It was a nice evening for a walk. The night sky is clear, the atmosphere relaxing, and the town is lit up by the streetlamps present by the roads. Kris had been walking alone by the cemetery, thinking of themselves. It had been some time past since they had managed to seal the fountain in the library. They should be glad that their friends made out safe and sound, right? Kris should've felt happy as well, but some things that were said within the modern city lights of Cyber World still haunt them to this day.
"Don't you wish that we could go back to the way they were, Kris?" Noelle looked at them with longing in their eyes. Their heart had been beating fast seeing Noelle underneath the city lights contrasting the night sky. Her angelic beauty had been the saving grace of the unforgiving reality, and they had blown it off due to their own self-depreciation.
Their neutral face fell. They started to feel the regret. They had started to regret not being there for Noelle when Rudy started being in the hospital more frequently. Rudy was a family friend, but Kris still felt their self-doubt kicking in every time they try to be there for Noelle. They had started to regret not being there when Carol started to become stricter to Noelle due to her husband's failing health. This had been obvious to Kris as Noelle started to get less confident every time they saw her. Kris wanted to try and lighten her mood up just like old times, but their voice got caught up in fears of rejection due to them being an anomaly.
They had started to regret.
They had started to regret.
Regretted.
A familiar figure had made their presence underneath the moonlight. Their blonde hair, checkered sweater, and somber look could be seen despite their solemn mood.
Noelle did not have a great night in her home. Looking at the night sky, all she saw was the city lights from her dream. Even though her dad is currently in the hospital and her sister is in college with Asriel she still felt somewhat lonely, yet they felt loved. Her heart fluttered but knew she couldn't satisfy it. She needed someone but was not sure if they wanted them back.
A dream had kept her from enjoying their night. No matter how much she tried to sleep early, that dream kept her awake ever since they experienced the dream. She looked at the night sky, looking for the answers. The stars were visible tonight, giving the dark sky something to light it up. The heavenly bodies up above had answers hidden from her, but they told her that she already knew the answer in her heart.
"Honestly I was scared, Noelle." Kris' neutral expression had dropped. "Realizing that I am an anomaly in a town full of surprises, it really does a number on one's confidence, am I right?"
Kris had started to walk slower. Their ruby eyes showed sadness that would normally be blocked by both their façade and their hair. Their face showing nothing but wistfulness thinking of the memory. Kris stared up into the sky, perhaps making a wish onto the stars despite being inside a bright and lively city. The darkness above them beckoned both Kris and her into wondering what was awaiting them.
Sometimes she regrets not being there for Kris. As her most trusted confidant and best friend, she should've noticed the signs. Kris had started to become more isolated towards the rest. Only coming out to hang out for a while before dipping without notice. The others seemed to not mind Kris booking out early– even her– but she should've felt that something was wrong.
Hearing about the divorce should've prompted her to confront Kris. Having your parents, albeit adopted, have a fight that ended in divorce would have done massive damage to anyone's psyche. It was the perfect time to finally reach out to Kris and cheer them up. It would've been the perfect time to see Kris finally smile genuinely once again much like how they did back then.
But why didn't she?
She had decided to go on a walk. The nighttime was calm. Only the sounds of the wind carrying leaves could be heard from her path. The street had been empty, but for her it reminded them of her childhood with Kris together. The sounds of ghastly laughter, childish voices, and heart-to-heart talks replayed in her mind. Images of them playing tag by the sides of the street follow them made her feel longing for someone.
Another figure seemed to have had the same idea as her. Their striped sweater along with the signature bangs displayed themselves on the figure. The figure stared back at her.
The two had made eye contact, but neither made a move. Two hearts within the night sky are calling out to each other but are afraid to make a move. Ruby eyes met with hazel ones, both windows showing love and longing, but the houses won't let the other in.
The two had moved closer to each other. Nervous teenagers stood before each other. Like cowboys to a shootout, they waited for the other to make their move. Or perhaps, the two struggled to make the move first fearing the reaction of the other. Kris had tried to reach their hand to her, but promptly pulled back. Noelle opened her mouth to say sorry, but nothing had come out from her words.
The friends looked away from each other, contemplating what to next. It was obvious that both friends wanted to talk, reaching for each other's hearts. Neither of them however had the courage to make it. They had opted to greeting the other instead, so they face back towards the other.
The two looked at each other awkwardly. Kris had put on their best poker face while Noelle kept her mouth shut, hoping that nothing came out too early.
"Hi." Kris said.
"Hello as well." Noelle answered back.
"…"
"…"
Neither of them could handle the other's presence.
"…Wonderful weather we're having?" Kris tried to start a conversation.
"…Yes, it is quite lovely." Noelle tried to continue the conversation.
Both teenagers had been staring at each other, waiting to see the other's reactions. The silence was deafening to both. The awkwardness between the two could be suffocating if any other person were within it.
"See you tomorrow in class?" Kris awkwardly said their farewell.
"See you tomorrow, Kris." Noelle shot Kris a smile.
Both teenagers waved each other goodbye before going past each other and leaving the area.
'Why did I not ask for her forgiveness for not being there for her?' Kris started to shed tears. Kris had regretted being quiet during that conversation as well. Kris had blown off another one of their chances to reach out for her again. Instead, they stood still like an idiot and let her be.
Kris had gone off to the opened church to clear their mind.
'Noelle, Kris was just there! Why did you just stand there again? You had your chance to reach out to them. They need you as much as you need them right now, so why didn't you do it?' Noelle chastised herself. 'You are already experiencing dreams that act like a guide for you, so why didn't you do it?'
Noelle sighed to herself.
Noelle grabbed her phone and earphones and plugged it to her ear. "Maybe a good music would be able to calm my mind down." Noelle then sat down on the side of a tree and played her music.
Meanwhile, a small figure hidden within the leaves of a nearby bush smirked.
Temmie was out and about looking for inspirations for her secret project. Her journey had led her to multiple areas within the town such as the Diner and the Library, on the lookout for romantic scenes for her endgame plan. So far however, she had not achieved anything from the exploration she did.
Temmie was about to call in the day when she heard Kris and Noelle awkwardly talk to each other before leaving. This was perfect! Two young souls in love, afraid of making the first move. A perfect inspiration for her super duper secret plan!
She opted to follow Noelle to observe how she would react. The emotions! The regrets! The feeling of longing! She could feel it all. It gave her power! The scent! It fired up her internal furnace, clocking herself up to write the project she had kept secret!
Before she had decided to leave to work on the project, she heard Noelle humming a tune.
Even better! A song about love and longing!
She opted to record Noelle through the leaves instead.
Picture perfect memories,
Scattered all around the floor
Noelle sang with emotions in her voice. Temmie could feel it! Her love for Kris is dripping from her tone! The effort she sang those lyrics, it was full of regret and love.
Reaching for the phone cause
I can't fight it anymore.
'Oh, this is going to be good material.' Temmie thought to herself with an evil smile.
And I wonder if I ever cross your mind.
For me it happens all the time.
Catti had some things to think about. Earlier that day at school, it seemed that Kris and Noelle were avoiding each other specifically. Every time one spotted the other, they turn around and walk the other direction. Every time they enter a room, they seem to scan the crowd for someone, before walking the opposite direction if they saw each other. It was weird for Catti. She had never seen Kris act this way to anyone, not even herself.
What was weirder is that they always try to stare at each other when the other hasn't noticed them. They seem to always have a look of adoration, longing, and regret every time they put their eyes on the other, but quickly turns away when they notice the other look back. It was tearing her apart! Seeing her friends act this way, Catti had to do something about it. She had to confront Kris first and ask why they act like this.
At least, that was her plan until her phone reminded her that she had worked that day.
She cursed herself for choosing to try and fix their relationship on a day when she had work. Of all the days she had to be benign, she chose the time she had work to do. She had spent hours working on her job hoping that Kris could come there so she didn't have to go look for them after work. Sadly, they didn't.
Here she was now, walking on the empty streets looking for Kris. She had texted Toriel on their location as she wanted to corner Kris without them running away, and Toriel told her that Kris would usually visit the church to play the piano whenever they're stressed or down before.
Cursing to herself, she pressed on.
When she arrived at the church, she heard someone inside practicing the piano. If Toriel was right, then this was a golden opportunity for her. Grabbing her phone and turning on her camera, she started to record Kris discreetly behind the door that was slightly ajar. Jockington haven't heard nor seen Kris play the piano, so this was a golden opportunity to solve both of her problems.
Kris had started to play a tune. Catti recognized it to be "Need you Now" by Lady A. She should be able to recognize it due to the number of times her sister played that song in her room when she was reading one of those romance novels on her spare time.
And I wonder if I ever cross your mind.
For me it happens all the time.
Kris… Sang? Oh this was good teasing material for Kris later! Perhaps even blackmail to convince them to talk to Noelle later.
As the song went on, Catti was surprise d. The number of emotions that the song had, Kris mirrored perfectly in both music and voice. Every longing, every regret, she had felt coming from their voice as they played the song, she almost felt bad using it as blackmail.
Almost.
As the song ended, she was ready to confront Kris about Noelle when her phone rang. She instead went and hid herself before checking her phone, hiding from Kris.
She opened the text message. It said:
(Temmie): HoI! I fOunD sOmetHing KoOl!
Underneath the message was a video, with Noelle leaning on the tree. She pressed play and she was impressed. Not only did Noelle apparently sang about Kris too, but also played the same exact song that Kris played.
Smirking to herself, she sent Temmie a message. Oh, the teasing opportunity she had in her fingertips! She went home and spent hours on merging the two videos together to look like a duet. If this was Temmie's plan from the start by sending her the video, she liked it.
The mornings had been weird for Kris and Noelle.
For Kris, Toriel just hugged them and told them good luck today.
Normally it wouldn't be a cause for concern, but today it felt off. Toriel had been happier than before, as if something she was waiting for a long time had finally come true. Seeing that Sans is not announcing their wedding yet, Kris thought that it was something else.
Not only that, when their mom brought them to school most of the people that they went by had shot them a thumbs up. They were not sure why they're doing it, but it felt really unnerving for them.
For Noelle, it was a similar case. When she went and visited her father before going to class, Rudy and the other hospital staff shot her a thumbs up; even to the point of the receptionist clapping for her. All of them refused to tell her why they were doing it, they just gave her a smile and told her to head to class.
Arriving at the school, they saw each other at the entrance of the building. Upon remembering what happened last night, the pair had opted to looking down at the concrete floor instead of looking at each other.
"Hey…" Kris greeted Noelle.
"Hey there yourself." Noelle answered with embarrassment.
"…So, you want to come to the classroom?" Kris asked her.
"Sure…" The two had went inside and headed towards the classroom.
As soon as they had entered the room, all eyes were on them. Most of their classmates had either looked starstruck or giving them a thumbs up much like the others before them. The only ones that aren't doing the same were Berdly, who was pouting to himself; and Susie, who had the biggest shit-eating grin on her face.
"So, the love-birds had decided to arrive to school together!" Susie had pulled the two in a hug. "Glad you guys are finally honest with your feelings."
The two teens jumped back in confusion and embarrassment. Both faces had become so red that they started to look like apples, even Noelle. Susie on the other hand, looked confused.
"Didn't you guys perform together last night? I saw you guys in a video Catti sent to me." Susie grabbed her phone and opened the video. Kris looked at Catti, who had a grin like what Susie had before. "See? There you guys are! You guys looked like you were performing for each other."
The video played. It showed both Kris and Noelle together, despite being in completely different areas. Kris' background was the one from the church's while Noelle's was from the wooded areas of town. Someone had managed to merge the two backgrounds together and made it look like the walls of the church got destroyed half-way through. The trees surrounding the church made it seem like the two were isolated from the world but felt like the world could've been more as well.
The music started. Kris' hands masterfully worked the piano. The notes came out from the piano as if part of their soul. Noelle responds as if they were in the same room, swaying their head to the notes.
Then the lyrics came on. Not only was Noelle surprised that Kris actually had a proper singing voice, Kris was also surprised that Noelle could sing so heavenly as well. Her voice when she sang the first stanza made their heartbeat fast, it was as if she had laid down all her longing within.
Then the chorus happened.
It's a quarter after one.
I'm all alone and I need you now.
Kris and Noelle's voice became one. The two (would be) lovers stared at the moon, wishing for some time together.
Said I wouldn't call, but I lost all control
And I need you now.
Kris and Noelle stared each other, mesmerized at each other's eyes. No words were spoken between them, but they were looking to see if the other felt the same way.
And I don't know how I can do without
I just need you now.
They couldn't take the embarrassment anymore. They both paused the video, hands accidentally touching. Upon realizing that they were touching each other's hand both recoiled and turned around to not look the other in the eye.
Both were fidgeting from the embarrassment and anxiety building up from them. They both had the same question: Does Kris/Noelle feel the same way as them?
Both had turned back around and faced the other.
Kris opened they mouth first.
"Do you…really think of me the same way?" Kris shyly asked, fixing their bangs as they asked her.
"Yeah… I do. Do you as well?" Noelle looked at the interesting part of the floor, avoiding eye contact while twiddling her thumbs.
Kris had grabbed both of her hands. "Does this answer your question?" Kris then kissed her hand, trying to act tough and romantic. Inside however, both of them were screaming with joy and embarrassment.
The entire class burst into cheers and congratulations.
Alphys had their cellphone recording the interaction.
Temmie on the other hand, started writing furiously on her notes. No one was sure what Temmie was writing, but she was insistent and determined to finish her project.
After all, getting her OTP together is step one in her future plans.
Author's Notes: I lived.
Thanks for the people in the Kriselle discord btw for inspiring me to write.
Bye.