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Kris takes a shaky breath, feeling their heart - their heart - thumping in their chest. Whatever the SOUL had in mind by putting them through Ramb's demented game boards and forcing them to fight that thing for a piece of equipment, it's clearly not concerned with Kris' thoughts on the whole ordeal.
In fact, it cared so little that it walked out of the game and off into the darkness, still controlling the sprite facsimile of Kris.
Walking on what feels like air and static electricity, Kris hustles to the treasure chest as fast as their legs can carry them. They take the scrap of black cloth contained within, and then rush back out the way they came.
With the controller they dropped from fright earlier back in their hands, Kris stares at the now-unchanging screen, their button inputs doing absolutely nothing. They start mashing the D-pad in all directions and hammering the face buttons, trying to make something happen and push down the thoughts of shelters and violence and pink and gold.
They stop when they hear footsteps approaching. It can't be the SOUL, and Ramb is...
"Hey, Kris!" a gravelly voice calls out, and now that the footsteps - more like footstomps - are closer, Kris clocks that it's just Susie. The relief from knowing she's there and not slain like in the game helps Kris stop trembling (had they been doing that the whole time?)
Susie walks up to Kris, nearly shoulder-to-shoulder with them. "What the hell are you doing?" she asks in her usual Susie way, looking up at the still-static game screen. "Being a tryhard all by yourself?"
Kris would've taken a best-of-15 against Berdly in a heartbeat over what they just endured, but they don't have the energy to make that kind of joke right now.
Then, Kris sees something in the corner of their eye, approaching from the shadows. It's the SOUL, still inside its pixelated shell and stabbing over and over with its sword.
Kris' blood runs cold as they realize they aren't the one making it do that.
They stand frozen in fear, the color draining from their face as the SOUL marches towards Susie, slashing at the air.
Susie glances at Kris, completely unaware of the danger they're both in. "You seriously enjoy this?" she questions, the SOUL coming closer and closer.
Kris knows they have to do something, and the only something they can think of in their panic is to drop their controller, grab Susie by her jacket, and yank her out of the sword's range. They both stumble back, Susie letting out a surprised gasp. Her boot gets caught on the cord for the game controller, and the controller gets yanked violently out of the console.
On the cusp of hyperventilating, Kris' chest heaves up and down. They notice the pixelated copy disappear into nothingness, and as terrified as they still are, it's at least enough to get their breathing back under control. They're safe now, Susie's safe now -
"K-Kris, what are you...?"
Kris stiffens. They're still gripping Susie's jacket so hard their fingers are nearly tearing through the material, and her (very confused) face is just inches away from Kris' own, meaning she can see right into their eyes.
Color comes back to Kris' face - specifically red. There's a million different thoughts running through their head right now, and of them all, let go is at the very bottom.
But then, Susie smiles, her fangs bared and bangs covering her own eyes. "Alright, I... I get it." Susie shifts a little, leaving even less space between them. "Well, if... if you really want to."
Susie's okay with a kiss. Kris has to repeat that in their mind a few times for it to sink in.
Are they really ready for that? The only kissing experience Kris has is putting ketchup on their lips and leaving "lipstick" marks on a bathroom mirror when they were a kid.
Dess gave them a few whacks with her wiffle bat before she had to clean the mirror off.
Ready or not, though, Kris doesn't want to say no. Susie's brave, rude, and, above all, gave them hope that things could be different. Being close to her makes Kris feel things they haven't felt in so long, and they want to keep feeling like this.
So, before they can have any more second thoughts or try to think of a better explanation for why they did what they did, Kris takes the plunge. They close their eyes and press their lips against Susie's, all the tension and bitter cold from before melting away as they relax into the warmth of the kiss.
Kris also tastes chalk and... apple shampoo?
Of course Susie drank it. Of course she did.
Pulling away so the laughter welling up in their throat won't ruin the moment, Kris opens their eyes.
They aren't thrilled to see Susie giving them a Noelle-in-headlights sort of look. Kris' smile drops off their face, and they awkwardly let go of Susie’s jacket, both hands retreating to the front of their breastplate and hovering there.
Maybe they were too sudden? Kris doesn't know the first thing about flirting (at least when it isn't an ACT), so rushing in headfirst might've been a bad call.
The good news is that Susie clarifies her feelings on the whole ordeal before Kris can get too in their own head about it:
"DAMMIT KRIS I WAS JUST GONNA LET YOU TASTE MY SHAMPOO 'CUZ I TASTED YOURS????" Susie blurts out, a confused blush spreading across her snout like fire.
The bad news is that Susie's feelings on the whole ordeal seem less than positive. She isn't angry, Kris could tell if she was, but there's nothing happy about the way she's refusing to look at them now, either.
"I... you..." Susie continues with wide eyes, pointing at herself and then at Kris. "I don't - YOU KNOW WHAT SCREW THIS!" Susie shouts. She shoves a can of something into Kris' hands, grumbles a comparatively tame "Jeez...", and then bolts back out the way she came in.
Kris' heart - their heart - sinks as another re-enters their body.
It was a nice idea, thinking Susie liked them in that way, but Kris should've known better. They can't even hang their head in shame with the SOUL back in the driver's seat, though, so all Kris can do is wonder how they'll be able to work things out with Susie.
The SOUL makes them inspect the game console twice for no reason, then the can Susie gave Kris:
*Flat soda someone already took a big sip from.
They decide not to drink it, but Kris still feels a bitter taste in their mouth anyway.
"Um, Susie? Are you and Kris OK?"
Susie glances over her shoulder at Ralsei. Yeah, she had a feeling he'd ask about all that.
"Uh, yeah. Why wouldn't we be?" Susie says super convincingly. She's surprised that Ralsei still looks all not-Ralsei, with that big 'ol frown on his face.
"Well, you came out of that backroom in a big hurry, and neither you or Kris wanted to talk about what happened," Ralsei explains, turning to all the weird TV things in the distance. "You don't have to say anything if you don't want to," he adds quickly, "but if there's something hurting either of you that I can help with, I'd be happy to. That's... why I'm here, after all."
Susie can't see his face, but she knows Ralsei's doing that thing where he's trying to smile but doesn't really mean it. Pisses her off how he's still on that my existence doesn't matter crap, too, so now Susie's mad at two people.
"Nah, we didn't get hurt," Susie replies, and she moves a little closer to him. Susie notices Kris standing in the shadow of the big screen they solved a puzzle with earlier, staring at her and Ralsei like they want to say something.
Kris doesn't, and they don't move at all, either, so Susie hesitantly focuses on Ralsei again.
"Oh, that's a relief," Ralsei says.
"...Yeah."
Susie wasn't being completely honest there. Someone probably did get hurt, and that someone is Kris.
Running away was a dumbass move in hindsight, but Susie got so damn overwhelmed when Kris kissed her out of the blue. It wasn't bad at all, it was actually really nice, she just didn't really know how to feel about all those... feelings it made her feel. She isn't the kinda person who's supposed to get kissed, y'know?
"Look, just. Don't worry about me and Kris, okay? We're fine." Susie does her best to pretend she's carefree. "You should be worrying about how you're doing instead, dude. Especially if I'm gonna burn you for warmth when we get back to that snowy place," she teases, elbowing Ralsei a little.
That got Ralsei smiling, for real this time. "I'll have you know I'm fireproof. And not idiot-scented," he says, adjusting his glasses proudly.
"Might have to light you up and find out, then..." Susie growls, putting on her biting your head off face, and Ralsei laughs a little. She thinks that'll do for now, 'cuz there's someone else she needs to talk to pronto. "I'm gonna go see if Kris has their, uh, sword and stuff. Gotta make sure we're ready for Tenna."
"Of course! I'll be waiting right here whenever you're ready to go, Susie."
Susie pats Ralsei on his shoulder before making her way over to Kris. It's a little hard to see them in the darkness, but she hears boots moving over rotten wood planks, so they must be...
...Backing away. Damn.
"Hey, Kris? You there?" Susie asks, beating herself up for what a stupid question it is the moment it comes out of her mouth. "There's... something I wanna talk to you about."
There's no answer, so Susie moves closer, walking into the dark spot herself. She sees Kris, their eyes completely covered in shadow. "About earlier," Susie starts, rubbing the back of her head nervously. "Wasn't cool of me to run off on you like that. Especially after we, uh," Susie's face gets really warm, "...kissed. Kinda gave you the wrong idea back there, so that's on me."
Kris still doesn't say anything, just letting their head droop.
"N-Not that I didn't like it or anything," Susie clarifies, and Kris perks up again. "I dunno what you'd even call what we have going on, but... I wouldn't mind if we did something like that again, y'know?" Susie grins, and it's the most genuine grin she's had in a while.
That must've done the trick, 'cuz Kris finally comes over to her.
❤️ [You mean it?] [Thanks] [Let's kiss by the lake next time] [...]
"Dude," Susie says, almost a little disappointed by the hesitation in Kris' voice, "of course I do. There's nothing you or Ralsei could ever do to make me stop liking you guys, 'kay?" She points at herself with her thumb. "You're stuck with me, so better get used to it."
Kris gets stuck to Susie by practically launching themself into a hug with her. "Woah, woah! Give me some warning next time, dude," Susie laughs, halfheartedly trying to pry them off. She looks down at Kris, and sees them smiling... sadly?
[Tell Susie you like her too] ❤️ [Tell Susie she's a dork]
"Wha- WHO ARE YOU CALLING A DORK, YOU FRIGGIN DORK?????"
Susie's really glad she has Kris so close, 'cuz it makes them super easy to put in a headlock. Kris laughs quietly as Susie shakes them around.
Guess that sadness must've been her imagination. Why would Kris be upset by what she said, anyway?
They're cheered up, and that's what's most important right now.
"Get in here, Ralsei! My other arm's hungry for an idiot!" Susie shouts, and Ralsei comes running over.
"One idiot, coming right up!" he says cheerfully, running into Susie's grasp.
"Alllllllright! You guys ready to go save Toriel?"
It's more like a statement than a question, but Kris and Ralsei both give enthusiastic responses anyway.
Susie shoves Kris in front of herself and Ralsei. "Then lead the way, Kris," she commands, and they all file back into their usual formation. Kris soldiers forward, leading them out of the screen's shadow.
The draft gets stronger the closer they get to the snowy place outside; Kris is gonna take the worst of it, being in the front and all.
Getting an idea, Susie whispers something to Kris:
"You tasted like stupid."
Susie's too busy laughing her ass off to be cold, and Kris looks plenty warm, too.