Chapter Text
On the first day of her second semester of senior year, Susie tries not to glare at her new principal.
Ever since she moved to the middle of nowhere Appalachia to live with some lameass cop turned self-congragulatory foster parent, she’s had shit to do. Not that Undyne is a bad person, but she’s definitely an annoying one, and not necessarily the best company for three weeks snowed in over holiday break. Especially not when Susie was itching to explore the new town, see if there was anything cool to do or anyone fun to fight or any cute girls to flirt with. Instead she was stuck playing like seven hundred games of cards. But during those card games Undyne told her about her new school.
“Tori’s great,” she said, a mug of steaming black coffee balanced perfectly on her knee, something which probably impressed her pig coworkers back when she was a government sellout.
“The fuck’s a Tori?” Susie said, crinkling her nose as she realized she lost. Blackjack’s no fun when they’re betting Christmas cookies.
“No cussing, asshole. Tori’s the principal of your new school. She’s, like, the greatest person I've ever met, and I think you and her kid’d get along. You’re both chumps.”
“The hell is even a chump,” Susie grumbled, and slid Undyne her winnings. “Play again?”
But Undyne is sort of the only person she can trust here, and she learned over those insufferable three weeks she is also kind of an annoyingly good judge of character. So when she walks in the school doors and a bright eyed, kind looking woman greets her with her hands clasped and says, “Susie, isn’t it? Lovely to meet you. I am Principal Toriel,” Susie can’t help but kind of like her.
“Er, yeah. Susie.” Toriel offers a hand for Susie to shake. Susie reaches out awkwardly, her face going hot. When Toriel leans towards Susie she gets a waft of cinnamon and butterscotch and flour. Her hand is warm and soft and Susie resists the urge to not let go. “Nice to, uh, meet you too, ma’am.”
“Oh, there is no need for formality. You may call me Toriel.” Toriel smiles kindly. Susie’s heart races embarrassingly. “Unfortunately I have a class to attend to, but I have brought a future classmate of yours to give you a tour.”
Miss Toriel steps to the side and behind her is a bored looking goth girl scrolling on her phone. She glances up, waves lazily at Susie. “Hey. I'll be your tour guide, or whatever."
Susie wants to narrow her eyes at the girl but she also wants Miss Toriel to like her, in a way that curls up in the back of her throat like she’s about to cry, that makes her want to say, mom, so she just waves awkwardly back. “Uh, hey. I’m Susie.”
“Catti,” the girl says, and peers at Susie a little closer. “Your hair’s awesome.”
Susie blinks. “Oh. Uh, thanks.”
“Come on. I’ll show you the lame stuff first, to get it out of the way.”
The school is small and smells sort of musty, but sunlight filters gently through the windows and there’s the soft murmur of excited voices down the hallway. Catti is nice in a bored, uninterested way that makes her really hard to provoke, so Susie ends up listening to her complain about her sister with a patience she wasn't really aware she was capable of. Catti also doesn't ask her any questions about herself, which Susie likes.
At the end of the school tour, Catti catches Susie looking across her new classroom, where a wide eyed blonde girl and a human with a quiet, tilted grin sit laughing against each other.
“Oh. That’s Kris and Noelle. They’ve had their wedding planned since they were seven, so don’t even think about it.”
“I wasn’t,” Susie says, defensively, even though she was. Both of them are pretty cute. “Which one is which?”
“Doesn’t matter. Just say one of their names and they’ll both come running. Be careful, though. Noelle’s kind of the jealous type. Say Kris too many times and she’ll—“
“Fight me?” Susie asks, getting interested.
“God, no. She’ll like, look sort of mean at you when you ask her for a pencil. Which for her is like, pulling out a knife. Kris actually has a knife but they won’t use it for anything. Other than cutting up food for them and Noelle to share.” She rolls her eyes. “Which, gross.”
Susie sort of wants to see if Noelle will fight her, though, if dating her is off the table, so the next day after Undyne drops her off for school, she goes up to the one she thinks is Kris and says,
“Uhm. Hey, Kris, right?”
Kris tucks a blonde curl behind her ear and says, “Faha, no. Noelle, actually.”
“Oh.” Susie narrows her eyes, trying to decide what’d be interesting. Noelle looks like the sweeter one. She has these big eyes that seem permanently crinkled into a half smile. Catti kind of made her seem like she’d be weird. “Uhm, you’re Kris’ girlfriend, though, right?”
Noelle smiles absently, reaching up to fix her already perfect hair.
“Oh, yes. Sorry, people kind of say our names in one big lump, so it’s easy to mix us up. But Kris and I are pretty different, I think. Dess says that’s part of why we’re so good together… I mean, they barely ever even brush their hair. Honestly at this point I think they avoid it as an excuse to lay their head in my lap and let me brush it for them.” She leans on her hand, looking out the window, and sighs. “Not that I mind. Honestly I don’t know what to do with myself when they’re not around. My mom’s been getting upset lately about them staying over so much, though. But their mom’s really struggling, and so when they eat dinner with us it’s easier for her to afford good stuff for breakfast, and…Ah, sorry. I’m rambling. I shouldn’t have said all that. Did you need something?”
Susie clears her throat. A fight would be a lot more fun than this. A lot less awkward, at least.
“Uh. Okay. I was just, y’know, making sure.”
Noelle looks up, eyebrows drawn. “Hm? Making sure of what?”
“That they, y’know. Weren’t single.”
Noelle’s eyes widen and she stares at Susie for a long moment, sucks in a breath. “Oh,” she says, sounding a little winded. “No. They are absolutely not.” She shakes her head, smiles. “Sorry, it’s been so long since I've been around anyone new. I don’t mean to be sharp. I mean, I get why you’d want to know. Kris is really pretty, aren’t they?”
“Er.” Susie senses a trap. “Yeah. I guess they are.”
“Right? Thank you,” Noelle says, as if she made Kris herself. No trap, though, it seems. “You’re from out of town, right? How did you end up here?”
Susie sits slowly at her desk, disappointed Noelle didn’t really seem that angry, and nods. “Uh, yeah. ‘M staying with Undyne right now. You know her?”
“Of course. She’s difficult to miss.” Noelle blinks, furrows her brow. “But why?”
Susie’s chest hurts and she tries to think of how to explain her bullshit life.
“C’mon, baby,” another voice says, and Susie and Noelle both look up. It’s the human, Kris, leaning against Noelle’s desk and putting an arm around her shoulders. They tip their head to the side. “Just met her’n you’re askin’ for her life story? Yeesh. Names first. Kris. You?”
Susie blinks at them. They have a sort of effortless ease, a gentle comfortability, that probably would’ve gotten on her nerves when she was younger. But now it just sort of makes her heart patter a little. They smell good too. Familiar, somehow, in a way she can’t place.
“Uh, Susie.”
“Nice to meet you, uh, Susie,” Kris says, and grabs Noelle by the collar, pulls her up out of the desk she was sitting at. “Go to your desk, bunny. Mom’s stressed so she’s doing one of those class audits.”
Noelle frowns, fusses with Kris’ sweater, smooths her hand over their hair and pecks them on the cheek before she walks back to the front of the class. Kris slumps down at what must be their desk and twists around to look at Susie. Their hair flutters briefly out of their eyes with the movement, reveals long dark lashes and glinting amber.
“Elly’s real sweet, promise. She just gets a little frazzled around new people. We don’t get em much. You seem cool.”
Susie stares at them. “Uhm. Thanks. You, uh, too.”
Susie glances towards the front of the classroom, accidentally catches Noelle’s eye. She’s turned fully around in her chair, eyes wide and shoulders stiff. Susie waves awkwardly and Kris glances at Noelle, grins. Noelle’s face softens and she waves back at Susie, smiles at Kris. They blow a kiss at her and she giggles.
The classroom door opens and Miss Toriel is there. She surveys the room, brow furrowed, and then walks over to talk with Miss Alphys.
Noelle glances back at Kris at the same moment Toriel looks back at the class. Toriel watches Noelle watching Kris for a moment, and her face softens. The rest of the class goes back to being loud and Toriel walks over to Noelle’s desk, says something Susie can’t make out, but whatever it is makes Noelle smile, self conscious and a little embarrassed.
“Ugh,” Kris groans, and buries their face in their hands. “Mom’s asking Noelle about us getting engaged again. I don’t know how many times we have to tell her we’re not getting married at eighteen, that’s so fucking cringy.” They watch Noelle shake her head, face flushed, and their mouth curls into an involuntary smile. “We’ll graduate college first and then we’ll get married. But first we're getting the fuck outta this stupid town. Together.”
Susie stares between Kris and Toriel. “That’s your mom?”
That means Kris is the one Undyne thought Susie would be friends with. They’re ‘the other chump.’
Kris raises an eyebrow. “Never heard of adoption?”
That makes Susie laugh, because like, her entire life is sort of the set up for a shitty foster care joke. Kris’ eyebrows fly up.
“Not why I asked. Just, uhm, Undyne, she…” Susie’s face heats. “Nevermind. You smell like your mom anyways. Shoulda known.”
Kris’ mouth falls open. “Why the hell’re you smelling my mom?”
Susie flushes and makes a face she hopes looks really mean and cool. “Uhm.”
“Susie, dear.”
Susie jolts up in her chair. Toriel has walked up, put a hand on Kris’ shoulder. Her heart races like she just got caught stealing food. “Uhm, uh, hi Miss Toriel.”
“How are you finding your new school? Settling in alright? Undyne has told me so much about you, you seem like such a lovely girl.” Toriel looks down at Kris. “Kris, dear, I am very glad you are giving her a warm welcome.”
“School’s good,” Susie says. “Uh, thank you for, uhm, asking.”
“Mom,” Kris says, narrowing their eyes. “I told you to stop harassing Elly.”
“I was not harassing her,” Toriel says, brightening. “She is always very eager to speak of you. It is so sweet, it makes my heart so happy. Oh, you know, we have savings I could dip into to get you engagement rings, nothing too ostentatious, of course, but—”
“Mom,” Kris groans. “Stop. Now. Gross.”
“There is nothing ‘gross’ about love, my dear—”
“Mom!” Kris buries their head in their hands. “No.”
Toriel laughs, hugs Kris briefly. “Well, alright. Whatever you say.” She glances up at Susie and smiles. “I am certain I will see you around, since you and Kris seem to be getting along so well. You are welcome in our home anytime.”
Susie flushes. “Uhm, uh, thank you, ma’am.”
Toriel waves goodbye. Susie waves back awkwardly. Kris laughs. Susie glares at them.
“You got problems, huh,” Kris says, tipping their head, and then winks. “Good thing we kinda like problems, Elly and I. You wanna hang out?” They smirk at her. “Not at my house, though. Cause, yeesh.”
“Shut up, asshole,” Susie says, and kicks their desk. They look back at her, grinning, waiting for an answer. “Uhm, but, yeah. Sure.”