#I debated a bunch on what Lancer's 'last word' should be

[lynxgriffin]

Eldritchrune - Meeting Lancer

Story Setup Eldritchrune Masterpost

It turns out the way to avoid getting eaten by the Eldritch horrors is cartoon logic! And Lancer is well-versed in that! That, and just being an adorable little bouncy pumpkin who absolutely belongs in a less scary universe.

[crookswithbooks]

More Than Just A Friend

Day Four - Kris is feeling uncertain doing the holidays without Asriel, and Susie discovers hidden feelings within herself. 

Susie shifted on the bed, shooting nervous glances over at Kris every once in a while, who sat reading a book, some comic or another, completely oblivious to Susie’s inner turmoil.

When Kris had asked her to stay for the holidays, as she had no one else to stay with, she had accepted immediately, feeling grateful and a little bashful that Kris thought of her at all. But now that she was here, in Kris’s room filled with things that made him Kris, she began to think about the long night (nights? They hadn’t quiet discussed how long this was lasting) ahead of them. Where would she sleep? Where would she get changed? Where would he get changed? Would they stay in the same bed? The questions swirled around in her head, making her more and more nervous as time went on, and Kris sitting there as if everything was completely normal was not helping.

Susie’s feelings for Kris were a recent development, one that had crept up on her quietly and quite unwillingly. She had noticed it one day when he had accidentally bumped her arm and her heart did backflips in her chest. She had tried to shove it down and keep her from accidentally ruining things with the only friend she had.

Though technically not only friend, if you counted Ralsei and Lancer; but that was still up for debate, whether they were even real or just figments of her imagination, all of which was all kinds of messed up if you though about it.

She had thought she had been dealing with these new feelings pretty well thus far, but being suddenly thrust into the same house as Kris for a week (weeks? Seriously she had no idea how long she was staying) was not doing any favors to her already raging crush.

“Sooo…” Susie started, after a minute of unbearable silence had passed. “What, uh, what have you been up to?”

Kris looked up at the sound of her voice, putting down his comic. “Nothing much. Hanging out with you, I guess.” He picked at a hole in his jeans that she hadn’t noticed before. “I got a letter from Asriel.”

“Yeah?” The subject of Kris’s brother was not one that came up often, and it was a rare moment when Kris himself brought him up. “What’d he have to say?”

Kris shrugged, ripping the whole wider. “Nothing much. Wished me a merry Christmas. He said things in college were going well, that he’d started to make a bunch of new friends.”

“That’s good,” Susie said, offering an encouraging smile, a rare gesture for her. “Right?”

Kris nodded, but his expression was vacant and closed-off, a look Susie was starting to get more and more familiar with. “Yeah, I guess.”

He picked back up his book and she realized with horror that the silence was going to begin again, but he paused, turning to look at her. “Hey, have you ever been kissed before?”

Her heart just about exploded in her chest at his words. “Uh… what?” she stuttered as he stared at her with innocent eyes. Two seconds ago they were talking about his brother and now he suddenly bombarded her with this? Where the hell was this going and how did they get here?

Kris scooched forward, which did not help. “A couple of the kids at school were talking about their first kisses and it got me thinking.” He crossed his legs, peering up at her. “So, have you?”

Susie could feel the burning on her cheeks and she only hoped that Kris didn’t notice. “Uh, yeah, of course I have.”

This was a lie. She had spent so long pushing people out of her life and cutting herself off from any potential friends, that she had never gotten close enough with someone for kissing to even be a possibility.

“I haven’t,” he confessed honestly, sitting back which she was both grateful of and disappointed by. “I’ve always wondered what it’s like, but I’ve never found someone who likes me in that way.”

Susie snorted at the irony of the sentence. “Really? You?”

Kris narrowed his eyes at that, frowning in confusion. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Susie was spared having to answer, as at that moment the door swung open and Toriel stuck her head in, smiling when she saw the two of them. The minute she opened the door the smell of fresh-baked gingerbread wafted through the room, and Susie could feel her mouth watering.

“I just wanted to tell you two that dinner’s ready.” The goat was staring between them with a knowing smile that made Susie flush, avoiding her gaze. The idea that even Kris’s mom knew about her feelings made her wonder how obvious she had been. Did Kris know? The thought made her stomach squirm uncomfortably, like there was a giant, nervous worm trapped inside.

“Make sure you wash your hands first, and for goodness sake’s Kris, clean up the mess on your floor.” Toriel gave him a stern look before disappearing back out into the hall, closing the door gently behind her.

Kris reluctantly slid off her bed, picking up the various comics and clothes spread about the room, spilling a pile of colored pencils into an emptied out pickle jar. Susie watched him do this, still jittery from the earlier question, not sure if she should bring it back up or let it go.

She still couldn’t believe that Kris hadn’t been kissed before. When they had travelled to the Darkworld he had been so kind to everyone, sometimes even being a little too nice, though she hadn’t known why it bothered her at the time. Surely he must have dated someone before.

“You coming?”

Kris was standing by the doorway staring expectantly at her, and she realized that he had finished while she was lost in thought.

“Yeah, I’m coming.” She shoved past him, ruffling his hair as she went.

“Susie,” he complained, ducking under her and glaring up at her. Despite his annoyance, she couldn’t help but find it cute when he tried to be angry. That was her thing, not his.

Dinner was spent in quiet silence as Susie shoveled food into her mouth, feeling a part of her soul die and go to heaven with every bite. It was a beautiful roast turkey with thick gravy drizzled generously over it, and combined with the mashed potatoes Susie might as well have been eating like a king. Kris picked quietly at his food, his mind seemingly elsewhere. Susie paused in her inhales, wondering if she should ask him about it.

Toriel beat her to it, however, turning her kind eyes towards Kris. “So honey, how have things been in school?”

Kris shrugged, the same noncommittal answer as earlier when Susie had asked him. “It’s been fine. Mr. Papyrus taught us how to make spaghetti in class today, for the third time in a row. We keep telling him we want to learn other stuff, but he insists that pasta is, quote, the greatest food item in the world and the most important foundation for learning to cook. I’m not so convinced. I’m not sure how many more ways we can learn to make pasta.”

Toriel smiled graciously, shaking her head. “Just the same as when we were kids. And you, Susie?”

Susie snapped her head up, surprised to be addressed. Gravy dripped down her chin and she wiped it off quickly. “What?”

“How are things going in school with you?” she repeated promptingly.

“Oh. Uh… nothing much, I guess. Haven’t been getting as much detention recently, as you probably already know.”

Toriel smiled wryly. “Yes, I’ve noticed, and I’ve been glad for it. I wouldn’t want Kris hanging out with someone who’s a bad influence.”

Susie nodded humbly, going back to her food, but Kris stood up from the table. Toriel and Susie both looked at him in surprise. “I’d like to be excused, please.” He whirled around, rushing out of the room suddenly.

Toriel stared after him in shock. “He barely even touched his food.”

Susie felt worry blossom in her chest. “I’ll go check on him, make sure he’s okay.”

Toriel smiled gratefully. “Would you? Thank you, honey.”

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Susie said, blushing at the nickname and hurrying off.

She found Kris in the living room, curled up on the couch. He had a book in his hands but his eyes scanned the pages dully, not taking in the words. She sat down next to him, feeling awkward and bulky next to his tiny frame. The sheer amount of awkwardness she felt around Kris nowadays days was wholly unfair.

She coughed to announce her presence and Kris glanced up. “Oh. Hey.”

“Hey,” she agreed. “So, uh, what was all that about?”

“Oh, that.” Kris looked back down at his book, flipping a page. “That was nothing. I just wasn’t hungry.”

“Kris.” Susie raised an eyebrow.

“It’s nothing, really.”

“Kris.”

Kris sighed, leaning his head back. “Fine.” He crossed his arms, not looking at her. “I just don’t like the way mom talks about you sometimes. Like you’re some kind of miscreant that’s leading me off the path of good, whatever the hell that means.”

Susie raised an eyebrow at the curse, but inside she was touched that Kris cared about her that much. She nudged his arm, grinning. “Aw, dude.”

Kris blushed, shoving her away. “Shut up. It’s just… I care about you, you know? You’re my only friend, and I hate that mom disapproves.”

Although the sentiment touched her, the word friend echoed around in her head, reminding her that that’s all they were. Friends.

“I’m sure she doesn’t mean it like that,” Susie reassured him. “She just doesn’t want you to do poorly in school on my account. I think she was just teasing, anyway.” She frowned, raising an eyebrow. “That’s not all this is about, is it?”

“No,” Kris sighed, looking away. “It’s also my first Christmas without Asriel here. It’s just weird not having him around the house, singing Christmas songs and helping to decorate the tree. I guess I just got used to things being a certain way and now they’re…”

“Not?” Susie finished.

“Yeah,” Kris agreed.

They sat in silence for a moment, both of them unsure what to say next. Finally Kris leaned over, resting his head on her shoulder. Susie froze, her body tingling with sudden electricity. “Thanks for being here,” Kris said, fiddling with his hands. “I really do mean it. Thanks for coming and spending the holidays with us when you didn’t have to.”

Slowly Susie relaxed, her expression settling into a smile. “Of course, man. If anything I should be thanking you for giving me somewhere to be for the holidays.”

Kris nuzzled closer and Susie relaxed against him, glancing up at the twirling paper snowflakes above them. That was when she noticed it. Mistletoe, hanging right above the two of them.

Susie snapped her gaze down to Kris, who noticed the sudden tension in his friend. “What is it?” he asked, sitting up much to her disappointment.

She pointed up, hoping he wouldn’t notice the furious blush on her face. Kris saw the mistletoe and his eyes widened in understanding. “Oh. Mistletoe.”

Susie was already making up excuses, blustering and gesturing wildly. “We don’t have to or anything. It’s a stupid tradition anyway and I wouldn’t want to make things weird, so it’s totally cool if you don’t want to—”

Kris cut her off, leaning in and pressing his lips to hers. Her eyes widened as she felt his soft lips, softer than you would think a boy’s lips would be. He pulled away, staring at her, his eyes just as wide as hers as though he hadn’t quite realized what he was doing.

Susie jerked back instinctively and Kris’s face fell immediately. “I’m sorry,” he said, holding up his hands apologetically. “I didn’t mean to, it just kinda—”

The rest of his sentence broke off as she grabbed him, kissing him again. A part of her didn’t believe what she was doing, but another part of her felt completely clam, as if kissing your best friend wasn’t a weird thing to do. They stayed like that for a minute, their lips locked together, and when they finally pulled apart both of them were panting for breath.

“Um, excuse me?”

They jerked around to look at Toriel, staring with a smirk between the two teens. “I was just gonna ask if you wanted some cookies, but maybe I should leave you two alone…?”

“Mom!” Kris exclaimed, his face going bright red. Susie would have been embarrassed as well but the sight of his blushing face was so uncharacteristically adorable that she couldn’t take her eyes off it.

“Right, right, of course,” Toriel said, winking subtly as she left the room. “I’ll just leave you two alone then to... continue your business. 

“Mom,” Kris groaned again as she left, burying his face in Susie’s shoulder. Susie glanced down at him, grinning a little. He glared up at her, but there was no venom in his gaze. “Oh shut up you.”

“Gladly,” she responded, pulling him in for another kiss.

Maybe the holidays weren’t going to be so bad after all…