Kris was quite good at reading people.

He would never brag about it for obvious reasons but he had seen his new parents divorce from a mile off while Asriel shushed him softly, flattening his unkempt hair with soft strokes. Kris always cried long after the fighting was over and his brother could never truly understand it, even as Toriel and Asgore both assured him that everything was okay again.

Because it wasn't.

But that could be chalked up to his 'experience in the field'. Despite being very young at the time, he knew full well what a failed relationship looked like. Still, his systematic quietness and people's obliviousness towards him often allowed him to pick up a lot of the towns odd quirks.

For example...

Alphys talked to herself quite frequently. Waiting for his mother to be done grading papers had been boring enough for him to wander and discover the funny habit as it persisted down the corridor. Once, when someone rounded a corner, she pretended to be talking into an earpiece about twenty years after they had gone out of fashion.

His father seemed to have a million tiny things he liked to do for what seemed like the pure enjoyment of it. He smelled books after buying them, riffling the pages enough to waft his beard as he revelled in the scent of fresh print. Asriel had once caught him imitating it with a book on lepidoptery when he was quite young.

When Kris mentioned the fact that the lion in QC's diner liked to preen over their appearance in the glass panes of photo frames to Asriel, he had chuckled nervously in response.

"Golly Kris, I didn't know you liked people watching!"

He shrugged. "Not really. Just notice things"

"Gosh...Have you seen me doing anything like that?"

Kris shook his head, sipping his hot chocolate to hide an emerging smirk.

Asriel still liked to run up the stairs on all fours from time to time. Even when he walked in their room, calm as anything, Kris could always hear the muted thudding against the carpet from their room.

Despite finally putting a name to his observations, it never truly felt like it was what he had been doing. It made it sound so...deliberate. That he was going out of his way to silently observe people in his day to day. He never considered it much of a hobby either, in so far as he got no fun out of it. It was just something he did, and it had never been a particularly useful skill to have either.

o - o - o - o - o

"Damnit"

Kris wondered what the closet doors were made of.

"Damnit!"

Surely no normal metal could take this kind of abuse.

"DAMNIT!"

He glanced back before resting his hand on her shoulder. They fell at his touch as she stepped back from the double doors.

"I'm sorry, I just…"

Kris shook his head. "Don't be. I miss them too"

"...Yeah...Yeah, that's it"

As she wandered over to the classroom doors, Kris frowned to himself before following.

While they tried the closet every day without fail, most times Susie would sigh almost comically before cracking a joke about it.

"Hah. Guess I'll have to think of a different way to skip math!"

He still wanted to see Ralsei and Lancer. If the ace of spades Susie kept on her at all times was any indication, she did too, but he had been content with how much less the disappointment seemed to affect her these days. His sullen look stuck with him as he followed her into the classroom.

They both leant against the wall as Kris upended his bag in front of them. She practically lit up and for a moment, Kris forgot he was ever worried about her. The pie went first as usual, though much faster than he expected. Same with the crisps. By the time he had finished a sandwich of his own, she had torn through almost half the bags worth.

Susie ate almost anything and in staggering amounts to boot. Her old chalk habit aside, she often gnawed on pencils throughout classes and devoured erasers that she was able to snatch off desks. Many a student knew of the odd trait if only because they had to ask their parents for new stationery after sitting near her long enough.

But that had stopped a while ago, hadn't it? Or at least decreased somewhat. He didn't complain at his reduced portion size as he handed her a water bottle.

"Heh. Thanks"

He nodded as she unscrewed the cap and held it aloft above her. The ensuing waterfall was amusing to watch although much less so to try himself. He was sure it was possible if he reduced the distance a little but when he had coughed and pulled the bottle away, he managed to get a not-insubstantial amount up his nose.

Not an experience he was dying to repeat.

It had been even less amusing the first time he had offered one, only for her to chomp the plastic down as well.

She passed it back to him with a satisfied sigh, which devolved into a yawn almost immediately. His concern returned with backup as her jaw remained open for a good few seconds before she managed to close it.

"Hey, Susie?"

She cracked an eye open. "Yeah?"

"Is something….wrong?"

She cracked an eye open. "Huh?"

"You're more tired than usual. Is everything okay?"

A nervous little smile crept onto her face. "Hah. Why wouldn't it be? You worry too much, ya dweeb!"

Did he? It wasn't like she was sleeping in class or anything but she wasn't far off these days. Whenever he had managed to catch a glimpse of her in classes, she was always amusing herself with whatever she had to hand to whittle the time away. Now, she barely so much as glanced around her, opting instead to hang her head as she carved illegible markings into the desk wood. Admittedly, monitoring that behaviour had been difficult because in every class he shared with her she gravitated to the back like there was a black hole that fed on boredom. The only reason he was able to keep a better tab on it now was that turning around didn't guarantee him a spot on her shit list anymore.

"Yeah. Maybe I do..."

"Damn right!"

She brought her hands behind her head to form a cushion as she leaned back, seemingly satisfied. Still, he noticed how much effort it seemed to coerce them open again. He knew it was impossible for the bags under her eyes to change in size so rapidly over only a few days but the way her eyelids dipped all the time certainly gave the illusion of it.

"Susie?"

"Mmm?"

"You can take a nap if you want. I don't mind"

"Huh? That'd be nice, but-" Another yawn cut her off and she seemed to turn a few shades redder trying to shut her jaw. Kris smiled smugly as she deflated slightly at her body's betrayal. "...Wouldn't it be boring? For you! I mean-"

"Nah. You seemed really out of it today. Go for it"

Her panic seemed to dissipate as her teeth shone in a wide smile. "Heh. Thanks, dweeb"

His own smile faltered as he spotted her hand in his peripheral vision. Bracing himself for a noogie, he was pleasantly surprised by the arm instead looping around his shoulder before eliminating the already negligible distance between them. He tried to mumble out a response but gave up when he felt her head rest itself next to his own.

It was hard not to notice how touchy-feely she had become. It was one of the things he felt very privileged to know about her since she kept it so well hidden. Anytime they were out of the public eye, Susie would find a reason to plant flags in his personal space. It always started cautiously, like any proximity from the day before had vanished like dreams once the morning came but once it was clear he welcomed her advances, her fervent touching became more and more obvious throughout the day.

Picking him up and carrying him underarm like a human-shaped football had become her new favourite thing apparently and if she wasn't slinging her arm around him when they hung out, she was fiddling with his hair as they lounged about in the spare classroom waiting for their next lesson.

He smiled to himself as she slipped further into sleep, nuzzling into his neck unconsciously. Her mouth hung slightly open and warm tufts of air tickled his chin every so often. It wasn't until the snoring started again in earnest before he found his words again.

"Anytime, Snoozy..."

o - o - o - o - o

WHOOSH

The plastic cask filled with a short burst of flame and an odd combination of a sucking and blowing sound in the span of a half second before the room returned to it's darkened state. A few "ooh's" and "Woah!'s" were exchanged before Alphys brought the lights back on.

"Ok, so! I've got a few extra bottles here" she said, pulling another out from behind the desk. "So you guys can give it a try as well! B-but try not to get the alcohol on anything else. It evaporates quite fast but it might stain your clothes, so usual lab rules apply!"

It was exactly the kind of 'Fun' lesson Alphys was consistently guilty of. The experiment had barely gotten Susie to look up and Kris had seen it all before. Literally. Having an older brother meant he had been shown this the day Asriel had seen it. MK had stars in his eyes as usual but his reaction was tempered by the unimpressed looks on his lab partners already blank faces.

He had been very surprised when MK approached them when Alphys told them all to divide for classwork and even more so when Susie gave her approval to it with a shrug. He wasn't sure which was tolerating the other for his benefit but he was humbled by the thought either way and tried to get them talking in each other's presence as often as he could. It looked like Susie's limits were set to allowing him within 5 feet of her though, and she barely conversed with him beyond what could be conveyed with grunts.

MK, for whatever reason, seemed somewhat slighted by the cold shoulder, though he was clearly stuck lying in the bed he'd made. The rest of the class was already divided, and as the tense atmosphere only increased, Kris caught his regretful glances at Jockington's group from time to time. Noticing Noelle's slightly peeved look at MK from the other end of the room was much less hard to pick up on, however.

So it was left to the class mute to get them talking, was it?

'Wonderful'

Still...It was a science class. He could make this work.

Science had been one of Asriel's favourite subjects before he had been obligated to choose a field to start specialising in. Botany was always his favourite but he, like most students, couldn't help but love chemistry and Asriel couldn't resist teaching him all the cool stuff he had learned.

Kris, in turn, immediately perverted all of his lessons into material for pranking.

He gave MK a short poke.

"Huh? What's up, dude?"

"You got a dollar?"

If MK was stunned to hear him speak more than one word, he didn't let on as his eyes flickered towards Susie. She had lifted her head to gaze at him as well, similarly perplexed.

"W-why?"

"Just trust me. It'll be cool"

It took a second but he closed his mouth before leaning towards his breast pocket and, rather dexterously, riffled through whatever else he kept in there to find a neatly folded note.

"Hrr"

Kris delicately plucked it from between the gold monster's teeth before grabbing the bottle of Isopropyl alcohol Alphys had carefully put on their table. It did not go unnoticed how she put it in front of MK before depositing the water cask near Kris and walking briskly away. Susie didn't even bother glaring after her as she flicked a claw against the empty bottle.

Grabbing two of the beakers from under the desk, he ran it under the tap built into the desk for a seconds before pulling it away. He measured out the same amount of alcohol in the other before mixing them with a small flourish. Susie snorted, his finger jutting out making him look like he was back in the dark world.

"H-hey!"

MK was nonplussed to say the least as his bill was dipped into the mixture. It was unceremoniously plopped onto the desk as Kris grabbed one of the wooden splints Alphys had supplied. He smirked at the both of them as he brought the lit splint to MK's dollar. Susie could not have been more enraptured by what seemed like an unnatural level of gall for the usually quiet kid.

"Hah! What the hell, Kris?"

By now, the entire class had caught wind of the trick, and Alphys was looking at the display wondering whether she should reprimand him for misusing chemicals, compliment the ingenuity or steal it to impress the lower years.

The bill caught fire.

Kris looked around, suppressing a chuckle of his own as they witnessed him seemingly set fire to a dollar for no reason. Even MK sat transfixed as his money 'burned' before him. Susie, noting the attention on them was trying hard not to grin but her attention was still firmly fixed on the note.

He much preferred it with cotton balls if he was honest. Both his parents were frequent users of casual fire magic and it endlessly fascinated him until the day he realised he wouldn't be able to follow in their footsteps. Just like the fake horns he still had somewhere in his room, Asriel had shown him the little trick as he learnt it, and the two spent an afternoon hurling 'fireballs' at bottles. Toriel had insisted on supervising. Along with the proviso that they both wore protective gloves.

Eventually, the lack of solution snuffed the flame out and Kris handed MK his bill back, who took it with a look of reverence and a "Yooooooooooo" for good measure.

Alphys elected to go with option two...and three.

"W-well, that's certainly using the ol' noodle, Kris! I hope that's proof that you can explain what happened in the write up for today!"

Just like that, she had lost them. The groans of chairs and students filled the air as they all sat back down, the magic well and truly lost. Kris took one look at the chemical reaction Alphys had written up on the board while he had been preparing his trick before he deflated.

2(CH3)2CHOH + 9O2 - 6CO2 + 8H2O

Nope.

"Psst"

At least MK seemed to have been paying more attention to the actual meat of the class as he gestured to the both of them that they could just copy his write up. His writing was untidy which was understandable, but surprisingly legible, and Kris found it just fine deciphering the scrawls.

What was difficult was ignoring Susie's bulk as she loomed over him, similarly intent on sharing in MK's intelligence. His face flushed from her close presence before he twinged as he caught something he had noticed a few times now.

Susie had a very distinctive scent to her. Perhaps it was just the time of year but the scent of the outdoors clung to her like cleavers leaves in the summer that even the pungent odour of the alcohol couldn't mask as she leaned over. The earthy smell of autumn mixed with smoky bonfires permeated her hair to the point that, with them being as close as they often were, he had begun to notice it in his own clothing in the mornings. Sometimes he was able to pick up an almost burnt peppery undertone that he was sure was closer to her natural aroma.

The smell of the outdoors still clung to her as strongly as ever but it was interlaced with different scents. They were quite faint which had to mean they were new, and he only ever managed to catch them every now and again. The stark contrast of garbage, expired food and cigarettes had been difficult to miss though. Truthfully, it was difficult for him to pick up on, and it wasn't because nose felt constantly stuffy from the increasingly inclement weather.

It was that Susie was starting to shy away from him.

Every time one of their more intimate moments would rear its head, she seemed to catch herself before she ducked out of it with a joke or a mild ribbing. It had hurt at first, though of course, he had said nothing, opting instead to watch as it happened again and again with startling regularity.

He suspected it had something to do with how grimy her hair was getting, not to mention the slowly increasing B.O he was able to pick up. While usually as unmanageable as his own, her own mop was beginning to look particularly greasy. He rather suspected if she would let him near it he'd probably find more than her fair share of knots in it too.

He knew how self-conscious Susie was about things like that now, especially around him. After he noticed her trying to be less snarky with their teachers, he brought the topic up with her on one of their lunches to be treated to one of her huge toothy grins.

'Hahaha, w-well...Guess you're rubbing off on me, huh dweeb?'

The worst of all of it was that he didn't know anyone else he could go to about it. Most of the teachers were petrified of her and the only member of local law enforcement only knew of her through misdemeanours. His mother seemed the best option but he doubted Susie would appreciate getting her involved. He highly suspected she didn't want anyone involved if he was honest, but something had to be done.

Even if he went to any of them, what was he going to say? That he noticed she was more tired than usual? That her unrelenting hunger had returned? That her usual, pleasantly spiky aroma was intermingling with something foul? That he missed her fondness of being close to him? Most, if not all of them, were guaranteed to get him funny looks at best and labelled a creep at worst.

Kris decided what he was doing definitely wasn't people watching at that point. Watching meant you didn't get involved.

Time to ACT.

"Yo, Kris. Have you seen my eraser?"

o - o - o - o - o

The evening was bitterly cold and Kris lamented not bringing a jacket. Mercifully, the fibres of his jumper barely made any noise as they rubbed together whereas the nylon of his coat would've given him away something fierce. All he had to do was concentrate on not letting his teeth chatter.

Usually, Kris did not have to try to go unnoticed, which he had always found strange, being the only human in the entire town. Most didn't seem to know how to talk to him when he was outside of Asriel's presence and so actively pretended he wasn't there. He could only suppose they had done it long enough for it to become a subconscious habit.

Thankfully, years of living with an overly attentive mother and an equally rambunctious older brother had prepared him for today. Where once he might have avoided squeaky floorboards under the carpet to get midnight snacks, today he sidestepped wrappers, stray twigs and strewn about leaves. He was well accustomed to walking silently over the linoleum floor of his kitchen, rolling his weight from the heel of his foot to his toes so that all that might be heard was the peeling sound of the sweat sticking them together from the fear of being caught. His steps against the concrete sidewalk went unnoticed by all.

Even if Susie was paying attention to the world outside her head, she wouldn't have heard him. Her thick boots, that somehow managed to remain un-pierced by the large claw-like nails he knew she had down there, were making short work of anything underfoot. He was hardly avoiding any debris at all now that he thought about it. When Susie was in a bad mood, anything in her way became a target and he found she was quite effectively clearing the path for him. A can violently crumpled beneath her, sticking itself to the shoe by its new shape alone before she sent it skittering across the road with a kick.

He had felt particularly underhanded as they parted ways as usual. He had cited going to the diner with his brother for dinner and she had nodded along with an affirmative grunt as she glanced away from him. He gave her a good ten-second lead before he started tailing her. It was a necessary lie for what needed to be done but it had stung nonetheless.

Kris lied a lot.

He lied about being sorry for scaring Noelle with his pranks and lied to Toriel about eating all the hidden chocolate in the middle of the night. He lied to Alphys that he had merely forgotten his homework rather than not done it and he had lied to Father Alvin about where his grape juice had gone. He lied to Asriel that he would be okay when he left and lied to Asgore that his mother didn't throw his flowers away.

He had lied about crying when his original parents fought, even as his eyes remained stubbornly red after retreating to his room. "Big boys don't cry" his mother had told him, accusation permeating her tone as acrid odours poured from her lips. She led him sternly by the arm to a mirror so she could show him how her proof. His denials fell away pitifully as he saw how bloodshot they had gotten, like ocular lie detectors.

They were kept well hidden after that.

At any rate, it had been a long time since he had felt so guilty for lying to anyone. It had stuck with him for the first few minutes of his stalking but had dropped off as his curiosity overtook him.

Susie only stopped once during her walk. She paused abruptly near the tree line at the intersection between the diner and the ICE-E's PEZZA place on her right and the apartments most of their schoolmates lived in on her left with that strange house and shop owned by that skeleton guy standing innocuously between them. There were a few seconds of what seemed like deliberation as she stared right, her hands fumbling in her pockets before she shook her head and continued south.

She almost caught him out once as she crossed a street manned by Undyne 'directing' traffic if what she was doing could be stretched that far. Yelling at the drivers was sending mixed signals and Susie had made sure no one was going to run her over before she crossed. As Kris saw her begin to look both ways, he darted behind one of the golden trees near the hospital's rear to avoid being caught in her periphery.

"Hey! I'm watching you, punk!"

He peeked out from his hiding spot to see Susie flip the fish lady off before reaching the other side. If Undyne wanted to follow up on that, she was stopped by one of the cars trying to break away from the traffic queue with the distraction.

"HEY! Did I say you could go?!"

The road to the church was a long one, and Kris was sure he wouldn't lose sight of Susie unless he really lagged behind. Just to be safe, he waited a few seconds before crossing the road himself, making sure to pass behind the enraged cop as quietly as possible at a slight jog.

Kris was fairly sure Susie didn't live down this way. She came from this direction certainly but since he started waiting on the corner by the hospital in the mornings to walk into school with her, she had always emerged from somewhere beyond the police station. Thanks to his mother's insistence that he attend, he was sure he hadn't seen her at any church gatherings either. Not that he really pegged her as the religious type anyway.

Still, as he saw her finally reach the clearing, she did indeed turn right to the towering green structure of Hometown's house of God. Kris had fully expected her to start trudging into the woods or even to hang out by the incredibly creepy (even by his standards) bunker at the southernmost point of the town's border.

He crept his way around the building but was further surprised that Susie hadn't gone in there either. Instead, she was steadily making her way into the…

'Oh…'

He suddenly felt like he was intruding far more than he had the right to as he peered around the corner into the graveyard.

Dumbstruck, he stood silently for a few seconds before pulling himself out of it as more questions sprang to mind. As upsetting a thought as his current suspicions were, they didn't explain her string of odd behaviours. Ducking into the treeline, he followed along, determined to see this quest to its end.

Susie's family was a closely guarded secret, even to him. It never came up in conversation and Kris didn't want to tempt his chances by asking. On the rare occasion she would hang out at his house, he could clearly see how guarded she was around his mother. Watching her trying to be respectful had always been amusing as she fumbled over thanking her for food and making sure she didn't overstay her welcome. Looking back, he felt like a lead balloon had sunk into the pit of his stomach.

He had to move a lot slower than before, sidestepping twigs and leaves, being mindful not to trip over the huge roots of trees that he was sure weren't as old as Father Alvin. Thankfully, there was little in the graveyard he couldn't see from his vantage point and the vision was clear enough to see that Susie hadn't gone anywhere near the gravestones. Instead, she had passed them without so much as a glance before slowly lying down on the bench sequestered in the corner. The large headstones of some of the more prominent monsters shielded it almost entirely from view unless you were sitting properly on it.

He stood silently behind a particularly wide tree, his hands gripping the undulations in the bark. The old thing was greyer than the rest, and its bark was peeling away. He steadied himself as he continued to observe her, noting the wrappers and packets surrounding the normally pristine area. If the weight in his stomach had abated once she didn't visit a gravestone, it somehow tripled its presence as a minute on the bench became two.

Then three.

Then ten.

It was quite clear she wasn't getting back up anytime soon and his thoughts were once again awhirl as he pondered the implications. The only thing that managed to break his stunned reverie was the loud growl that came from her, to which she pressed a hand and curled up a little tighter.

Readjusting his weight, the sinking feeling in his stomach suddenly morphed into a chasm as his foot pressed too hard into the decaying bark and sent him sliding down its trunk as it gave way beneath him.

He saw her panic and sit bolt upright but had ducked behind the tree before her frenzied gaze was levelled his way.

"Who's there?!"

Mud and bits of dead wood clung to his jumper as he breathed as quietly as he could. He wasn't sure why he was bothering to hide now. There was no way she would think the noise he made was natural, even half asleep as she was. She called out again, the surprise in her voice gone, leaving behind nought but single-minded fury.

"I'm serious! Come out or I'll make you come out! You're getting thrashed either way, so move!"

Pursing his lips together, he sighed and stepped away from the protection of the tree.

o - o - o - o - o

This day had been going terribly.

Kris was too busy with his brother to hang out as usual. It was to be expected she supposed. She already felt like she was hogging all his time and it was only natural he wanted to spend time with the guy that was practically his idol.

She remembered back before Kris had even come to the town as golden child Asriel would tell anyone that breathed about how he was getting a little brother. Kris had practically attached himself to Asriel's hip so she could understand why he wanted to be around him for a change.

Not only that, but they were going to the diner of all places. How the hell was she meant to eat now without possibly running into them and being stuck with a laundry list of questions she didn't want to answer. Questions she especially didn't want Kris to be there for.

Tiredly, she had returned to the place she knew she wouldn't be disturbed. She so rarely frequented the area but it made do in times of turbulence. Seeing as her usual accommodation was unavailable, this was one of those times. The wood of the bench was dry and knotted like the surrounding trees it was probably made from. It was way comfier than trying to sleep on one of the metal picnic benches and much more out of the way.

She huffed to herself before lying down on it, ignoring the phantom pain her memory elicited when she remembered what her impromptu bed would do to her posture come the morning. Still, it could be worse. The cold hardly bothered her with how thick her hide was and as ratty and old as her clothes were, they were capable of keeping enough heat in for her.

Beginning to doze off, she opened an eye to glance at some of the packaging around her. Had she left anything in any of them? Knowing her own habits, she presumed not and the thought of eating the boxes themselves flitted across her mind.

'No'

She wasn't that desperate. She could still taste things, and the wrappings weren't all from the most appetising locations. If it got in the way of getting the food then sure, it might as well go in along with it but some boxes were just too ungainly for that to be an option. Like the tupperware Kris brought his mother's pie into school with. Eating that would just be infuriating.

The thought of the desert sent her stomach into dismay at the taunt, an ungodly escaping her groan as she curled around it.

Today was an awful day.

But it could always get worse.

"Who's there?!"

She wasn't sure what she was expecting when she heard the noise in the graveyard. A mugger? A rapist? A grin cracked on her face as she stood up. Crime was low to the point of nonexistence in Hometown and she was practically the scariest thing the dinky little town had to offer anyway.

Confidence returning, she took a step toward the tree, wishing her blue edged axe would materialize for her. The weight of it had been a comfort in the dark world like it was an extension of her already powerful frame. If nothing else, she could revel in her stalkers look of surprise as she cut down the tree to get to them. Hell, beating the snot out of someone sounded pretty good right now.

"I'm serious! Come out or I'll make you come out! You're getting thrashed either way, so move!"

Her grin was almost feral as a hand gripped the side of the tree before it abruptly fell off as the figure stepped onto the grass.

"..."

"Kris?"

"...Hey"

Breath seemed to elude Susie as she stood across from her friend. Her best friend. Her…

Pushing the thought away as she blinked away the beginnings of tears, the hot flush of embarrassment scored her face. She sucked in a lungful of air, wincing as it only seemed to make the pressure on her chest even worse. She dared to take a glance up at him and was marginally relieved to see his focus stuck to the floor, bangs obscuring his eyes as always. Statuesque like he had been in the dark world as she waited for him to dictate their battle plans. Silent except for when absolutely necessary.

His muteness suddenly felt sadistic as she stuffed her hands in her pockets to hide their shaking.

"What the hell are you doing here?..." There was a pause as he shifted his weight around. "Well?"

"...I followed you"

The brutal honesty almost caught her off guard. "Followed me? What are you following me for, you freak?!"

His head rose sharply at the insult before turning away again, unable to look at her. Every excuse he had, every justification for his actions fell by the wayside as he caught her gaze in that instant. The guilt rose in his throat like bile. "I…"

Hurt flashed across her face before her expression settled coldly. Susie didn't much care for his reasons anymore.

"You lied to me…"

It seemed like forever before he responded.

"...So did you"

A deceptively calm smile wormed its way across her jaw as her teeth unconsciously ground together beneath it.

Once was a fluke. Twice was a coincidence. Three times was a pattern, and she would be damned if she was going to let someone pull the rug out from under her again. "Really?" She took a step forward. "When was that?"

For the first time, Kris looked back up at her, though his auburn locks still obscured his eyes. Confidence or something equally misguided seemed to fuel him. "You told me you were fine"

"Well, let me clear that up for you" Another step. "Nothing's wrong that you can fix!" The shout made Kris flinch but he remained where he was. "But let's get back to the part..." Another step. Her tone grew darker. "Where you betrayed me..." Through the red haze that clouded her vision, she watched as Kris thought for a second before stepping forward himself. The close proximity threw her for a loop as her pace was broken.

He was within arms reach.

"I would never-"

The haze became blinding but she still managed to firmly grip the worn fibres of his jumper as she held him aloft briefly.

"BUT YOU DID!"

KRIS 20/20

-1

19/20

He hit the grass with a heavy thud as she practically spiked him, breath escaping in a wheeze. Susie didn't move as she watched him rise back up, her shadow covering Kris as she towered above him.

"Why?!"

"I was concerned!"

"You were nosy!"

KRIS 19/20

-2

17/20

A fist connected with his shoulder, sending him spinning back down to the ground. The world seemed to continue shaking as he staggered to his feet, though Susie didn't wait for him as she returned with her rant.

"There are some things you can't fix, Kris!"

He collected himself again. "You're right, but-"

KRIS 17/20

-3

14/20

An open claw met his arm this time, threads peeling away to reveal skin from the swing. He took a step back, gripping the wound, either not noticing or caring as it slowly started to change colour under his fingers.

"BUT NOTHING!"

He didn't move once he had gotten up, shuddering in place. There was something eerily familiar about the situation. Her snarl morphed into a grimace without her knowledge as she sucked in another painful breath.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

"I just want to help..."

She pushed him back this time. Heavily, and enough that he almost fell over before catching himself. Something sparked in his eyes at the lack of force though. She dipped her head, refusing to look at him as the haze was replaced by something that obscured her vision just as easily.

"...I don't NEED your help!"

"I believe you"

She huffed several deep breaths in as her fingers clenched and unclenched. His approach was only signalled by the soft sound of grass underfoot. As it came to a stop in front of her, her snarl returned, though holding it was painful somehow. She looked up, grabbing him by the jumper again. She didn't lift him off the ground but instead curled her hands tightly over his shoulders, wincing slightly as she made contact with one of his own. She forced herself to meet his gaze, catching a hint of red as he met it.

"Then why did you do it?! I trusted you!"

"Because I love you, you idiot! I'm allowed to be concerned!"

o - o - o - o - o

Kris couldn't help but wonder why the pastor hadn't come to check on the noise. He had fully expected officer Undyne to come sprinting into the graveyard halfway into their argument, baton out and above her head.

But no one came. Thank god.

His jumper was caked in mud and foliage from his fall and now that he was able to focus on something other than convincing Susie of his intentions, he had started to notice the dull throb in his right arm. His back ached from the initial throw but it seemed much less noticeable now.

The hands wrapped around his shoulders quivered before she fell on him, claws digging into his sides as her obscured his vision. He dropped the hand off his own shoulder and returned it, sinking into the embrace he had been denied so long, relishing the warm spicy scent that greeted him. The chill of the evening seemed to fade as they both stood there, relishing a contact they had both thought lost.

"...Goddamnit" She sniffed. He couldn't help but smirk.

"That isn't how people usually respond to that"

He laughed himself as she managed to choke out a single rasping laugh. "F-fuck off"

"Hah...C'mon"

He led her back over to the bench, disguising his slight hobble by walking behind her. She almost fell against on the sturdy thing, breathing heavily as she turned away from him again. He sat down as well and rubbed his sleeves for warmth to fill the sudden lack of noise. It took a while but he finally decided on what to say.

"I'm sorry"

Susie glanced back at him. "Huh? What for?"

"Snooping". She snorted.

"Well...Don't be...Guess I'm just not used to….Nevermind"

She turned back to staring over the graveyard as he tried to figure out some way of broaching his worries with her. Brute force wasn't usually his strategy but she certainly didn't seem to appreciate subterfuge, a lesson he would endeavour to remember.

"Susie?...Are you...homeless?"

"What? No! Why would you-" Her eyes widened under her mop of hair. His concern for her suddenly seemed overwhelming once she considered the information he had to work with. She nudged a PEZZA box below her idly, lips pursed together.

"Huh...Well, I guess I can kinda see why you would think that...But no, that's not it"

Thinking he was pressuring her again, he dared to reach a hand over to her own. "You don't have to tell me, I just-"

"No!...No, I...I want to". She turned her hand over to clutch his as her teeth dug into her lip. "Just...Let me get this all out, alright?"

He nodded. "Ok"

"Ok, well…" she began. "My dad used to be a good guy. I think. I can't remember a whole lot from when I was a kid. I remember him and mom fighting sometimes but when they weren't it was great. They didn't fight in front of me or at least they tried not to but it wasn't exactly a big house. I dunno why but Mom bailed eventually...Just left one day without saying goodbye to me. I didn't think things were that bad"

Thanks to nursery school, Susie was not subject to the majority of disagreements her parents had. Kris sidled over a little more as the uncomfortable weight began to return while Susie wiped her eye with a sleeve.

"Dad didn't handle it very well. He started drinking a lot more than before which got him fired for being drunk at work eventually. Now he works as a janitor somewhere, though I dunno how he keeps that job. He barely leaves the house anymore. It's not that he's abusive or anything, he just...doesn't care anymore. Took me a while to notice he'd stopped caring for a long time actually..."

It started with toys before she suddenly found herself bereft of school materials. The next thing to be forgotten was new clothing. Eventually, to his immense displeasure, she found some of her mom's old clothes that fit her new lanky frame, even though they hung loosely on her like she was a coat hanger. The spitting image of his old wife now roaming the halls made him retreat even further into his stupor as necessities like food began to go by the wayside.

"Now, he barely does anything. There's no real food in the house so I get it myself where I can, which-" she kicked the PEZZA box again, "isn't always from the best places".

It was obvious by her tone she had to scrounge for food in ways that would make his mother's snail pie look like fine cuisine. His teeth clicked together in silent fury. A whispy high pitched tone ringing in his head. Still, it didn't quite explain-

"So, recently I came home to find him on the sofa as always, but apparently he's noticed I'm gone more than I used to be. Guess he was drunker than usual too. He just went off on one, saying 'If I don't need him anymore, then why do I bother coming back'. Usually, he forgets after a day and I come back here if I need to rough it while he cools off but...he didn't this time. Couldn't even get my stuff either"

Susie had noticed the grip on her hand getting progressively tighter as her story had continued and had to turn away to disguise her smile at the thought. Kris was never visibly angry. Ever. She had been surprised enough when she realised he had actually gone above a speaking voice once her anger had subsided but she had never seen him mad. The closest he had gotten was sucker punching that guy trying to get her expelled.

"So, that's about it, I think..."

There was a tense silence as she stared at the ground, waiting for his reaction. Their hands remained locked in place and when he remained as quiet as he had been while she had recited her tale, she gave his hand a short squeeze back to get his attention. His head fell a little.

"Kris?"

"Sorry, but I have to say it. Your dad's an arsehole"

Susie hadn't expected that. An apology for something that was never his fault? That was more in line with how she expected this to go and she couldn't help the snort that broke through her sniffling.

"Hey, no arguments here. I mean, yeah, he's my dad but he hasn't been a dad in a long time, y'know?" Kris nodded numbly, straightening up with a soft grunt. "Hey…"

"Yeah?"

Concern flashed over her own face as she gazed back at him properly "...I'm sorry too"

"Huh? Why?"

"Wh-Whaddya mean, why?! I friggin attacked you, dude! I mean look at you!" She turned towards him fully and pushed his shoulder so he was facing her properly. "You're all roughed up and-" She caught sight of his other shoulder.

"Oh, fuck!"

Kris flinched away at such a sharp shift in volume. "W-what?!"

Kris's arm had been steadily bleeding into the surrounding fabric during Susie's story and while it had stopped some time ago, the wool absorbing it had made it look much bigger than it actually was. It contrasted with his jumper so brazenly that she only grew more upset that she hadn't noticed until now.

"No, let's not calm down! I have to get you to the hospital!"

"What?! No, get off!"

She went to slide an arm under his legs so she could carry him bridal style rather than her usual method. Thankfully for Kris, her attempts in being delicate meant she was slow enough to thwart as he pushed against her, sliding off the bench onto the ground. Picking someone up who did not want to leave the floor was a difficult enough task as it was and even Susie was having difficulty moving him from his new position as he squirmed this way and that, fending off her grabby hands.

"Would you hold still?!"

"Susie, I'm fine! Really!"

"No, you're not! I don't want you to die, you idiot!"

At any other time, Susie panicking that she had killed her only friend thanks to a lack of knowledge on human biology probably would've been cute. It still was, though he would only think so later on. For now, the genuine panic in her eyes with fresh tears painting her cheeks was more than enough to hold those thoughts off. It wasn't helping that her attempts to move him ended with her poking him in the ribs enough to tickle.

"Ahaha, I'm not dying, Susie!"

Exhausted by her efforts and from the weight of the evening itself, Susie let her hand fall on his chest. She shuddered as she looked him over again. Blinking dislodged a final tear, which slid down her snout before landing square on Kris's cheek.

"You'd better not be…"

His smile disappeared as he felt it. "Susie?"

She smiled down at him, eyes crinkled and watering, bright and gold against the sky above them. Her lips tilted into a very un-Susie'ish smile. Timid, tired, and with no trace of teeth to be seen. "You promised you wouldn't leave, remember?" A laugh forced her to double over slightly as her smile grew to its familiar size. "I'm pretty sure dying would count as leaving!"

"I won't. I don't break promises…"

He felt terrible the moment it left him, looking away from her like her gaze could scald. Confused, she shook him gently.

"Kris?" No response besides a mumble. She cottoned on quickly. "Hey, I get why you did it...I'm pretty sure I'd do the same if you started acting weird too"

"...Still...You trusted me..."

"I still do, dumbass!" she said, lightly punching his good shoulder as he moved back into a sitting position next to her. He winced ever so slightly but smiled immediately after.

"Good...But you have to trust me too"

"W-what?I do! I-"

"Why didn't you tell me? Maybe not ALL of it" he amended, catching her look. "I just….I want to help you. I'm okay if you lean on me sometimes Susie. I want you to"

"...Alright. I'll work on the trust thing…" she mumbled out. A thought struck her, forcing her to turn back towards him with a smirk. "Hey, hold on! That's not fair! You have to promise you'll rely on me too!"

"I thought I did! Back at the lake?"

She scoffed. "Yeah, but it's not official unless you say it, idiot!"

He laughed, holding up his hands placatingly as he dodged a noogie. "That's no fair. I'm keeping two promises and you only get one!"

"Alright smartass, I promise I won't leave you either! Now we're even!"

He smiled gingerly as he looked back up at her. "Thanks"

"Don't mention it…" she said, standing up. "C'mon, I'll walk ya home..."

He nodded absentmindedly, grabbing the hand offered to him and allowing her to hoist him up. For a moment, everything seemed right with the world again. Things weren't perfect, but with Susie, it felt pretty close.

Then his eyebrows shot up.

"Kris?"

"Shit! Mom's gonna kill me!"

o - o - o - o - o

"KRIS DREEMURR! WHAT TIME DO YOU CALL THIS?! YOU HAVE HAD ME WORRIED SICK! It is lovely to see you again, Susie. AND YOUR CLOTHES! IS THAT BLOOD?!"

Toriel certainly had words for them upon their return, though her 'shouting' was more theatrical than it was loud. It was well past his bedtime, and even Asriel had fallen prey to sleep by the time they finally reached his house. He certainly seemed to be making use of the fact that he had no deadlines for the time being. Considering they didn't really have any neighbors to speak of, he and Susie were probably the only reason Toriel wasn't breaking her decibel records.

They managed to convince her he had tripped and fell as they were exploring the woods, which was given credence from the sheer amount of mud and foliage still saturating his clothes. Mumbling to herself as she peeled off his jumper, Toriel inspected his wound before making for the first aid box while Susie coughed as she fumbled with the doorframe. Clenching the doorknob resolutely, she gave them what she hoped was a convincing grin.

"Alright...I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow, Kris!"

Toriel, none the wiser, wished her well. Kris looked like she had just slapped him. The hot air of the house rushed out as pulled the door open, making her wince as she remembered what she would be returning to. Kris, realising the same, panicked as he looked up at his mother.

"A-actually Mom, is it okay if Susie stays over?"

One foot out the door already, she froze in place.

"Well, I see no reason why not! Are you alright with sleeping on the sofa, Susie?"

"S-sure! If that's coo-okay!...I mean, with you"

"Wonderful! Kris. Go and get the spare blankets, would you?" she asked, turning to give Kris a somewhat knowing look before he reddened and made for the airing cupboard. "Oh! Will your parents be okay with you staying over, Susie?"

She coughed out a laugh as she closed the door, practically feeling Kris's cringe from down the hall. "Nah. They kinda let me do my own thing these days"

Once Kris brought the blankets out and Toriel had finally decided her bandaging was sufficient, she made up the sofa for Susie, who was still standing in the living room looking like she didn't quite know what to do with herself. A spare set of pyjamas was placed into her hands before she was directed to the bathroom to change. They seemed as warm and welcoming as their usual wearer, though she felt a little odd bearing the emblem on the front.

"G'night, Susie. See you in the morning", Kris managed to get out before Toriel shepherded him upstairs, leaving her in the warmth of the living room.

"Night" she called out after him. The click of his bedroom door seemed to finalise her situation as she stood in the centre of the room. The warm air seemed to fill it with a comfortable thickness that did nothing to help her stay awake. Looking back at the sofa, she smiled weakly before drawing back the cover.

Susie nestled into the thick blanket, breathing in the scent of dry cleaning mixed with the aroma of home cooking and fresh flowers that the house always seemed to have. She had never seen any flowers inside the house and always wondered how Toriel accomplished the feat. A kind of nervous energy rippled through her that might have kept her up for some time if she hadn't already been ready to nod off right then and there.

She didn't have to wait long before drifting off, her mind turning over the days' events lazily as she dipped in and out of sleep. One particular phrase stuck with her though, and she clenched the covers a little tighter as she gave in to the respite the house and its occupiers were providing.

Today was a good day.