Chapter Text
Rain quickly began to pelt onto the rooftop as Kris watched Susie’s broad-shouldered silhouette walk down the street away from their house. The vigorous onslaught of droplets easily soaked through her coat, and mussed her dark, already untidy hair.
They were crouched on one knee atop their windowsill, straining to keep sight of her in the darkness. Kris could barely believe what had just happened. The two had spent all day looking for Kris’s mother, only to find her at home, one too many glasses into a bottle of wine, dancing with a complete stranger in their living room.
Frustration overwhelmed them. Toriel, who was usually very intent on making sure Kris came home at a decent time, gave no reprimands, nor even showed an ounce of concern for them when they arrived home well past their curfew, tired and dejected.
And on top of it all, Susie left because of the scene. They couldn't blame her, not after everything that happened not even hours prior.
They fought a Titan trying to look for her, for Angel’s sake!
Not to mention, Susie really looked up to her.
Kris grimaced, clenching their teeth as they watched Susie disappear behind the street corner.
She couldn't just leave, not like this.
Turning their head, they glared at the soul inside the rusty birdcage sitting in the corner of their room.
Hesitating, they slid off of the windowsill and onto the carpet, picked up their phone, and made their way toward the soul. They pulled the blanket off of their bed, and draped it over the cage.
While Kris didn't exactly appreciate having something pilot their body, it didn't really do anything else that warranted their hatred. Kris stared at the soft red glow that emanated through the sheet.
The choices it made and the things it said didn't stray far from the choices they themself would make, and it didn't keep them on an extremely tight leash, either. While they couldn't usually maintain full autonomy while carrying the SOUL– or enough to play piano at least– they could still make some important choices on their own, like hugging, high-fiving, and protecting their friends, and even choosing their own ACTs.
It seemed to at least keep them in mind when controlling them, but that shouldn't make much of a difference. It was still controlling them, whether it was forcefully or not, and it wasn't something they liked.
However, it did have some kind of use to them. It helped them with battles, solving puzzles, and not to mention that they kind of needed it to survive.
Despite this, in the past Kris had been able to last a long time while in control with it in the birdcage, even being able to sleep without it most nights.
Kris turned on their phone and opened their contact list before realizing that Susie had never exchanged numbers with them. They needed to talk to her, and soon.
Without much hesitation, they swiftly walked back over to their window and jumped out of their second floor bedroom onto the front lawn with a heavy thud.
“Ow,” Kris grimaced, putting pressure on the ankle they landed on just a bit too hard.
They had tried to land mostly on their other knee, and while the grass helped cushion their fall, it still ached.
As the heavy rain immediately began to soak through their clothes, chilling their skin, Kris listened to see if their mother had noticed the noise from inside the house. As her howling laughter echoed, they figured that they were in the clear.
As soon as they got to their feet and steadied themself, Kris began booking it to the end of the street where they last saw Susie before she disappeared, ignoring the irritated twinge in their leg and the shiver chilling their spine. Once they arrived at it, their eyes scanned for any sign of their friend, with no luck.
As Kris thought about where she might be, they realized Susie never told them where she lived. They groaned in frustration before deciding to head toward the apartment buildings, hoping she might just live there.
Attempting to take a shortcut, they ran towards their father’s shop and took a sharp turn right into the trees. If they remembered correctly…
Yes!
They ran toward the back of the complex, quickly climbing a ladder up to the roof, and down an identical one on the other side. In the alleyway now, they ran to make it over to the entrance of the building, hoping to try and cut her off. Just as the front steps came into view, they saw a purple coattail slip inside as the door clicked shut.
No!!
Kris immediately brought their hands to their face, muffling a groan as they careened their head back in frustration. Damn it!
As much as their body was telling them to head back home where it was dry and warm, they decided they had come too far to quit now. They already snuck out, how much worse could their predestined grounding get?
They took a deep breath, and tried to think. From their experience with these apartments– when they hung out with MonsterKid when they were younger– they knew they couldn't knock this late or it would cause issues. Kris stared up at the different floors of the buildings, tapping their foot on the pavement as they tried to figure out what to do.
Just then, one of the windows lit up and caught their attention, and a figure with a long snout and even longer hair appeared in the window. That had to be her.
As the rain fell and blurred her window, a wave of relief washed over them.
How were they gonna do this?
They looked around, scanning for anything that might help. Just as they were about to go through their pockets, they spotted a pile of small rocks in the grass near the trees next to the complex.
Perfect.
They sprinted over and crouched down on their calves, scooping up as many as they could before carefully walking over to stand below the window.
Kris tossed a pebble at the Illuminated window, and waited.
About thirty seconds passed before they threw another. …and another. …and another…
Getting impatient, they began to do it back to back for about a minute until the window almost busted open.
“WHO THE HELL KEEPS-”
A stray pebble hit Susie’s snout, shocking her out of her anger enough to focus and look below her.
“...Kris?? What are you-”
Kris stood with a pile of rocks in their arms and a relieved look on their face, one crimson eye peeking through their bangs. They couldn't help but grin stupidly at her reaction. They didn't even seem to notice, or care, how drenched they were from the rain.
“...Ugh, hold on, idiot. Wait there.”
She shut the window quickly, moving away from the glass.
About thirty seconds later, after setting the rest of the pebbles down beside the building, the front door to the complex opened, and it was as if her presence alone managed to dry up the dark clouds. The rain suddenly became lighter, slowing to a drizzle.
Kris took a step forward as Susie sped over to them, wearing dry clothes they had never seen her wear before, holding a soft-looking green towel in her claws. As she handed it to Kris, they shivered, the cold of the rain now getting to them.
Susie's mood quickly elevated again as confusion returned to her features.
“Kris, what are you doing, dumbass!? Why are you out here? I know we were out in the rain earlier, but- How did you even-?”
She paused, eyeing Kris's guilt-ridden smile with narrowed eyes.
“Were you following me?”
Susie gained her more usual, less serious demeanor as a playful sneer snuck its way onto her face.
“That's creepy as shit, dude.”
Kris laughed nervously, pausing from drying their hair with the towel, leaving it draped across their head before signing a reply.
“I'm sorry, I was-”
“Oh, are you-?”
Susie blinked a couple times, looking confused for a moment before composing herself. She wasn't used to Kris communicating like this, but she seemed to catch on quickly.
“Wait. No, okay, yeah. Gotcha.”
“Yeah. I know you're not used to me talking like this. I'll explain later. Thanks for the towel.”
They returned to drying their hair, trying to keep it from dripping onto their clothes any more and make them even more cold.
“Don't mention it. And you're lucky I learned sign language when I was little, alright. It's already hard enough to learn school crap, let alone a whole other language. I mean, shit, man.”
As much as Kris enjoyed and appreciated Susie’s sarcastic remarks, they owed her an explanation. They paused from drying their hair again to sign, before Susie reached above them and took over drying their hair for them.
“Here, I can do this while you talk. That good?”
Kris felt their face heat up at the sudden proximity, and nodded.
“I would have texted, but we never exchanged numbers. Were you about to go to sleep?”
Susie shrugged as she spoke, “I was planning on it, but, uh, I don't think I would’ve been able to sleep anyway, you know?”
Kris understood perfectly.
They nodded again, continuing.
“Me neither. I just- I didn't like how you had left. I didn't want you to leave like that. Not before talking about it.”
Susie’s hands hesitated for just less than a moment, barely noticeable.
“What is there to talk about?”
Kris should have known she would avoid the topic; She wasn't the best at dealing with heavy stuff.
They didn't answer, trying to figure out how to bring it up more delicately but deliberately.
After ruffling their hair a bit with the towel, Susie lowered her arms.
“There ya go. You need to dry off more?”
Kris shook their hair a bit before looking down at their clothes, which were no longer dripping, but were still basically soaked all the way through.
“Yeah, give me one second.”
Kris swiftly removed their bright green sweater to reveal the brown button-up they always wore underneath. They rang out their sweater a bit before holding it between their teeth while ringing out the hem of their shirt as well. They tied the damp sweater around their waist before taking the towel back to dry off their arms and pat themself dry.
Susie patiently waited while they finished up, but while watching them, something about them seemed… different. Not just because they were signing out of the blue, but they also seemed to be more expressive and overall less detached from their surroundings, which was new.
She didn't know how to feel about it. Before this, it was her norm for Kris to act not-so-normal, but now they seemed to be acting almost like a regular teenager.
Emphasis on almost.
Kris patted their face dry before handing Susie the towel.
“Thanks, I was freezing.”
“No problem, man. Uh… Just gimme a sec.”
As she turned to go back inside, Kris thought they saw her cheeks become a darker shade of purple, but they chalked it up to seeing things. After all, they both had a really stressful day, after all; Not to mention that it was pretty dark out, aside from the minimal light the dim street lights provided.
Nearly as quick as she left, Susie had returned, no more towel in sight.
They finally had a chance to examine what she was wearing as she walked up to them. She wore a grey thick-strapped tank top, which displayed what looked like a guitar in the shape of a double-sided axe. The scarlet body of the instrument resembled the sharp head, the neck appearing to be the handle. Below the image, in graphic flaming letters, it boldly stated, “KISS MY AXE.”
The shirt was paired with some old-looking basketball shorts, and a pair of scrunched tube socks which had orange and pink stripes along the top, underneath her usual black boots.
The spectacle of Susie in such comfortable-looking clothing was unfamiliar, but definitely a sight to behold. Kris felt their cheeks warm a bit after realizing they'd been staring.
“So, like-”
Kris quickly put a hand up, interrupting her. Her brow crooked in confusion.
“Wanna go for a walk?”
Susie seemed surprised at the seemingly random suggestion, but obliged anyway.
“Um, I guess? But what does-”
“Just come on.”
—・୨ ✦ ୧・—
Kris had silently led Susie away from the apartments, past the town hall and church, and to the edge of the graveyard.
“...Kris, why are we here?”
Susie attempted to break the silence that was lingering in the air as Kris stared into the forest, looking thoughtful.
She had just today told Kris about her experience crying in the graveyard, comforted by their mother, so it seemed like a strange place to be right now.
Noticing the hesitant tone in her voice, they looked up at her decisively.
“Do you trust me?”
“What? I mean yeah, dude, but-”
Without so much as another word, Kris swiftly grabbed hold of Susie’s scaly hand and began pulling her toward the forest, and she went quiet. They confidently began weaving their way through the tightly-packed trees, causing Susie to stumble as she followed behind them.
“Hey, careful, man! I can barely see the ground!” She hissed.
They had seemed to ignore her comment almost entirely as they kept walking, not even sparing her a glance. Despite Kris’s struggle to adjust their eyes in the dark, they never hesitated, stepping over roots and branches without so much of a second thought.
Suddenly they stopped, and Susie hunched over to catch her breath.
“Geez, what was that about? why are-”
She lifted her head up, and suddenly noticed that they weren’t in the trees anymore, and instead were standing at the edge of an open field, grass sprouting up nearly to their knees. She stood up, looking out over the extensive sea of weeds and flowers glistening from the freshly fallen rain. Susie shuddered, a sudden breeze wafting over them, sending the grass into a ripple of waves.
She looked beside her to see Kris still holding onto her hand, looking wistfully over the expanse of glimmering flora.
Hesitating, she gently squeezed their hand before alarms screeched in her head, telling her that she shouldn’t have done that.
Kris quickly looked at their hand, seeming to not have even realized they hadn’t let go. They raised their head to look at Susie, their face flushing. Susie faltered when Kris shifted their gaze to her, an embarrassed expression making its way onto her face as she looked off to the side awkwardly.
“Uh… Are you okay, Kris? You looked kinda…”
Her voice trailed off as she struggled to find her words.
Kris quickly nodded, pulling their hand out of hers nervously.
“Yes, I’m fine! Let’s keep going.”
As they walked ahead of her, Susie couldn’t help but feel a little strange; Was it because they had brushed off her question so suddenly like that? She wondered what they were thinking about. She huffed as she pushed the thought to the side for the time being, and started after Kris.
As They led the way, the earth beneath them felt soft, having absorbed a good bit of water over the course of the last couple days. She couldn’t help but notice how, despite it being the middle of the night, it wasn’t all that dark. She craned her head back, looking upwards toward the sky. She never noticed before just how bright the stars were when they were out; It was as if some unknown force was trying to set the cosmos on fire.
Stepping forward, she nearly stumbled over Kris, who had been gazing at the other side of the field in frustration.
“GAH-!”
She managed to keep her balance, tightly gripping one of Kris’s shoulders to ensure that they didn’t fall as they stepped back to balance themself.
“Damn, sorry, Kris. I wasn’t looking where I was going.”
They replied a quick “It’s alright” before taking a deep breath and turning back toward the tree line.
“Are you looking for something?”
They nodded, their narrowed gaze nearly threatening to set the trees aflame. After a long moment, they spotted something, and began to quickly jog over toward it, pulling away from susie’s grip before she followed suit. After about a minute, they approached what looked like an opening between the trees. As Susie noticed it, Kris began to slow their pace.
“Oh, Is that where we’re going?”
Before Kris could nod in reply, something rustled in the bushes nearby, startling both of them. Kris quickly jumped into a defensive position, moving further in front of Susie, almost startling her even more.
It was quiet. Susie tried to look at Kris, but could only see the back of their head.
“What the hell was-”
The leaves rustled again, cutting her off.
She lowered her voice to a whisper, sounding unsure of herself.
“...Do you think it's just like… a rabbit…? Or something?”
She was probably right, but they didn’t have a good feeling. Their expression stiffened, focusing on the spot where the bush had moved. After a while of tense, eerie silence. Susie sighed and walked up beside Kris.
“Whatever it is, it probably left when it heard me talkin’.”
Kris raised an eyebrow at her, unconvinced, as her lips curled into a snarky grin, teeth bared.
“I mean, I am pretty big and scary, huh, Kris?”
Kris hesitated for a moment before giving in, standing up straight.
“If you say so, Susie.”
Susie looked as if that was the most offensive thing they had ever said to her.
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean, jackass?! I’m plenty intimidating!”
A grin snuck its way onto their face as they continued to mess with her.
“Yeah, as if you need to be intimidating to scare away a bunny rabbit.”
Susie gritted her teeth, turning to stomp down the makeshift path in the trees, turning her head to call back at them.
“HAR HAR HAR, YOU ARE SO FUNNY, AND THAT’S DEFINITELY WHY I’M WALKING AWAY FROM YOU RIGHT NOW!”
Kris stifled their laughter before hesitating, only to glance back at the suspicious bush, wary of what could have possibly been there, watching them
“...Just a rabbit,” they quickly reassured, before running to catch up to Susie.