Chapter Text
Pillow… check.
Toothbrush and meds… check.
Three changes of clothes… check.
Noelle had packed everything she’d need for the trip the night before, but it never hurt to quadruple-check. Determined to take everything downstairs in a single trip, she lugged her bags into the hall, hoping that her dad had everything else ready to go.
She had been floating the idea of a camping trip with her friends for months now, something interesting and new for them to all do together since school and other obligations usually kept them from leaving town. It took some serious coordination—wringing plans out of Kris was like getting eggnog from a stone—but Noelle had found the perfect opportunity in an upcoming three-day weekend. With no class on Monday, they’d be able to maximize their vacation time away. Not only that, but their schedules were all open, her mother had helped her make a reservation, and the weather was slated to be perfect.
They were set to leave Friday, at the end of an excruciatingly long week. Noelle had bolted out of the classroom before the final bell had even finished ringing, forgetting her usual goodbyes to her teacher, and ran home as fast as she could. Everyone was relying on her to drive, and she’d have to be ready first if they were going to have any time to set up camp before sundown.
The Holiday parents were keeping busy downstairs, bringing other assorted containers and supplies to the foyer. Noelle set the rest of her belongings down next to the organized pile.
Flashlight and lantern… check.
Dining bin and cooler… check.
Sleeping bag… check.
Bug spray… check.
Flare gun… …wait—
“Mom, isn’t this a little overkill?” Noelle asked.
“I don’t know, maybe?” Her mom gave a half-guilty look. “Noelle, sweetie, I just need to make sure you have everything you’ll need to keep yourself safe out there.”
“Safe from what?” Her dad said as he brought one final box in from the garage. “We used to go up to Ebott Point all the time, dear, most dangerous thing there is the mosquitoes! Maybe a patch or two of poison oak, but Noelle’s a smart-enough cookie to steer clear of that.”
“I know, I know, but can you blame me? It’s her first time going out all alone! How am I supposed to sleep if I don’t do everything I can?” Her mom started pacing. “God, I should never have agreed to this…”
“Mom, we’ll be fine!” Noelle huffed. “You were the one who wanted to review my checklist in the first place!”
Her mom sighed and started rooting through the containers for the third time. “You’ll have a first aid kit?”
“Kris is bringing it.”
“Fire extinguisher?”
“Dad put it in the dining bin.”
“Protection?” Her dad asked, elbowing her.
“That’s— what? ...ugh, dad!”
“Fahaha!”
Her mom shot a quick glare to her still-chuckling husband. Unsatisfied, she stood up and hummed to herself. “Maybe I should come with.”
“What?” Noelle panicked. “Mom, you already agreed to everything!”
“Just to look through what everyone else is bringing! I don’t want any of you bringing anything dangerous. Or illicit. Peer pressure can be especially devastating at your age…”
“Oh my god, mom, you’ve met all of my friends. Several times. No one’s gonna do anything like that.”
“She’s right, dear, you know they’re all good kids,” her dad agreed, patting Noelle on the shoulder in a fatherly manner.
Her mom shook her head, glowering. “I still don’t like the way that Berdly boy looks at you.”
“He’s still my friend, mom. You’ve just hated him ever since that spelling bee,” Noelle teased.
Noelle helped her dad bring everything out to the driveway. He insisted on helping her pack the back of the minivan, but she knew it was only so he could make the same “Time to put my years of Tetris to good use” dad joke she’d heard a thousand times before. While he was busy, she sent a quick message to the group chat, letting her friends know she’d be on her way shortly. Her mom tried to sneak something else into the pile, and Noelle giggled as her dad tried to shoo her away like a pet trying to eat his dinner.
Once he finished, Noelle hugged her parents goodbye, with extra promises that she’d be careful, and climbed into the car. They called out as she pulled out of the driveway.
“Bye, sugarplum! Have an amazing time!”
“And remember: stay on the trails!”
Her first stop was just up the street. Noelle was honestly surprised that Kris was already waiting on the edge of the lawn, albeit laying horizontally across the few bins they had with them. She got out to help them load their stuff. Thankfully, they also had the other tent she had asked for, dusty as it was, and once everything was in the car they took the seat behind her.
“No messing with me while I’m driving, alright?” Noelle said, half-taunting.
She could feel the eyeroll of a response through their bangs. Good enough.
It was the next stop that she had been anticipating. Susie had seemed the most excited when Noelle mentioned a campout, which probably had something to do with why Noelle had been so relentless in planning everything. Her little crush on Susie wasn’t so little these days, and all the time they'd spent hanging out together hadn’t done a thing to stop her heart from fluttering whenever Noelle looked at her for more than a few seconds at a time.
The apartment was only a few minutes away. Noelle parked on the side of the road when they arrived, and she stared through the window for a moment. Susie was leaning on a tree across the courtyard, hands shoved into the pockets of loose-fitting jeans, existing in a whole wonderful world all her own.
She sighed to herself, long and wistful. Sometimes Noelle couldn’t tell if she wanted to be with her or just be her. There was just something about that unconcerned stance that underlined her captivating aura, something that made Noelle’s heart ache with an emptiness. As much as she’d love to simply exist alongside her, just the two of them, it felt forbidden, like desecrating a museum display, so for now she’d settle for the view as her mind played a wistful shoegaze song in the background.
A loud honk shook Noelle from her daydreams. She spun around with a yelp to see if she was blocking someone, only to see Kris leaning over her shoulder to punch the horn. It definitely got Susie’s attention, and when Noelle looked back, Susie had already slung her bags over her shoulder and was halfway to the car. Noelle hastily reached down for the lever to pop the trunk. After a few thunks of bags flying in and the slam of the hatch, Susie slid into the backseat next to Kris, leaving Noelle a bit dejected over the void of the seat next to her. The two in the back greeted each other with a silent fistbump as Noelle drove.
“Hey, Noelle. Thanks for driving,” Susie said.
“A-Anytime! Thanks for coming!”
There was one more stop before they could head out, and Noelle drove across town to pick up their fourth party member. As she rounded the corner and saw the small mountain in front of his house, she could tell there was going to be a problem.
“Oh, hell no,” Susie complained as she stepped out of the car.
“Salutations, my friends!” Berdly greeted with a forced smile that made it clear he was trying to get away with something.
“Berdly, this won’t all fit in the car,” Noelle said, scanning the excess bags.
“S-Surely we can make something work? I’ll have you know I nearly won the regional Tetris championship—”
“Nope,” Susie interrupted. “Open the garage, we’re putting some of this back. You know we’re roughin’ it, right?”
“Maybe half-roughing it,” Noelle corrected her with a smile.
“Look, either way, he doesn’t need a fuckin’ TV.”
“Hey, that’s important! I need a picture of me playing Melty Blood out in the woods! For Karma!” Berdly pleaded.
“Only if you’ve got something smaller,” Noelle sighed, opening the trunk. “Why do you own a CRT anyway?”
“I use it to play Melee.”
Noelle and Susie glanced at each other before rolling their eyes.
“What’s this?” Susie asked, approaching the pile and picking up a smaller box. “‘Cell Phone Signal Booster?’ C’mon, Nerdly, your stupid card game battlepass’ll be fine if you don’t play for a weekend.”
“Wait, no, no, I actually need that,” Berdly said, suddenly serious. “My father’s only letting me come if I bring that and text him every night.”
Susie looked back down at the box, then tossed it into the back of the car with a “Tch.”
Kris dropped the backseats to give them more room to work with, but it was still proving to be a tight fit. Noelle helped load the necessities, barely listening as Berdly tried to argue for everything he wanted to squeeze in, and left him to pick and choose what to use the remaining space for before they left. Soon enough, they were on their way, with the promised excitement of the weekend buzzing through the car.
Minus one CRT.
“Slugbug red.”
Thwap.
“Ow! Goddammit, Kris!”
Noelle probably shouldn’t have been encouraging roughhousing while she was behind the wheel, but she couldn’t help giggling every time someone got hit. She always felt too soft to play those games, especially with how violent the feud between her sister and Kris’ brother had gotten over the years, so being a spectator suited her just fine. At least it was some way for everyone else to keep themselves occupied; the radio had basically cut out 20 minutes ago, causing her dad’s favorite Oldies station to sound even oldier, but they weren’t too far out from their destination now.
There wasn’t much traffic this far out from town, and they had been making good time. Her eyes flicked from mirror to mirror every ten-or-so seconds, like any good driver should, but they always seemed to linger in the corner of the rear-view, where she could see Susie in the back seat, staring out the window with a hand under her chin.
Noelle kept her eyes on the empty road but her thoughts were clearly elsewhere. Susie’s hair was shining a brilliant sangria, luminescent in the sun, and Noelle wondered, not for the first time, what it would be like to run her fingers through that wild mane, or to press her nose close and get lost in its scent.
“Noelle!” Berdly exclaimed.
“Huh? What?”
“Weren’t you listening? That was our exit!”
“O-oh, sorry…”
“It’s fine, it’s fine, just a moment. Let’s see where we get re-routed…” Berdly looked down at his phone. “Okay, simply take the next one. It’ll be an additional 20 minutes, but we’ll still be able to get there easily enough.”
“Got it. Sorry.” She absently tightened her grip on the steering wheel. Noelle didn’t mean to, but she just had too much practice tuning out Berdly’s voice during his video game rambles. It was a terrible habit.
“Is something the matter? You know you shouldn’t be driving distracted.”
She didn’t answer. Noelle allowed herself one more quick glance in the mirror before sheepishly returning them to the road as she exited the highway. It was probably just her imagination telling her that Susie was looking back with concern.
Paved mountain roads eventually gave way to gravel and dirt. The Ebott Point campgrounds were a welcome sight, and the rustic, worn-down sign at the check-in booth greeted them warmly. Noelle hadn’t been back in years, but thankfully everything still looked just as gorgeous as she remembered it, blanketed in waves of nostalgia and lush greenery. She followed the signposts to their destination—the individual campsites were decently spread out, far enough that you could only really hear other campers if they were exceptionally rowdy, although it made for some long walks to the bathroom. Noelle’s family had always found that a preferable tradeoff.
Noelle pulled into their campsite and everyone piled out of the car. She took a quick look around. There wasn’t much, just a sturdy picnic table and a firepit, and the site was outlined with thick tree coverage. Still, it was more cozy than cramped, and there was plenty of room for their tents.
Unfortunately, the sun was already starting to go down, and night fell fast in the forest. Kris and Susie immediately got to work setting the tents up while Noelle and Berdly unloaded the rest from the car. The cooler needed to stay inside, safe from roguish wildlife, but everything else was dragged over to the picnic table, left in a big pile of stuff to be sorted through later.
“No! That thing goes over there, Kris! What’re you doing!?“ Susie yelled.
Kris yelled back that they had no idea, since their dad had lost the instructions years ago.
“Ugh! Whatever just, gimme that—”
Noelle watched the struggle unfold. Susie was holding a metal pole in one hand and gesturing wildly with the other, her body stretched out in such a way that it nearly fit in a golden spiral. Her arms flexed, trying not to drop everything she was holding, and Noelle bit her lip as her daydreams took hold once again. She’d lost track of the number of times she thought about what it would be like to have those strong arms wrapped around her. A blush slowly crept across her face.
“Hey, it’s getting a little dark for this,” Susie called out. “Can you guys start the fire or something?”
“On it!” Berdly responded, excitedly dragging the bundle of firewood from the pile of stuff to the fire pit on the other side. After hearing his mischievous chuckle, Noelle realized that maybe she shouldn’t have let him have the lighter.
She spun around. “Wait, Berdly—”
“Never fear, dearest Noelle! I’ve done my research, and now it is time to dazzle you all with my superior log cabin campfire build!”
“Well, as long as you know what you’re doing…”
Noelle retrieved the camping chairs they had brought from the pile of stuff and set them up near the fire pit, where she could keep an eye on Berdly. For once, he hadn’t been full of hot air, and the campfire was quickly lit, bathing the campsite in a shade of orange within minutes. Kris joined them when they had finished setting up the other tent, slumping down in one of the chairs with a huff. Noelle sat up and looked around for Susie, and found her retrieving something from the stuff pile.
“Hey, Noelle, can I borrow your keys?” Susie asked with a blue bag slung over her shoulder.
“Um… Sure, but what for?”
“Saw an outlet in the back of your car, and I wanna blow up my air mattress. Beats doing it manually, y’know?”
“Oh, o-of course!” Noelle reached into her jacket pocket and tossed the keys to Susie, who caught them nonchalantly. “Need any help?”
“Excuse me?” Berdly intruded, having overheard the conversation. “Electronics? What happened to roughing it?”
“I-It’s fine, Berdly!” Noelle said with a weak smile. “Just a one-time setup thing, right Susie?”
“Yeah, just need a few minutes,” Susie said.
“So I couldn’t bring my electric blanket, but Susie gets an air mattress?”
“Dude, my back is fucked, you do not wanna hear me bitching all day tomorrow if I don’t get good sleep.”
“Whatever,” Berdly grumbled, rising to his feet and dusting off his pants. “Well, since you took long enough setting up, I suppose I can start moving my and Noelle’s belongings to our temporary abode…” He started walking towards the pile of stuff.
Oh, chestnuts. Noelle’s stomach sank. Of course she had forgotten something important. They really should have figured out who was going to be in which tent before they left. The possibility of sharing one with Susie was nearly half the reason she wanted to go on this trip in the first place, and now it was about to slip through her fingers.
“Uhh, no,” Susie said abruptly, stepping in Berdly’s path. “I’m in Noelle’s tent.”
“Since when?” Berdly shot back, getting in Susie’s face.
“Since Kris snores and you smell.”
“I most certainly do not! No worse than you! ”
“Whatever, I called dibs.”
“What dibs? We aren’t in elementary school anymore!”
“Doesn’t matter, she’s with me.”
Noelle’s eyes darted back and forth between her friends. She wanted to interrupt, but the fact that Susie not only wanted, but was fighting, to share a tent with her had rendered her speechless. Confusing as it was, it was almost too good to be true, though she wasn’t about to complain.
“Step aside, Noelle will be accompanying me, her oldest friend,” Berdly boasted (which Kris snorted at). “Besides, why should Noelle have to share with a simpleton like you?”
“Well if I’m such a dumbass, then I should get to bunk with Noelle for the help, since she’s an expert camper compared to you chumps.”
Noelle stood up, eyes now focused. This was starting to get out of hand, but she’d never been good at handling conflict, and didn’t know how to step in.
“Noelle needs someone better equipped to let her brilliance shine!” Berdly cried out. “For the good of our trip!”
“Hoh, and you think that’s you, dingbat?” Susie snarled at him.
“Clearly! Noelle needs someone who understands her! Not someone who—”
“A-Actually! Berdly! It’s okay!” Noelle tried to force her way between her friends, doing her best to let him down gently. “I-I don’t mind sharing with Susie.”
“Nonsense! You don’t need this brute interrupting your beauty sleep tonight!” Berdly hastily reached for Noelle’s hand and started to drag her away. “Come! Let us—”
“Hey, back off!” Susie shouted.
Before Noelle knew what was happening, Susie had lunged for the two of them and grabbed her wrist, flipping it over and bringing it close to her face. Susie’s tongue shot out of her mouth, fully committed, and she gave Berdly a pointed glare as she made a show of licking her way up Noelle’s wrist. Berdly quickly released his grip and lurched away before it could touch him.
“Eugh! What the hell, are you trying to claim her like a piece of food!?” He squawked.
“Should’ve respected the dibs, dumbass,” Susie answered, lowering her arm but still holding onto Noelle, who had suddenly frozen in place.
“That’s absolutely disgusting! Whatever, if Noelle’s willing to placate you, I am not fighting against that. Are you trying to get her to make out with you or something? You know these tents aren’t soundproof, right?”
“H-Hey! It’s not like—” Susie stammered, a tinge of panic in her voice. Her face seemed to grow a shade more pink as her eyes darted back to Noelle, quickly pulling her own hand away. “I wouldn’t… No! Rragh!” She turned and stomped toward the car, keys jingling briefly as she clenched her other fist around them.
“If she changes her mind, we swap immediat— ow!” Berdly tried to yell after her, but a piece of kindling flew through the air and conked him in the back of the head. He turned around to Kris shaking their head. Berdly paused for a moment before turning back to Noelle with a sigh and slumped shoulders. “Sorry, I… I got carried away again. Look, I don’t think Susie will actually try anything, but are you sure about this?”
“Y-Y-Y-Yup! Everything’s fine!” Noelle said, her face feeling hot.
Berdly hummed, unsure about what to do, but eventually he gave in. “Alright. Just… let me know if you want to swap back.” He returned to the fire, where Kris started giving him a lecture about being nicer to his friends.
Noelle had barely heard him. She turned away, trying to find a darker corner of the campsite to recover in. The underside of her wrist tingled with a burning sensation, and she looked at how her still-damp fur had been parted, not quite ready to brush it out. It wasn’t exactly how she’d imagined getting acquainted with Susie’s tongue, but that warmth was so much better than any daydream. She could still feel its ghost dragging its way across her skin, and the wave of goosebumps it had left that rode across her body.
Maybe Berdly had been right. Maybe it should have been disgusting. Instead, Noelle was stuck with an image that she didn’t want to leave her head anytime soon.
With sunset long past, the campfire served as a bastion of light, fending off the looming darkness, sizzling and snapping over the distant chirp of crickets. The closest trees glowed a comforting orange, and their shadows were cast onto the row behind them. As the flames danced, so too did the light and the shadows, creating layer upon layer of an ever-shifting stage around them.
No campout would be complete without a copious amount of s’mores; Noelle brought enough supplies to last the group all three nights, even taking Susie’s bottomless stomach into account, and everyone was tightly gathered around the fire with their roasting sticks. Noelle and Berdly had their camping chairs up close with competing marshmallows, their knees half a step from being uncomfortably warm. They didn’t have enough chairs for everyone, so Susie rolled a large log from the edge of the campsite next to the fire for her own use. Kris, despite having yelled the loudest about wanting s’mores, was roasting a hot dog.
“I used to make so many of these when I was younger,” Noelle said. “My sister always said that we wouldn’t be done until someone was complaining about a tummyache.”
“Won’t be me, I could be out here all night,” Susie said from across the fire, popping a couple raw marshmallows into her mouth.
“I’ll be satisfied before long. Quality over quantity, as they say,” Berdly said.
“A marshmallow’s a marshmallow, dude.”
“But roasting them requires technique! There’s a process! You can’t just do that!” He gestured at Susie, who was shoving a third marshmallow onto her roasting stick. “That will never heat evenly! The perfect s’mores requires a delicate golden brown marshmallow, obtained through an even heat distribution and immaculate care! Watch, once you’re close to the embers, like so—”
Noelle was barely listening. She looked across the campfire with a wistful gaze. Fire always had a way of accentuating someone’s natural beauty. The softer light from lower angles revealed so much more than those from the sun or a classroom light fixture.
She had always wondered what Susie would look like when illuminated by a flame that matched her fiery personality. Candlelight was much too romantic, she’d never be able to get away with it, but a campfire was innocuous and perfect. The curve of Susie’s jaw caught the light so well, and her skin shimmered pink, and the reflection of the flames danced and bobbed in her eyes, fitting just right against their amber hue. She didn’t even notice when Susie had started looking back, those magnetic eyes of hers keeping Noelle trapped inside, and it caused the longing emptiness in her chest to cry out just a little bit louder.
If Susie had looked like a work of art in the daylight, then at night she was a graffiti mural: a collection of shapes and colors of iIllicit beauty. If only she knew how hard she had seduced Noelle without even trying.
“Hey, Noelle?” Susie said to her with an enchanting voice.
“Yes, Susie?” Noelle replied dreamily, fluttering her eyelids. She could almost see the flower petals dancing in the corners of her vision.
“You, uh…” Susie’s eyes flicked down briefly.
Noelle only stared, waiting on Susie’s next words with fervent anticipation.
“Your marshmallow’s on fire.”
“...what?”
Noelle looked down. The roasting stick had dipped too low while she wasn’t paying attention, and now the other end had a fireball on it. Her eyes widened, the sudden shift back to reality making her yelp. She tried to blow it out, but the flame refused to yield, and wiggling it around in front of her wasn’t doing much either.
“Hey, careful!” Berdly cried out, shifting his chair away.
The panic only lasted as long as it took for Susie to appear in front of her, grabbing the stick at the midpoint. Noelle looked up and met Susie’s eyes again. She timidly let go of the stick as the marshmallow continued to blaze. Without a word, Susie blew the marshmallow out, stuck it into her mouth, and slid the crispy, gooey mess off the tongs with her large, pointy teeth.
Susie stared Noelle down as she chewed, crunchy burnt sugar somehow audible over the crackle of the campfire. Noelle’s heart leapt into her throat, and she had to wonder if that had been the hottest thing she’d seen in her entire life.
“Sorry…” Noelle managed to squeak out.
“I like ‘em that way sometimes,” Susie said, handing Noelle her stick back and returning to the log.
When she had collected herself, Noelle retreated to the table, where Kris was assembling a s’mores of their own (with their hotdog—Noelle didn’t try to think about that one). Susie hadn’t managed to clean the prongs of her stick off entirely, but Noelle stuck a new marshmallow with them anyway. She returned to her seat, trying not to think about if what she was doing would eventually count as an indirect kiss, and began roasting again with a smile.
After several more-successful rounds of s’mores attempts, with the last of the embers dying out, everyone decided to call it a night. Berdly and Kris left quickly, taking the only lantern with them, leaving Noelle and Susie to extinguish the fire by flashlight.
“God, this thing’s bright,” Susie said as they made their way to the tent. “Kinda hurts my eyes.”
“Sorry… it’s the only one I could find at home.”
“It’s fine. I’ve got an idea.”
Susie unzipped the tent and led the way in, kicking her boots off near the entrance. Noelle awkwardly climbed in behind her. With the air mattress in the way, there wasn’t much space for them to stand without hunching over. Susie rummaged around her bag for a few moments before withdrawing a glowstick, swiftly cracking it (one-handed, Noelle noticed) and holding it out between them. Noelle turned off the flashlight, and the inside of the tent slowly took on a red glow.
It took a moment for their eyes to adjust, and then the moment lengthened, and Noelle watched Susie’s features come to life yet again in the expanding light. Everything seemed to meld together, and Noelle found herself unable to look anywhere else. Susie watched her back, almost expectantly.
“Good thinking,” Noelle said.
Susie dangled the glowstick from a drawstring on the ceiling of the tent. It gave them just enough light to see what they were doing as they got ready for bed, though Noelle still dug through her bag via touch more than sight.
“Why’d you want to share a tent with me?” Noelle asked with her back turned, as she hastily changed into a warmer set of pajamas.
“No reason,” Susie said flatly, the rustle of clothes making it seem like she was doing the same. “Do I need a reason?”
“Not really.”
“Why’re you asking?”
“Just curious, I guess. Not that I mind or anything,” Noelle didn’t want to admit that she was thinking about the tongue incident again, but the way she absently rubbed at her wrist might’ve tipped Susie off.
“I dunno, you’re just… nice to be around. Don’t worry about it.” Noelle turned, and Susie gave her a shrug, trying to come off as indifferent. There might’ve been something in her voice, but the red light made it difficult to tell if she was blushing. “Besides, I kinda meant it when I said you’d smell better than Berdly.”
Noelle giggled. “Well, glad you think so at least, but we’ll see how long that lasts out here.”
Susie’s air mattress may have only been full-sized, but it still took up most of the space in the tent. Noelle barely had enough room for her sleeping bag, and she dutifully climbed into the narrow space left for her, even though a small part of her was bitter about the barrier it created between them. Not that they’d get up to anything otherwise.
“You okay down there?” Susie asked. “Sorry. Thought the tent would be bigger.”
“It’s alright, I don’t need that much room.”
Susie shoved the glowstick somewhere out of sight, leaving them shrouded in perfect darkness. It wasn’t often Noelle got to experience it—even nightfall at home was usually punctured by some kind of electronic device or a streetlamp filtering in through the blinds. It was almost novel, how she could hold her arms up and see nothing at all.
“So what’re we doing tomorrow?” Susie asked, her voice already softening.
“I have a couple ideas. Might take everyone on a hike, if that sounds okay?”
“Works for me. Maybe we’ll find some cool sticks.”
“Cool sticks?”
“I’ll tell you tomorrow,” Susie yawned, shuffling under her blanket. “Sleepy now.”
Noelle giggled softly. “Okay. Goodnight, Susie.”
“Yeah, g’night.”
As much as she would have loved to keep talking with Susie in the dark, it was probably for the best not to keep her awake. They would have all weekend to do things together, after all.
Noelle closed her eyes and sank into her pillow, letting the white noise of the forest lull her to sleep. She could pick out crickets and frogs, wind rustling the leaves, but after a minute she noticed something else in the mix she didn’t recognize. It was a little deep, but… was that the sound of teeth chattering?
She sat up and looked over towards Susie, quickly finding where the sound was coming from.
“Susie, are you okay?” She whispered to the dark.
“I’ll be fine,” came a gruff response. “Just didn’t expect it to be so damn cold. I only brought one blanket.”
“O-Oh. You seemed fine earlier?”
“Noelle, we were literally in front of a fire.”
“Right, right, sorry…” Noelle apologized, somehow feeling at fault. There had to be something she could do. It was too late to bring anything extra from home, and the only other thing that came to mind was a little audacious. “Well, um… we could, maybe, share blankets?”
Susie paused, as if she was considering it in earnest. Noelle was almost relieved that it wasn’t immediately shot down. “How? Would you have to be up here?”
“I-I guess? Sorry, dumb idea, nevermind.”
Susie audibly shivered, the chattering noise spiking briefly. Noelle’s heart was crying out in sympathy at this point.
“You know what? Fuck it. Just get over here.” Susie shuffled away to make room in her bed.
Noelle couldn’t believe it. A second ago she was worried about overstepping her boundaries, and now her crush was actually inviting her to share a bed together. Even if it was just under the guise of sharing body heat, getting to be this close to Susie this trip sounded too good to be true, much less on the first night.
Almost overeager, Noelle unzipped her own sleeping bag, throwing it over the bed like an extra blanket. It was insulated, and thick enough that the hard ground of the forest underneath wasn’t bothering her, so surely it would help keep Susie warm. Proud of herself for being able to come to Susie’s rescue, she crawled into bed and under the covers, trying not to think about how they were only inches away from each other, and nestled into her pillow once more.
A few moments later, she felt another shiver, rippling through the mattress like an earthquake.
“Are you still cold?”
Susie sighed. “Maybe. Got anything else?”
“You could use me,” Noelle said without thinking. Almost immediately she slapped a hand over her mouth.
“Wh…what?”
“T-To warm up, I mean! I—”
Noelle felt her face turn uncomfortably hot. How could she have made such a blunt suggestion? Out loud? That much was definitely overstepping. She desperately tried to think of an excuse, something else to say to make her seem less weird or a way to play it off as a joke, but the embarrassment was already causing her nose to glow a soft red.
Susie seemed to notice. “Can you put the light away?” She grumbled.
“Sorry, it’s—” Noelle sighed. “That part’s my fault, it’s my dumb nose. It glows on its own like this, whenever I get, um… embarrassed. Dad’s genes,” she added with a huff.
Susie rolled over to face her and blinked a few times, her blank expression plain to see even in the new, dim light. “So you’re saying we never needed a glowstick in the first place. All I had to do was call you cute or something.”
“I-I-I- c-c-” Noelle spluttered. Cute!? Her nose flickered brighter as her stomach flipped. That had to be a joke, right? Did Susie really think she was cute?
Susie’s face softened, grinning at Noelle mischievously.
“Heheheh,” she chuckled.
“S-Susie! Stop that!”
“Why? It’s kinda fun.”
Noelle covered her nose with one hand and reached over with the other, gently shoving Susie’s shoulder with a whine. Susie’s laugh dipped into its usual raspy territory, familiar and comforting even through her chattering teeth, and Noelle laughed back. Her nose often left her feeling like an open book, but it left a pleasant feeling in her chest, knowing that Susie didn’t seem to mind it.
“I was serious, by the way,” Noelle said softly, after they’d both calmed down. “If you’re still cold. I-I’ve got fur, so…”
It was equal parts hopeful and bold. Susie’s eyes trailed down, sizing her up through the blankets, and for a moment Noelle felt like she was the one who was shivering and vulnerable.
“I mean, if you’re out of blankets.”
They were still facing each other. Noelle’s heart began to beat faster as she carefully slid forward under the blankets. Susie lifted an arm, a little uneasily at first, and rested it atop Noelle’s waist, her skin tingling under Susie’s touch. Noelle tried to keep herself from making a sound, but Susie had no such concerns, and let out a gasp. The light noise tickled Noelle’s ear, and Susie’s arm quickly snaked around Noelle’s back, pulling her closer on instinct.
“Better?” Noelle asked shakily. She could feel near-frozen fingertips on her back through her shirt, and wondered why she didn’t offer sooner.
“Yeah,” Susie said between harried breaths, the unexpected warmth surging from Noelle’s body providing her sweet relief. “Though it’s… kinda like cuddling? I-Is that weird?”
“N-Nope! Completely normal!” Noelle tried to awkwardly reassure Susie so she wouldn’t pull away.
“Really? You sure?”
“Yeah, it’s just… girl stuff!” She bluffed, though more to herself to prevent her nose from flickering, and to calm the butterflies in her stomach. Totally normal, platonic, girl stuff.
“...girl stuff.”
“Mhm!”
“...whatever.” Susie grunted, wiggling in place to find a more comfortable position for the arm under her pillow.
Noelle’s mind was screaming. She had never been this close to Susie before, and it was almost overwhelming. Sure, she was just letting a friend leech her body heat, but was this too much even for friends? Her thoughts raced, preoccupied with how many lines she had crossed, how many steps she had skipped. Shouldn’t they have held hands first? Or hugged more than twice?
And yet, here she was, wrapped up in a cocoon of blankets with Susie. It was nothing short of unreal. Surely she had to be dreaming; surely she had to have fallen asleep already and was simply lying alone on the other side of the tent.
Susie’s breathing slowed as she adjusted to the warmth. It was a good start, but Noelle knew she could do better. Her arm had been awkwardly wedged into the valley between them, and she took the chance to move it out of the way, laying her hand gently on Susie’s hip. Susie hissed softly, sucking air in through her teeth, giving Noelle the encouragement to reach forward, sliding her hand to Susie’s back. The skin there was just as soft, much to her delight.
She was still on her journey when Susie suddenly pulled her closer, both arms tightly wrapped around her back. “Easy, easy, just—”
Noelle froze. Did it tickle? Was it too much entirely?
“Stay,” Susie exhaled into Noelle’s hair. “Warm. Good. Stay there.”
They were tightly pressed against each other in this position. Noelle wanted to roam so badly. She wanted to feel every inch of Susie’s body that she could reach, but instead she forced herself to be a good girl and listen, something inside her telling her that her obedience would certainly be rewarded in the future.
A soft thumping noise caught Noelle's attention. From where her hand was, she could feel the muscles along Susie’s back, and wondered if it was her tail wagging—if she didn’t know any better, she’d have thought that Susie was enjoying this almost as much as she was, but that would have been entirely too presumptuous of her.
Now that the initial shock had passed, Noelle was able to fully enjoy the closeness. She sighed in contentment, and let her head rock forward.
“Hey, are you sure you’re okay with this?” Susie asked.
“Yep! Totally fine!” Noelle squeaked, afraid of having the moment ripped away from her.
“I mean do you like— is it helping you out? I don’t wanna make this hard on you or anything.”
“You’re not! Really! I’m a side sleeper… um, usually? I didn’t bring my body pillow, so the arm support is actually kinda nice.”
“Oooh, do you have a scandalous daki for it?” Susie asked sarcastically.
There was a pause. When Noelle didn’t answer, Susie pulled her head back slightly.
“Wait, do you actually?” She said quietly.
“No!”
Noelle’s nose began to glow faintly.
“You are a terrible liar,” Susie said with an illuminated smirk.
Noelle groaned, cursing her nose for betraying her yet again.
“What’s it of?”
“I’ll tell you later if you go to sleep,” Noelle bluffed, hoping that Susie would forget by morning, since she wasn’t about to admit that she had a cute one of a purple dragon from Dragon Blazers that may or may not have reminded her of Susie. She’d take that secret to her grave.
The two of them shuffled around a bit more, each trying to find the most comfortable positions, the pocket within their blankets now sufficiently toasty.
“You comfy?” Susie asked.
“Yeah.”
“Good.” Susie gave Noelle a gentle squeeze. “‘Cause you’re not going anywhere ‘til morning.”
Noelle squeaked, this time her nose flickering brighter.
“God, you’re easy,” Susie teased.
Noelle gave her a playful whine. With her arms trapped like this, all she could do was bury her face in Susie’s chest to hide the glow. Maybe she shouldn’t have given her this much power.
Eventually the embarrassment passed. Susie’s shivering slowed over time, then stopped entirely. Her breathing grew heavier, less concerned with the cold, and Noelle barely noticed when they eventually turned into soft snores. Noelle soon followed, falling asleep to the sounds of the crickets and frogs and the gentle, rhythmic thump of Susie’s heartbeat.