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“Hey, Susie."
"Gah!" Susie startled, bumping her head against the inside of the fridge. Good thing her skull was so thick. Whipping around, she found Dess standing behind her, towering over Susie's hunched form with broad shoulders and antlers that easily added a few extra inches to her height. "Dude, you've got to get better at making noise when you show up."
"I was, fridge girl. You were just too busy looking through the meats to notice." Dess teased, leaning against the spotless kitchen counter next to the fridge and checking her nails, flecked with peeling black nail polish.
The fridge's door alarm beeped—Susie didn't know they had those, until she'd started coming to Noelle's more often—alerting the two that Susie had spent too long contemplating whether she could eat an entire package of holiday glazed ham in one sitting. Susie closed the fridge door with a slam and a grumble. "Anything else you wanna tease me about?"
"Actually, I've got something cool for you. Follow me."
"Eh, why not." Susie shrugged; she had time to kill, anyway.
In a procession that reminded Susie of the old days following Kris around, the two exited the kitchen, stomping through the living room and up the stairs, before pausing in front of the dark-painted door of Dess's bedroom. The only part of this house that wasn't a stark white, other than Noelle's room. Dess swung the door open, and, holding it with her hoof, gestured for Susie to go inside.
Susie hesitated at the entrance, lingering between the familiar hallway and the room that had been off-limits the last time she'd entered. "Hey, uh. I already know what your room is like. I've… been in there." She touched the back of her neck, forced a nervous laugh from her throat.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Shelter code and Fun Gang conspiracy stuff and all that. This is something else, trust me."
Susie gave Dess a look. Trusting the former Knight was less of an ask than it used to be, but even so, the glint in her eye was… well. Susie entered anyway. The room itself looked mostly the same as it had before, green glow-in-the-dark stars lighting the aurora wallpaper. Where there was once a jumbled pile of odds-and-ends, though, there was now a proper instrument rack attached to the wall, guarding cases for a violin, a flute, and more instruments Susie couldn't name off the top of her head. Her guitar, now fitted with a stand of its own, stood proud at the foot of her bed.
While Susie gawked, Dess stood waiting front of her closet, leaving tracks in her rug by dragging an idle hoof. "Last time you were here, didja see what was in the closet?"
"Uh… yeah? I mean, there was a bunch of stuff. Drums, shoes, an insane amount of heart plushies… and Kris was there too, heh. As if they ever needed to be in a closet. Gayass."
Dess rolled her eyes, but carried on anyway. "So I'm gathering you didn't see what I'm talking about."
Susie shrugged again. "I mean… you didn't really say what I was supposed to be looking for, dude."
"I'll show you." Dess reached forward and flung open the closet.
🔥——❄️
Ralsei knocked—or rather, tapped—on Noelle's door with her characteristic lightness and a slight tremble. "Umm… Noelle? Are you, uh, there?"
She looked around, eyes wide behind her glasses, as she waited for Noelle to respond. A battery-operated Santa… thing, stared back at her from across the landing. She'd tried pressing one earlier, delighted by the concept, only to stare in horror as the battery-depleted robot's voice droned on, unresponsive to her attempts to power it back off.
Ralsei reached to knock again, but found the door had already been opened before her, forcing her to quickly stop her hand before it hit Noelle in the chest. Before she could blurt out an instinctual apology, she found herself wrapped in an embrace by Noelle.
The frostmancer's fur was pleasantly warm, and at once Ralsei realized she'd never hugged another being with fur, before. As soon as the hug had began, though, it ended, Noelle releasing Ralsei from her gentle yet ironclad grip. "Ralsei! Come on in!"
Ralsei followed Noelle into the room, taking notice of the various decorations. Pastel blues and pinks covered the walls and floors, with white snowflakes and tinsel rounding out the room's color scheme. It reminded her of… well. At the thought of the blue-and-pink drink, and of Flowery, she forced herself to look at something else.
At the back of the room, the closet door was open, a beautiful pink dress hanging as if in invitation. If she wasn't mistaken, it looked very similar to the dress she wore as the 'princess' for Kris.
Trying to ignore its presence, Ralsei settled down on the couch, sitting a large enough distance from Noelle as to give her comfortable space.
Ralsei looked around again, gathering her resolve, then spoke. "So, uh, you asked me here… what do you want to talk about, Noelle?"
🪓——⚾
Susie raised her head toward Dess, who held up a camo jacket and one hand and a leather biker jacket in another. "I… I can't. Thanks for the offer, but—"
Dess put a hand up, patient as she could muster, trying to stop her before she ran her mouth. "Susie…"
"I mean, like, it's yours, dude, and I'm—"
"Susie." Dess insisted, her tone and expression both similarly firm. Susie paused then, taken aback, before continuing with a stammer.
"I'm your sister's girlfriend! I'm not supposed to be stealing your stuff! Your mom's gonna kill me!"
Dess sighed, sparing a frustrated glance to her ceiling. "Look." She tried to shove her arm into the sleeve of her plaid flannel shirt, but became caught only halfway up her forearm, the rest of the shirt hanging limply. "I just can't wear these. They can't really be 'mine' anymore, not like… this."
"…Well. Then, I guess… might as well try them, right?"
🔥——❄️
"You… made this?"
Ralsei blinked over and over, squeezing her eyes tight, as if the sight in front of her would waver. As if it was nothing more than an illusion.
"Umm, yeah! Sorry, is it kind of obvious…?"
Obvious? Obvious? If Ralsei hadn't known better, she would have guessed that Noelle had summoned the dress straight from her closet in Castle Town. It was a stunning replica, from the dusty pink shade of its satin fabric to the translucent ruffles that adorned its hem—and best of all, of course, was its oversized white ribbon, made to match perfectly with Ralsei's accessory of choice.
"How did you even… I don't understand…" A stubborn tear pricked at her eyes, forcing her to lift her glasses to paw at it.
"Kris helped me! Well, helped me with the design, anyways. They were going to help me with the sewing, too, but they kept pretending to stab my stuffed animals instead." Noelle huffed, although her bemused smile suggested she wasn't as upset as she let on.
"You… I… I don't get it. Why… why are you so kind to me?"
She could hear her voice wavering as she spoke; worse, even, she could feel her tears threatening to break loose. Don't cry, Ralsei, she chided herself. Don't make this all about you.
In, out, in, out, she breathed, willing the sob building in her chest to subside. As she did so, hands clutching tightly to her robes that she'd mended countless times, she realized there was another hand atop hers. A soft hand. A warm hand. "H-h—" she started, preparing to jump back.
"Oh, gosh, I'm sorry if I scared you! You just… looked so sad," Noelle apologized, removing her hand. Already, Ralsei missed it. But to ask for it back… she was already acting selfish. It would be horrible to push for more. "But really, Ralsei… I did this because you're my friend! And I care about you! We all do," Noelle emphasized, gesturing toward her door as if Kris and Susie were waiting on the other side to surround them in a group hug.
"Still…" Ralsei started.
"Ralsei… you know, when I was really young, I was in a holiday pageant, and I got chosen to be the Angel."
Ralsei's eyes lit up, at the mention of the Angel so familiar to her. "Oh! How lovely, to be chosen—"
"I wasn't finished yet, silly," Noelle laughed. "When I played the angel, I wore this… fluffy white dress and big angel wings. And I loved it. I wouldn't wear anything else for weeks, just because it felt like… me, I guess. Which sounds silly now, fahaha, but as a kid… I… wasn't really out, until then. So… I guess, I wanted to help you feel the same. Kris said you really loved this dress, but if you don't, I can—"
"No!!" Ralsei shouted, louder than she'd anticipated. "It's perfect! It really is… perfect." Maybe too perfect for someone like her. But if Noelle was offering…
"I… I just… until recently, I didn't believe I would ever deserve something so nice. After all, I was a prince, so… why would I need something like a dress? Even now, it's…"
"If I deserved it, you deserve it too, Ralsei. So, as long as you love it… would you want to try it on?"
"I…" Ralsei's hand was shaking, again. "I would. Thank you so, so much, Noelle. How can I ever repay you…?"
Noelle smiled, her dimples stretching upwards to meet her freckled face. "Just seeing you happy is enough. Now, c'mon, we've got to get you laced up!"
🪓——⚾
"So, uh… white tux." Susie held up the last of a long series of shirts and jackets, sorted haphazardly into keep and toss piles, and looked it over, eyes narrowed.
"Yeah, well, that was supposed to be for prom. Didn't really get there though. Kiiinda had other things going on." Dess shrugged, casual, as if her disappearance was a long-resolved matter. For her, it probably was.
"Ugh, what, you choose white because it wouldn't show Kris's brother's fur or something???" Susie grimaced. The less she knew about the Dreemurr's love lives (apart from Kris), the better.
A grimace that was proven right as Dess looked away, whistled a tune like that one the gang had played for Lightners Live.
"Seriously???" Susie pantomimed gagging at the lurid display of teenage affection. Not that she was any better.
"Hey, I'm just saying, it could still be useful. With that, uhh, cute little lady I met. What's her name…"
"Ralsei," Susie mumbled, knowing she was playing into Dess's hand somehow.
"Ralsei, that's it! And heh, knew you thought she was cute. You got good taste." Dess elbowed Susie's side. For a moment, Susie considered flinging the tux into the toss pile then and there. But that would be giving her a reaction. And no way in hell was she doing that.
"Pssh, you're just saying that 'cuz I'm dating your sister, dumbass. Speaking of…" Susie hesitated, weighing her words.
"What? C'mon, out with it. I can take it, punk."
"Didn't think you'd be fine with me dating anyone other than Noelle. I mean, all those stories Kris told me of you beating them up with a wiffle bat, I kinda thought you'd, like…"
"What, kick your ass?" Dess smiled a wide smile that was perhaps too wide, like she'd considered just as much. As if she hadn't already done so as the Knight.
"I mean… kinda, yeah. So what gives? Why're you so fuckin' nice, all of a sudden?" There was always a catch, Susie had found. Always.
Dess leaned back against the wall by the closet, fidgeted with the closures on her guitar case. "Man, I dunno. I mean, for one thing… Noelle's happy when you're around. Like, real happy. Can't really get mad at that. And 'sides, it's not like she's not dating Kris too. Hell, I'd rather beat them up than you. You're just… I dunno, you're trying. And that's cool."
Susie grinned. "Heh, didn't take you for a sap."
"Hey, watch it, kid. You keep saying that, I'll hafta make an example of you."
Susie laughed a barking laugh, finally, the tension fading from her shoulders. "As if. I'd totally kick your ass. …But, uh, the tux." She held it up, watched as its sheen reflected the green lighting around them. Maybe in a room that didn't suck ass, she'd like it more.
"Yeah, like I said. Great for fuzzy white monster hair. If you got someone like that in your life." Dess winked, her expression far too exaggerated, and finally, Susie got the sense of how Asriel had pulled somebody like her. They were both losers.
"…You're not gonna let me leave without trying this on, are you." Susie shuddered, recalling her experience having a duck costume forced on her before the festival. At least this outfit was… better. Almost princely.
"Nope. Get in the tux, dragon girl."
With a click of her tongue and a shake of her head, Susie relented, pulling the sleeve of the tux over her arms.
Damn. It actually fit pretty well, too. That was just her luck.
🔥——❄️
"You look soooooooo cute!!!!!" Noelle squealed, clapping her hands in delight.
After careful maneuvering to avoid any fur snagging in zippers, Noelle and Ralsei had finally managed to get the illustrious dress on—with a perfect fit, no less.
"Gosh, I kind of don't want to know how Kris knew your measurements so well," Noelle mused, her nose wrinkling.
"Oh, they just asked me, don't worry! I had figured it was for a new cloak, since I can't magically fix mine in this world, but… this was a lovely surprise!"
Lovely was an understatement. Ralsei could still hardly believe she was here, a real girl wearing a real princess's dress, being doted upon like a real princess would—although, it felt silly to think as much. Princesses weren't real anyway, not like they were in the stories. Neither were princes. So why, then, did it matter so much to her…?
While she had been thinking, Noelle had pulled a full-length mirror from her closet, positioning it up against her wall in such a way that Ralsei's dress would catch the light and scatter glitter just so. "Okay, ready to see for yourself?"
Ralsei clutched her shaking hands tightly to still herself. This was reality. Maybe she wouldn't like what she would see. Maybe it would feel different than it would in the Dark World, but that was okay, because real life meant things not going to plan sometimes—
And then she turned, and in the mirror was exactly the girl she'd longed to become on the first day she'd worn the dress. The dress accentuated her cream fur-complexion, the pink drawing out the matching shade in her own eyes better than her old cloak ever had, and the skirt… With the magic of petticoats, she gave it a spin, and found herself twirling, the fabric from her skirts bouncing upwards and swirling in an arc before settling delicately at her feet again. It felt right, she thought. More right than anything had in the prophecy, than anything had since she'd left the Dark World for the first time in her life. She wanted to stay like this forever. Just the thought was enough to make her…
"Oh, gosh, Ralsei, is everything okay? You're crying…"
For once, Ralsei let her tears fall, let her pink eyeliner run down her cheeks and meet with her blush. After all, Kris and Susie had kept saying she was allowed to feel. Why shouldn't she, now? When her every cell radiated joy? She rushed to embrace Noelle, careful to avoid poking the doe with her horns but not so careful as to avoid brushing the girl off her feet and against the wall.
"W-Whoa, Ralsei—"
"I'm okay," Ralsei sniffled. "These are happy tears, see? I'm smiling!" This time, she hadn't needed to force a single muscle to do so.
🪓——⚾
"Mm, I dunno," Susie deliberated over herself in the mirror, pulling at the tuxedo's tails and fussing with her pocket square.
"Hey, don't touch that. Those are a bitch to fold," chided Dess.
"You don't think it's too…" Susie lifted her arms, turned again to look at the tuxedo's backside.
"Too what?" Dess looked Susie over as she turned, gave an approving nod at the cut of the suit. "Fits you perfectly, Suz."
"Yeah, I know it fits good and all, but… someone like me, wearing this…"
"What's wrong with you wearing that, huh?" Dess's voice took a haughty tone, the sort Susie imagined she'd use in a fight with her mom.
"It's, like… way too fancy. I couldn't afford something like this in a million years." Considering she was still wearing her old, ragged jacket, even the shirts she'd gotten today felt like too much. Let alone…
"Well, good thing it's free, huh?"
"…You know what I mean." Susie looked at the carpeted floor, following its neon pattern with her gaze.
"Nah, not really. If it suits you, why not wear it?"
Heh. Suits. Even the pun couldn't get a rise from her, though.
"It's just… too nice. I'd go and mess it up, or something, and then…"
"Well, hey, at least you wore it then. Better than what I'm doing with it, which is jack shit."
"I mean, sure, but… I'm supposed to look tough, or whatever. Not like… this."
Motioning to herself, Susie felt even sillier. Really? Her, in a suit? It was like dressing up a pig. Ralsei looked good in these sorts of things, but Susie… Well, she looked good too. But she wasn't supposed to wear these kinds of things. That was for other people. Better people. People who didn't ruin everything they touch.
"Supposed to." Dess deadpanned, her patience evidently holding on by a thread. "Yeah, well, I'm supposed to be the perfect Holiday daughter, and look how that worked out for me. Sometimes, things are better when you do what you're not supposed to. Figured you'd know that by now, Susie."
The verbal barb stung in the way antiseptic stung—painful, but Susie knew that it was needed. All of that 'supposed to' crap… really, what was with her? Since when did she do what she was supposed to?
"…Guess it does look good." Flustered, Susie allowed herself the admission.
"There you go, Suz! Knew you had it in ya."
Honestly, it was a miracle the suit fit as well as it did. The sleeves had allowed enough room for her muscles, even flexed, the jacket buttoned with just enough room for her to scarf down a meal, and the back went just low enough to cover her tail, if desired. It was almost as if it was made for her.
"…Hey, isn't prom a junior year thing?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"…Didn't you go missing in sophomore—"
Dess flicked Susie squarely between her nostrils, pulling her hand back fast enough to avoid a retaliatory chomp. "Don't think about it too hard. A suit's a suit, 'kay?"
"…You really went along with the Asriel story just for that?"
Dess cracked a smile, and soon, a split down her side as she began to laugh, and laugh, and laugh. "Hey, you were the one that started it, bozo! I was just playing along. Now, c'mon. Got one more surprise for you."
Whatever it was, Susie was beginning to get the feeling she'd had enough of surprises for the day. Even so, she followed.
🔥——❄️
They'd stayed like that for a while, Noelle and Ralsei, held in a comfortable embrace. Noelle, for her part, didn't often get such ready affection from the easily-flustered Susie or Kris, and Ralsei really, really needed the hug in the moment, to ground her against a sea of emotion washing over her. This was real. This was real. And like everything real, eventually, the hug ended with a soft pat on the back from Noelle.
"Ralsei… I've got another surprise for you, actually."
Another?! Her heart already felt heavy with emotion, and now there was another thing?? She swiveled her head, searching the room for any sign of what her surprise might be.
"Fahaha, not in here! Downstairs, actually. Here, take my hand if you'd like, I wouldn't want you to trip…"
Somehow, accompanied by a retainer, Ralsei managed her way down the stairs, lifting her skirts gracefully and plodding down each step quietly. It was like Cinderella, except the spell wouldn't be broken. Not this time.
In front of her, standing at the landing of the stairs, was…
🔥——🪓
"Hey. So you're my surprise, huh?" In front of Ralsei was Susie in a white tuxedo coat, buttoned shirt, and black suit pants, the sort of sight she could never in a million years have imagined. It was like… she was like…
"My prince," Ralsei teased, offering her hand to Susie like a proper lady ought to.
"Heh, that's right. I'm the Prince now. Which makes you…" Careful in a way she rarely was, Susie knelt to the cold tile floor of the Holiday mansion, took Ralsei's hand, and placed a soft kiss to it. Just like Flowery had done it. "The Girl, right?"
"Oh, Susie…" Ralsei's flushed cheeks spread past the blush she'd painted on earlier today, warmed over her snout and into her ears. "You know, it's strange, because I was told you were my surprise!"
Susie glanced over at Noelle and Dess, the former waving at her lover with a flush to her cheeks, the latter with her arms crossed and a grin painted across her face. "Damn. Ralsei, I think we've been played."
Ralsei gasped in mock horror, the back of her hand meeting her mouth in a dramatic flair. "Why, I never!"
"Can't complain, though," Susie conceded. "After all, I get to do… THIS!"
With a single sweep of the girl's feet and a quick hoist, Susie swept Ralsei into a princess carry, their eyes locked together in both longing and shock.
"You really do… make me feel like a princess, Susie," Ralsei hummed, leaning her head against her prince's chest.
"Heh, well, you make me feel like a prince too. Had this whole thing about whether I looked right or wrong or whatever, but… if it's with you, I can be whatever. And that's pretty awesome."
"Pretty awesome," Ralsei teased with a wink.
"Oh, shut up."
"Make me," Ralsei sang.
Her Prince didn't need to be asked a second time.