked her arm around his.
"Quiet, consort! As your king, you'll do as I say!" December exclaimed, starting to walk along with him. Asriel just bowed his head with a smile, walking along with her.
Kris smiled as they started to walk away. Looking beside them, they extended their hand out to Noelle. Noelle felt her cheeks warming up again, and with a light smile, she grabbed onto her hand, starting to walk with them right behind their respective siblings.
She didn't get to tell them how she felt, but...
Looking beside her at the way they smiled, their hand in hers...
Maybe it wasn't that bad. She could always try again another time.
____________________________
Kris slowly looked up from the camping table.
Susie was carrying Noelle into the lake, having a very heartfelt conversation. Noelle clung to her tightly, laughing along to something she said.
Kris felt their soul clenching inside their body, and decided it was best to resume their earlier position on the table.
The two of them looked so happy laughing together, looking into each other's eyes as they held on to one another...
Maybe it wasn't all that bad. They could always try again another time...
Right?