Archive of Our Own

Kris wasn’t a stranger to silent suffering. At this point, they’d practically mastered it. For the most part, it was just an obstacle in the way of their goals that usually was pretty easy to step over, an annoyance to put up with. Something that could be avoided.

But as Susie and Noelle got closer to one another, that suffering seemed to increase a hundredfold, and started to feel unbearable.

It wasn’t really the most surprising thing to Kris; they had distanced themself from everyone after Dess’ disappearance, and they knew that being around others again would’ve brought this weakness out in them. Just as they expected, after the joys of hanging out with Noelle again and spending so much of their time with Susie, it was inevitable that things would come to this.

Right now, Susie and Noelle had been on a pseudo date; which involved introducing Noelle to Castle Town. It wasn’t too bad, once the shock for her wore off. In fact, it had overall been one of the calmer days for the most part, a nice change of pace from more recent events.

After a quick tour, the trio ended up within Noelle’s freshly built room within Castle Town, where she and Susie snuggled up to each other on the couch… and Kris was there, too. They weren’t really sure why, but both girls asked them to stay, so they did. It wasn’t too bad at first besides the faintest air of awkwardness, at least before Kris’s own internal jealousy set in.

If they could, they would’ve made some excuse and walked off, maybe go see what Ralsei was up to. But no, their SOUL was keeping them tethered right to this spot, in the orbit of the two lovers. For what reason, they didn’t know… they just hoped that it wouldn’t make them say anything stupid or disrupt anything.

Kris didn’t really pay attention to whatever the couple were talking about, just taking it in as a background noise that was both pleasant to hear yet painful at the same time. Instead, they had tried to look about the room to find something, anything to keep their mind off their turbulent feelings. But no matter how hard they tried, their crimson eyes kept falling upon the two people they felt the strongest about.

First, they looked at Noelle. The sweet neighbour that had been one of their first and few friends, outside of Asriel and Dess. Despite all the pranks that they constantly pulled on Noelle, she was always there for them, and truly made them feel like they belonged. Someone who, despite all their faults, had always been there for them.

But when Dess disappeared, nothing felt the same anymore. Kris distanced themself as a result from the trauma, and despite Noelle’s attempts, they drifted apart from each other. But hanging out again as they had recently, it really reminded Kris why they liked Noelle so much, and why it hurt so badly now. They couldn’t really help but wonder what would’ve happened if they didn’t push her away.

Then, there was Susie. A very unlikely friend, but one that Kris was glad to have gotten to know over the course of their various dark world adventures in recent days.

Susie was the first new friend that Kris had made in years, and it brought them a sense of joy that reminded them of the times they had spent with Noelle in their youth. Every adventure they had, even with the great peril it involved, was beyond thrilling. A part of them did want to keep doing that forever, even if they knew deep down that it simply couldn’t be. Things would have to change one way or another, eventually.

Both the girls were very special to Kris, feeling like they were part of a very small handful of people that they felt truly comfortable with, people that understood them despite their quirks. Kris always had been bothered by being the only human in Hometown, feeling so isolated from everyone else.

Besides Susie doing so just one time, no one really antagonised Kris for being human, and anyone who did so in the past would be intimidated by both Dess and Asriel standing up for them. Still, their mind would think about what horrible things everyone must be thinking about them. But with Susie and Noelle now, they felt comfortable. Two people that didn’t look at them differently, and would stand by them even if facing judgement from others.

So, it was a little inevitable that hanging out with Susie and Noelle would lead to them developing feelings, some being dug back up from years back, and some freshly blooming.

Of course though, Susie and Noelle were getting closer, and it was clear to Kris that they would be a happy couple with one another. They didn’t really want to get in the way of that. They knew that they should be happy for the two… so why did it hurt so much? Why did they feel so bitter?

Maybe it was because now, with Noelle tagging along on dark world adventures going forward, that it wouldn’t be just a Kris and Susie thing anymore. Maybe it’s that pang of jealousy when Noelle looks at Susie the same way she used to look at them. Maybe, because they felt unneeded.

Kris never really saw themself as a necessary part of anyone’s life. Most days in the past, they felt that if they had disappeared, no one would even really notice. It was often a thought that they had that they probably could just disappear and no one would question it, the world going on as if they had never existed in the first place. To be so insignificant that the absence of them caused no difference.

They were skilled at drifting away from people after all, and they were sure that Susie and Noelle would move on without them. Dess was gone, Asriel had gone off to college for what felt like an eternity, and soon enough Susie and Noelle would be gone. Hell, even Ralsei at some point would also disappear from their life. Then, it would just be Kris. Perhaps it was for the best that way, for them to be eternally alone.

“Kris, you alright?” Susie’s voice cut through Kris’s thoughts immediately. “You’ve been staring at us intensely. Like, really intense. It’s kinda ominous, heh.”

Kris’s eyes lingered on the couple for a moment longer, before darting off to the side. They hadn’t realised that they had just been staring them down from the other end of the couch.

Luckily, the SOUL didn’t make them say some stupid shit to make the situation worse. They were able to simply nod in response, hoping that the attention would go away so they wouldn’t end up ruining the mood and they could continue brooding.

“You sure, Kris? You’re sitting so far away.” Noelle’s voice spoke, with a touch of concern. “You can scoot closer, if you want…”

Without much thought, their body shambled ever-so-slightly closer to Susie and Noelle. They didn’t really know if they could take being so close to the girls while undergoing their own mental storm right now. So, they tried to see if they could get away with putting in a minimal amount of effort.

“C’mon, dumbass! Surely you can come a little closer! Don’t make me move you closer or whatever.”

Looking back at the two, Noelle smiled the same reassuring smile she had always worn, while Susie grinned. With a faint sigh, they shuffled closer, and closer, until they were finally sitting next to the lovebirds, albeit still just out of reach.

“See? Ain’t so bad is it?” Susie ruffled Kris’s hair a bit, before continuing whatever conversation she was having with Noelle prior. Kris still tried to block out the conversation altogether, although most of it was pretty hard to ignore now that it was occurring right beside them.

Little laughs, jokes of varying qualities, cutesy and somewhat awkward compliments, casual conversations, all of which Kris tried to ignore yet failed due to being so close to the source. It wasn’t really making things better for them.

They wanted to leave, to wallow in their emotions in solitude. Yet the SOUL kept them here as if their life depended on it. Even any attempt to fight against it seemed useless, as Kris’s body failed to move against the current exertion of the SOUL.

As they sat there, they couldn’t ignore how nice it felt to be with them despite all the turmoil it was causing them. Whether it was Susie or Noelle or both, just being with them was really, really pleasant. But like a lot of the happiness they felt with those two, they couldn’t stop feeling like they were chasing something they’d never be able to have.

Kris desperately wanted love, both to have and to give, but they couldn’t really see it happening. The two people they felt the strongest for were simply interested in each other, and surely not in Kris as well.

Kris felt that it was only a matter of time before they would get abandoned, or the prophecy would bring great harm to all of them. They couldn’t see any possibility that they could exist happily or get what they wanted.

Their goals directly opposed the happiness of their friends. Depending on how everything went down, with whatever end their story was going towards, Kris felt there possibly couldn’t be any happiness for them, and if there was, they would feel undeserving of it.

At the worst, everything would simply end. Otherwise, if they won, then what? Surely the invasive SOUL would leave Kris, making them free again. But everyone will have moved on, wouldn’t they?

Before the start of all this madness, before the SOUL started inhabiting Kris’s body, they had distanced themself from everyone. The disappearance of Dess and the departure of Asriel to college left Kris feeling so torn up, that they had cut off everyone in town. A decision that felt way too easy to make, despite the heavy cost. Yet, they took that road anyways. They could take that road again, if only they were free once again.

Even when the SOUL started making Kris talk to everyone in Hometown again, not a single person picked up on how different Kris was, except for Noelle. At least she knew something was up, but even then, she quickly turned her attention back to Susie.

Kris turned their thoughts again towards disappearing. They had been thinking about it for a long time, before all the crazy events in recent times. They’ve thought about all the ways they could go about it, and all the rationalisations that their misery made to try and get them to give up. The world might be better off that way.

All they had to do was see this journey to its end, and then they’d finally be free. Ever since nearly drowning in the lake as a child, they always had somewhat of a fascination with the place.

With a little more thought, they decided that after everything was over, they decided that it might be time to revisit the lake, and let it take them away. There was no point to hold on, right? At the end of this all, everything they had would be gone again. They would be alone again.

But at the same time, the mere thought of getting rid of their attachments seemed to hurt more; a tightening of the throat, fists clenched, a cacophony of stress that seemed to completely block out all other thoughts. Why couldn’t they let go? Why did they have to feel this strongly about Noelle and Susie? Why did it have to hurt so bad to care so much?

“K-Kris! Are you alright?”

Noelle’s voice rang through all the despair and returned Kris to the present. Putting a hand to their own cheek, they could feel that it was wet with tears.

“I’m fine,” Kris uttered instinctively, as they quickly brought their sleeve up to wipe away at their eyes. “It’s nothing.”

Both Susie and Noelle’s full attention was on Kris now, which only made things worse for them. They didn’t want to deal with being so weak in front of the people they loved right now. But no matter how hard they tried to move their body, they couldn’t move. Maybe out of a desire in the back of their mind to stay, maybe because the SOUL decided to keep them here for their own good.

“I know when something’s up, Kris. You don’t need to lie about feeling okay… y’know that, right?”

Kris didn’t respond to Susie’s question. They could only fiddle with their hands, wishing even more that they could leave as tears wouldn’t stop welling up within their eyes, trying so hard to keep them from falling. They didn’t deserve their kindness, their friendship, anything. The fact that such a delightful date was being disturbed because of this was unbearable.

“Hey… it’s alright.”

Cutting through the air, Noelle’s gentle voice grounded Kris. It always had, from memory. Even in childhood, in the rare moments where Kris felt down, Noelle was there to keep them steady.

So when her hand reached out to theirs, and she held it, Kris didn’t pull away. That familiar comfort was something they had missed so much, that the thought of cutting it short seemed impossible.

For a few moments, Noelle held Kris’s hand, her thumb tracing gentle patterns on the back of their hand. She also reached her hand towards their face and hesitating for a second before softly brushing away some of their tears. Something that reminded Kris of moments in their childhood so much that it almost felt like they had been transported back to that time.

“We’re here for you, always… no matter what. Okay, Kris? Nothing’s going to change that.”

As much as their own mind couldn’t believe it, Kris felt themself wanting to trust Noelle’s words. So they simply nodded in response, finally allowing the tears they had held back flow freely. There was no use trying to hide the emotions anymore, especially with the two pairs of eyes on them.

Both Susie and Noelle were very patient with Kris, providing them all the comfort they could from their current position, as Kris let all the pent up sorrow out all at once. Once Kris’s crying started to ease up, Susie gently placed her hand on their shoulder, gently squeezing.

“This, uh… feels a bit awkward with you sitting just out of reach.” Susie mused, shifting her position on the couch slightly once she pulled her arm back. “C’mon, bring it in. I won’t bite… unless if you really want that, heh.”

Kris did appreciate Susie’s attempt to brighten the mood, even though it was a little embarrassing to them that such a threat sounded so enticing. At the very least, from what the SOUL could glean from Noelle’s thoughts, she wouldn’t mind being bitten either… but Kris shook the thought away, not really wanting to follow that thought process at this moment.

Kris shuffled closer, a little bit more. When Susie glared at them as if to say that that wasn’t enough, they shuffled a bit more, which only made Susie roll her eyes.

Having lost her patience, Susie grabbed Kris as gently as she could and moved them closer with absolute ease, resting them up against her. “Bet you just wanted me to lift ya for a bit… you lil weirdo.”

Kris didn’t provide any sort of answer to the playful insult, simply burying their face into Susie. At least, they would be able to hide their face this way, even if they were basically cuddling Susie now.

It wasn’t too long after that when Noelle moved in closer, cuddling against both Susie and Kris. She sighed contentedly as her hand found Kris’s hand again.

“This is nice…”

Kris couldn’t help but agree. Even as their mind screamed that this was something they were destined to not have, they were losing themself in this sweet moment, in the warmth of being with Noelle and Susie, a comfort they didn’t want to let go of.

The three of them laid there comfortably, bundled together on the couch as cozy as they could be. The concept of the passage of time practically ceased to exist, as this sense of peace and contentment seemed to stretch on for eternity. Just some sweet snuggling, gentle humming, playing with hair, or particularly enjoying the smell of Kris’s shampoo, much to their own faint embarrassment.

However, in the silence, Kris found themself thinking about their whole predicament once again. Despite feeling that they deserved none of this, thinking that indulging these feelings would only end in pain, they couldn’t pull away. How could they? They’ve been yearning for this for so long, and at the very least surely they could enjoy it for what it’s worth before things changed forever.

But as much as they made peace with the fact that all this joy they felt would end, they decided to open up a bit. They had been hiding so much from everyone for so long at this point, and they knew their feelings would just keep eating them up inside, if their earlier breakdown was any indication. Besides, Susie and Noelle deserved some sort of explanation, at least.

Kris steeled their nerves, and unburied their face so their voice wouldn’t be muffled.

“Sorry for ruining your date.”

Noelle and Susie were so taken aback by the sudden apology that it took them a moment to even realise what was going on.

“Oh, Kris…” Noelle spoke softly, brushing her thumb over the back of Kris’s hand again. “You didn’t ruin anything. I… I don’t know what you’re going through, but for us it’ll never be a burden, okay? We’ve got you!”

Kris still had doubts lingering in their mind, but they were at least certain that Noelle was being truthful. Everything that has happened so far has only reinforced that they’d likely stick together. It was just a matter of trying to focus on the truth rather than the doubts.

“Yeah, I’m sticking with ya no matter what. Besides, this… uh, might be better.” Susie spoke softly, then hastily added onto her statement. “N-Not that things weren’t already pretty great before! This just feels… nicer? I dunno.”

Kris felt their cheeks warm up a bit, even if they struggled to believe it. “I don’t see how my presence here makes whatever you had going on any better.”

Susie scoffed, giving Kris a gentle nudge. “C’mon, Hanging out with you this past week has been the most fun I’ve had in my entire life! I’m glad I met you… glad that you helped me find a place for myself… because if you hadn’t done that, don’t think I woulda been able to get to know Noelle. Hell, don’t even know where I’d be now.”

Susie’s arm tightened around Kris, pulling them a little closer. “I’ve never really had a place where I belonged before, so… thanks. Means the world to me.” There was a faint shakiness to her words, betraying the emotion nestled within.

Noelle nuzzled against Susie a bit more, her free hand grabbing Susie’s hand, performing the same motions she would do for Kris’s hand.

“I see what you mean, Susie… I-I mean, I haven’t been going on adventures like you two have yet… b-besides that time in the computer lab, I guess, faha. But this past week, getting to talk to you again… Kris, you have no idea how much I’ve missed that…”

Just when Kris’s eyes had dried, Noelle’s and Susie’s words had dredged the emotions right back up. They wanted to believe their words, they really did. But they found it hard to do so, mostly due to the contempt they felt for themself and the countless doubts that flooded their mind whenever something good happened.

“I can’t believe that. I want to but I just can’t. Not that I don’t feel the same way or don’t appreciate how you both feel, it’s just… I can’t see why anyone would like me.”

Tension had found its way right back into Kris’s body, even as they remained cozily snuggled against Susie and Noelle. Kris couldn’t even remember the last time they told anyone their deeper feelings, and it felt so unnatural to them. It always felt easier to keep it buried, hoping that it would get forgotten and not raise up from the Earth.

“You’ve gotta be kidding. You’re like… one of the coolest people I’ve ever known. Honest.” Susie kept her voice soft, keeping the tranquility of the moment. Kris was grateful for that, at least; they didn’t want this to get blown up in any way.

“You’ve been my friend since childhood, Kris… I-I-I know we haven’t properly talked in years but, I feel I know you pretty well. And you know me better than anyone… that means something, doesn’t it?”

Kris felt a panic starting to creep into them, the tenseness in their body intensifying. The last thing they wanted to do was make either Susie or Noelle think that they didn’t care about their friendship, didn’t want them to make all the love that they heaped upon them invalidated.

“It does. It does.” Noelle and Susie kept their soothing touches going once more as they felt Kris tensing up, giving them a moment to collect their thoughts before continuing.

“I just find it hard to believe. Not because I think either of you are lying. I just don’t really feel… deserving, of any of it.”

Kris sighed, leaning a bit more into Noelle and Susie. Kris could barely remember any time they could talk this much… usually the SOUL spoke through them. Perhaps it was for the best that the SOUL stays out of this, even if Kris was thankful that it hadn’t completely screwed everything up so far.

“What makes you think that?”

Kris took another brief moment to collect their thoughts in response to Noelle’s question, hoping that it wouldn’t all fall out as some jumbled mess.

“I’ve been distant for years at this point. Not particularly great at being around others. Very standoffish. Way too secretive for most people. Most of the time I feel like I come across as a jerk. Seeing other people happy… it makes me feel bitter sometimes. I guess it’s because of all that that I just can’t really believe why anyone would like me in the first place.”

Just voicing all these things about themself felt unnatural. As much as Susie and Noelle stated earlier that the mood wasn’t being dampened, Kris couldn’t help but feel like they were killing the relaxing vibes.

“You’re like the opposite of all that. For me, anyways. Sure, you can be annoying at times but I know that it’s just you having fun with me. Besides, uh… I wasn’t exactly the most pleasant person to be around at first either and yet you always stuck around. So even if you were super annoying I’d probably still be here.”

Even if it was just a little, Kris was a bit more relieved by Susie’s answer. They knew how she used to be, and could absolutely see her actually biting their face off if they had been too insufferable for her.

“You might’ve played a lot of pranks on me when we were younger, Kris… and y-yeah, a lot of them were REALLY mean, faha… but that was never a problem. Not really. I actually… really liked your pranks, overall. I know that’s weird, but it’s the truth.”

Thinking back to their childhood with Noelle, Kris also fondly looked back on those memories. It was just their little way of having fun with Noelle, and they had missed that so much. Things were so much simpler, and much less painful. Just a couple of silly kids without a care in the world.

A part of Kris felt so stupid for even having any doubt about Susie and Noelle’s feelings. It was clear that there was a connection there, growing ever stronger by the passing days.

“It’s true that I’ve enjoyed spending time with you Susie, it… it helped remind me a lot of how I used to feel. And I also really miss being close with you, Noelle…”

Kris’s voice trailed off for a moment, feeling the prick of tears in their eyes once again. “You both really mean the world to me and I’m so scared of losing that. Yet I keep pushing away.”

Kris’s vision increasingly became blurrier with tears as they shook a little, the next words tumbling out of their mouth. “And when I think about that, and all the bad things I do, I… I can’t help but think that everything would be better if I was gone.”

Finally voicing such a deeply dark thought paired with such an ugly emotion like jealousy was mortifying. At the very least, they didn’t have to focus on that terror for long. Not that long after the words left their lips, Susie hugged Kris even tighter as Noelle nuzzled even closer. Such a strong physical connection was enough for the time being to jostle their brain away from such perilous ideas.

“Kris, things would not be better if you weren’t around! You’re like, my best friend at this point! And I’ll keep making sure you remember that until you die, dumbass!”

Kris rubbed away at the tears that had fallen, smiling a little at Susie’s statement, even if it was a very short-lived smile. Even with the playful way she called them a dumbass, they could hear that tinge of emotion, that tiny break that told them all they needed to know.

Kris noticed that Noelle had squeezed their hand a little tighter, and when they looked at her, they could see that she was tearing up.

“K-Kris, I… I had no idea… if I ever made you feel that way I’m so sorry! You’re one of the first people to just understand me and not judge me as a kid… I’ve missed you so much these past few years, so if you were actually completely gone… I don’t want to lose you.”

Noelle had gotten up for a moment, before softly embracing Kris in a hug. It felt so strange, considering how long it had been since the last hug they shared, but Kris tried to focus on the pleasant side of the hug instead, as they both let their emotions out. Kris could only tell her it was alright a few times before they felt the tears coming back at full force.

Susie would make sure the two of them were comfortable, as they would lean against her, and she’d wrap her arms around both of them, like a big protector.

They would both spend a few moments crying before settling down again, pulling away from the hug but still remaining close in the cuddle pile the trio were engaging in. Kris was feeling pretty exhausted from crying at this point and hoped that there wouldn’t be any more tears for today.

“Sorry for being a mess.” Kris uttered softly, fiddling with Noelle’s hand as they held it. “My emotions have been all over the place today. Admittedly I was a little jealous earlier and it just snowballed into all my worst thoughts.”

“It’s alright… thank you for trusting us, Kris.” Noelle would gently fiddle with Kris’s hand as well, the touch being quite soothing for both of them. Susie meanwhile had been distracted by her thoughts, before she finally spoke up again.

“You were jealous earlier?” She asked, as she thought back to everything that happened that day, before they widened a little in realisation. “Ohh… is that why you were staring at us so intensely earlier?”

The human’s cheeks warmed up in a blush for a moment as they averted their gaze to the ceiling. “Yes. I’m… jealous of you two.” No use in hiding it anymore. Might as well come out with it.

“Really? Never thought you’d be the jealous type, faha… why are you jealous of us? If I can ask?”

The question posed by Noelle turned over in Kris’s mind for a few moments, as they chewed their lip for a moment as they wondered if they really wanted to reveal the reason why. But considering all they had said so far, they might as well get it all out.

“I’m jealous of your love. It’s… so sweet, so nice. I just want that so badly, too.”

“Don’t worry, Kris. You’ll find that love out there, promise.” Susie’s reassurance was appreciated, although it didn’t really help all that much.

Kris let out a sigh, closing their eyes, drawing their hand away from Noelle’s. “No, I… I mean I only want a specific kind of love from specific people. No one else will do.”

Even with their confession, they couldn’t help but be vague, although there was enough of a hint there of their true feelings for the two girls. They kept their gaze away from their faces, hoping that somehow the moment would miraculously blow over.

“Kris… you… love us?”

As the question left Noelle’s mouth, Kris felt an old instinct from childhood crawl back up again, the urge to say that it was just a silly prank. But, their actual feelings on the matter seemed to overpower simple old habits.

“Yes. I… I love you both, so much. But I don’t really imagine seeing those feelings returned. I don’t think I’m worthy of either of you. Especially since I’ve found myself being jealous of you two… in a way that makes me bitter. Even if I know I should be happy for the both of you.”

After another brief pause in the conversation, Kris’s nerves got the better of them, and they gazed over to Susie and Noelle, to see that the both of them had been blushing. Almost instantly Kris’s eyes darted away.

“How… how long have you been feeling this way?” Noelle asked softly, taking Kris’s hand once again and giving it a soft, gentle squeeze. Just enough comfort for them to keep going.

“Well… ever since Susie and I stumbled across the Dark Worlds. I found myself looking forward to the adventures and somewhere along the way, I realised that being with Susie was one of my favourite parts of all of it. As for you, I know that at some point during our childhood, I started to fall for you. But we drifted apart, and it wasn’t really until we started talking again that I felt it come back.”

The confession left Kris with an odd sensation; they did feel lighter, but at the same time they were extremely anxious. Even if they didn’t quite think they would get outright rejected, they were worried about what would happen next now that it was laid bare.

After a moment of silence, Kris continued on, to try and salvage the situation even if they didn’t know if they needed to or not.

“It’s fine if you don’t feel the same. I don’t want to get in the way of anything, and I don’t think I could be loved as much as you two love each other, so maybe it’s for the best that I-“

Kris was cut off by a tight squeezing hug from Susie, which took the breath away from them. They blushed a little, not really expecting the tight hug but appreciating it.

“Kris, shut up. Love isn’t a competition, yknow?” Susie loosened her grip, making sure Kris was alright before she continued on. “Like yeah, I love Noelle, and she means a lot to me. But you mean a lot to me too! As I said, going through dark worlds with you has been the best times of my entire life. I really do enjoy my times with you so… I think there’s something there.”

Noelle turned Kris’s gaze towards her, keeping their hands within hers. “Kris, I never spoke about it but… I liked you a lot too, as a kid. But I was too scared to say anything, faha… but then we drifted apart and I thought it was all over. But now? I… I want to see what it could be like… with you and Susie.”

Kris assumed that things would’ve blown over, that nothing would exactly change. The fact that they seemed to suggest becoming a throuple… didn’t really seem feasible before, but now that it seemed like a possibility, Kris wanted that so badly.

“Really?” They asked, quietly. “I mean, I’d love to try to but… do you two really want that? I still feel so bad for my bitterness towards your happiness.“

“I’m happy to give it a shot! I mean, if Susie doesn’t mind…”

Susie nodded instantly, as she felt she didn’t really have to think about it much at all.

“The way I see it… it’s like having two cakes, right? Why not just have both? Why limit yourself to just having one? I love both of you so, yknow… I’m eating both of you… you know what I mean.”

Noelle giggled a little at Susie’s adorable sentiment, and even Kris managed a smile from seeing Susie’s smug face become flustered.

“As for your jealousy and bitterness… You can’t fault yourself for that, Kris. As ugly as it is, it’s natural.”

Noelle turned her gaze away for a moment, staring off to the other side of the room. “In fact… I was jealous of you and Susie, faha. Jealous of the fact that you were both close to each other so effortlessly, I… I think there were times where I thought you’d steal her from me…”

Noelle’s confession made Susie’s eyes widen a bit, being reminded of something. “Oh, crazy. For the longest time I couldn’t even tell if you and Kris were a thing or not. It… it did make me a bit jealous at times too, I just tried not to focus on it, and just focus on the good times instead.”

The tone of the whole situation started to lighten a bit more, as Kris eased up a bit. They even managed a faint smile, amused by both Susie and Noelle being confused about each of their relationships with the human.

“The point is… we’ve all felt jealousy. As terrible as it is to have those thoughts, they’re just that, right? As long as you don’t let them make you do bad things then… I think it’s alright.”

As much as Kris still hated having such thoughts in the first place, Noelle’s reassurance was a big help. They didn’t want to be judged or hated for feeling such a way, so having both the girls be understanding was deeply appreciated.

“Thanks a lot. You both really are the best.” Kris spoke softly, their appreciation clear even through the deadpan tone they spoke in. Feeling much better than they did before, Kris finally snuggled closer to both Susie and Noelle, actively seeking their comforting warmth now.

“I don’t think we’ll drift apart again, not this time.” Noelle emphasised with one more squeeze of Kris’s hand, moving a little closer to them as well. “No matter what, we’ll figure it out!”

“Yeah! I’m sure as long as we stick together then everything will work out just fine!”

Susie’s enthusiasm was so earnest, that Kris decided to just accept it. Whereas usually they would keep thinking about how everything could go wrong, they didn’t feel like doing that right now. In this moment, they felt at peace. Even if it was fated to end at some point, then at least they got the chance for this experience, and they would spend an eternity in this moment.

Kris finally felt all the tension in their body disappear, no longer wanting to disappear from this moment. They couldn’t really imagine wanting to be anywhere else but here right now, a sharp contrast to how they felt earlier.

Even if they didn’t know exactly why the SOUL had kept them here, they were glad that it didn’t let them leave, because now they felt significantly better than they did before. As much as they weren’t a fan of their body being controlled by the SOUL, they couldn’t really deny that in this situation and in various other ones in the recent past, it had been helpful.

But they shook those thoughts away, closing their eyes and relaxing against Susie and Noelle. No matter what may come next for them, they were glad that they wouldn’t be facing it alone. Finally, they had hope for a better future. But that can wait.

For now, they will enjoy all the cuddling they could before they would have to get up for their next adventure, cherishing every moment like a dream.