Susie woke up first.
Not that it was unexpected; she always did have a crappy time sleeping. It'd be lying to say that the unfamiliar conditions hadn't improved her rest rather than detract from it, though. Having a couple more blankets to cushion the floor contributed. Groaning, the monster peeled herself off the ground, putting a palm to her eye to rub what grains of grogginess lodged itself there overnight. A warm light washed over the room from the window; must've been early in the morning, Susie guessed.
Rolling the rest of the sleep out of her shoulder, Susie took stock of her surroundings. There was a TV remote next to her pillow, along with the dead batteries that she barely remembered replacing. An open can of soda was just a couple of feet away, evidently emptied of its contents. Next to that were the torn remnants of a bag of popcorn. Susie's claws and brutish strength never did make snacking easy for her. The girl scratched at her jaw, half-consciously adjusting her shirt with her other hand. Then her eyes broadened as she saw who lay next to her, petrifying at the sight.
"Oh, right," she thought to herself.
Ralsei gently snored as he slept, half-laying on his arm with a serene expression Susie hadn't witnessed too often. He wore a simple green t-shirt and black pants not unlike Susie's own; Kris had been adamant about helping him find something similar to his Dark World outfit (and they subsequently groaned at the unsurprising lack of magical robes being sold around Hometown). His hat had been left behind, both to Susie's exasperation and triumph. With how he laid last night, it was a wonder his pink horns hadn't torn holes in the pillows they'd gotten. The Prince's chest rose and fell with his breaths.
Susie looked at him for a short while, clawing at her memories of last night in the morning's haze. She remembered a sleepover; her place, she made a point of saying, since Kris's mother probably wouldn't have given the three of them much room for fun (cool as Toriel could be). Kris shared her sentiment, and with Ralsei being excited for a friendly outing regardless of its location, they all banded together for a night to themselves. The strewn popcorn and empty soda-can were emblematic enough of what last night entailed. Video games, movies, even some haphazard attempts at cards, from what Susie gathered were typical sleep-over activities. Not that she had much experience. Still, she didn't let that stop her, brute-forcing her way to a good time one way or another. More fond memories weren't going to go unappreciated.
The most fond of which lay in front of her, quietly sleeping on the collection of blankets they shared. He didn't seem to notice Susie's midnight thrashing. Or, now that Susie thought about it, maybe she didn't end up thrashing in the middle of the night, for once. The lack of claw marks and tears in the cloth she sat on was as good enough evidence as any. Seeing the pure white of Ralsei's fur, she figured that even her subconscious was more careful around someone so comparatively fragile. Ralsei's glasses had been set aside next to his pillow along with the length of red that served as his scarf. Susie tilted her head as she continued watching Ralsei's snores, unsure of why she was staring so intently. She saw him pretty much every day since they met already.
But, even then, Susie kept the slits of her pupils on him, taking in the quiet of his respite. That was a rare sight; to see him so… calm, at peace. It was nice to look at. So, Susie let herself look, moving a little closer an inch at a time, making sure not to bump into the upturned hand at Ralsei's side. Some of the morning sun's rays shined a little too bright, and she ducked down to avoid the beams. There was a bit of fur from Ralsei's chest that spread over his shirt's collar. The tufts of fur on his forehead seemed messier than usual, which Susie had to grin at. Then again, her own hair was probably a complete disaster.
For a moment, Susie glanced around them, wondering where Kris had decided to sleep. She remembered that there weren't many bedrooms in her house, and had compensated by saying they all crash in the living room together. She was even feeling hospitable enough to offer the couch to Kris, opting to sleep on the floor like usual. However, looking towards the duct-tape-patched sofa didn't reveal a soul. There were a couple more desecrated remains of snacks, but no person. Then Susie recalled the unexpected call Kris had gotten in the midst of their sleepover. Judging by how loud their phone had been, whoever was on the other end wasn't too happy. Kris had sheepishly stowed their phone before packing up, apologizing for their unexpected leave. It was a bit of a bummer to Susie, but Kris had been adamant about her and Ralsei enjoying the rest of the night, so she did her best to do just that. Doing just that was surprisingly easy (not to discredit Kris's friendship).
But… then, why didn't she offer Ralsei the couch? She did, didn't she? With his royal origins, Susie had figured that Ralsei would probably want to sleep on the closest analogy to a bed that she could offer. But here he was, sleeping next to her on the handful of blankets she could scavenge. From what Susie's brain could piece together, she didn't think he made any direct point of wanting to set up next to her. It was more that he just… ended up there. The fact was nicer than the purposeful alternative, Susie found.
They had talked for a while last night. After Kris left, Susie tried moving past the speed bump with a movie recommendation, to which Ralsei replied by asking about said movie. Somehow that evolved from her cinema preferences to what few interests she had to how she spent her day to… Susie wasn't sure. All she could accurately remember was talking for a long while. That, and that she had enjoyed talking to Ralsei for so long. He seemed so interested, and even cracked a few jokes here and there that pierced Susie's usually "cool" exterior. The frequent compliments and breeziness of his voice wasn't something Susie expected to enjoy so much, either. Hopefully he enjoyed it to a similar degree. The fact that he so naturally moved to lay next to her was hopefully a good sign.
Susie felt the corners of her cheeks pull up, returning to the morning after. The blankets were plush considering the weight that flattened them overnight. It was comfortable all the same, and Susie laid her head back down on the pillow just next to Ralsei's. There was a handful of inches between them. The proximity was as much of an accident as the lengthy exchange she was fortunate enough to share with Ralsei last night. Susie didn't have anywhere to be any time soon, so she just enjoyed sitting next to Ralsei, settling back into the restful comfort she held only minutes ago.
Judging by the subtle smile accompanying Ralsei's snores, he must've been having good dreams. Susie wasn't about to interrupt them. The morning stayed silent, devoid of the cacophony that tended to fill the house. The monster's hand laid next to Ralsei's open palm for a couple seconds. Even his hands looked soft. Curious, Susie lifted her own hands for a moment, hesitating. Then, like a scaled feather, she let just a fraction of her hand's weight rest on Ralsei's. He was… warm. And, as expected, soft as hell. Susie didn't dare to close her grasp for fear of waking him, but she did let gravity pull her hand onto his just a little more.
"...huh…" Susie thought to herself. Her hand was so much bigger than his. She was taller, sure, but even then, the stoutness of her physique dwarfed Ralsei's more lithe figure. Not even his hands were safe, apparently. Ironically, Susie found the difference comforting, in a way. Their hands stayed together for a couple seconds longer as Susie tried in vain to work out why. Then her eyes shifted back up to Ralsei's placid expression.
Still he was sleeping away, smile stuck on his face. It was probably one of the few things that could distract from how cozy it was to "hold" his hand. Susie let her hand raise from his, gliding towards the prince's countenance like a leaf on the wind. Her fingers hovered just above his face. His ears were splayed behind his head, fluffy like the rest of him. It wasn't often that Susie could look so freely at Ralsei's features; it was even less often she could allow herself to call him pretty. Beautiful, even, if she wanted to sound smart about it. A second later, Susie's hand completed its journey, resting against Ralsei's cheek.
He hummed.
Susie froze, holding her breath. Petrifying like she did meant that her hand stayed against Ralsei's face, only lacking the ounce of pressure that gravity would've given. Ralsei shifted a little on his side. He tried adjusting the pillow with his head, failed, then let out a deep sigh before halting again. Susie waited, watching her best friend like a hawk. After what felt like eons, he resumed his gentle snoring, evidently falling back into slumber.
It took a bit longer for Susie's heart to resume a normal pace. She kept her hand on his face still, double checking the status of his consciousness before feeling the soft fur of his cheek. He was warm there, too. Somehow his face was as pleasant to Susie's touch as his hand had been, if not more so. It was pleasant already to the eyes (though Susie would never admit as much). The monster's eyelids drooped as she relaxed on their blankets, thumb absently caressing over Ralsei's face. She didn't feel any strong need to decipher why he'd become so enrapturing; it was a higher priority to simply be enraptured. The warmth spread over her like another blanket, and Susie shut her eyes, gentle hand against gentle features. Ralsei kept his smile as he slept, copied by Susie just a minute later.