Kris speedwalks out of school more briskly than usual, a skip in his step. He feels lighter than air: partially from excitement, partially because he's not lugging 30 pounds of books on his way home for once.
perhaps due to Autumn Break being one week away, Miss Alphys had magnanimously dropped the class's homework load after weeks of loading them up, to the great relief of Kris' aching shoulders.
The other reason for Kris' excitement was because he was on his way to meet Noelle, his friend who had almost become a stranger to him when the two drifted apart. But after so long estranged, the pair had reconciled and started to hang out again, slipping comfortably back into their old routine, almost as if they had never been apart at all.
Over the years, Noelle had accrued more than her fair share of school activities to attend to, so the two weren't as inseparable as they were when they were kids. During the school day Kris would usually spend his time with his latest friend, the class delinquent Susie. But after clubs were over, and she had departed for home, Kris and Noelle would have a chance to amble about Hometown like old times, soaking in each other's company like the warmth under the covers on a cold winter day.
However, as the mid-semester break approached, the two had no choice but to put their leisurely excursions on hold as their homework piled up, at least until today.
They decided to capitalize on their newfound freedom right away, making plans to meet up in the sprawling woods surrounding their houses.
But before they did, Noelle told him she had something to take care of first, which he assumed was a stop by the hospital to check up on her dad. Kris needed to grab a coat to ward off the evening chill, anyways. Probably a scarf, too.
Before he knows it, he's arrived at his house. The driveway's missing the Dreemur's beat-up red car, which means Toriel's probably finishing up some business at school. Kris breathes a sigh of relief and strolls right in using the key under the doormat.
Ever since he and Noelle starting hanging out again, his mom would always be quick to chime in about how delighted she was to see them reconnect, and ask embarrassing questions. Kris could understand her prying, to an extent, but he was more than glad he could pop in and out of his house without an interrogation.
he drops his bag by the doorway, grabbing his coat and double knotting his scarf as he steps back out.
Accompanying the brisk Autumn air is an explosion of colors in the trees around Hometown. As Kris makes his way into the woods surrounding his house he shuffs his sneakers through the thick carpet of leaves blanketing the forest floor.
The sea of red and yellow catches the light filtering in through the leaves above as he walks, and the whole forest seems to sparkle with life and color.
despite the idyllic sight surrounding him, Kris's attention is wholly focused on trying to spot Noelle, a flash of red and green maybe, or her long, willowy legs.
Just as he's beginning to wonder if he's too early, she appears in the corner of his vision.
His breath hitches when he sees her, her glowing blonde hair a more vibrant yellow than anything in the autumnal display around her. She turns her head, scanning the horizon for something, and brushes a strand of hair out of her face.
Transfixed, he almost misses the mirth in her eyes or the party popper in her hands.
She's hiding, peeking out from behind a tree, eyes flicking back and forth as if searching for something, or someone. She giggles silently to herself and adjusts her grip on the noisemaker.
Oh. So that was her aim.
Kris gets a smirk of his own; She hasn't spotted him yet.
Sneaking up on her outright isn't an option, what with the fallen leaves announcing his every step.
Slowly, he reaches down for a rock, and whips it high over her head, away from where she's intently watching.
As it hits the ground and rustles the undergrowth, Noelle's head whips around intently stares towards the direction of the sound. Her tail perks to attention, and her ears swivel forward.
"Wha-?" she murmurs, but Kris has already picked his way behind her while she was distracted.
"RAH!" he shouts as he grabs her shoulder.
Noelle screams, "uAHHH!" jumping several feet in the air. Kris doubles over in laughter, clutching his stomach.
As soon as she sees it's him, she breaks out in a relieved smile.
Breathing heavy, she scolds him "K-kris! You almost gave m-me a heart attack!"
Kris shrugs and pointedly eyes the party popper in her hands.
She follows his gaze down, and blushes. "O-oh... I just, thought I'd give you a... taste of your own medicine? Fahaha"
She points the colorful party favor upwards and pulls the string. With a subdued pop, colorful confetti bursts out into the air and flutters down between them.
Kris jokingly jumps and flails his arms, pretending to be startled, and she laughs.
The two venture deeper into the forest, chatting about nothing. More than once, Kris stumbles over an upturned root or rock, well hidden beneath the layers of leaves on the ground.
Noelle's doing much better, her hooves more suited to traversing the wooded terrain.
As a result, Kris makes his way carefully over the forest floor, eyes trained on the ground to spot any tripping hazards.
"Nice of Miss Alphys to finally ease up on our homework, right?"
"Mhm" Kris nods his agreement, stepping over a moss-covered stone.
"I'm sure after Autumn Break we're going to get twice as much as before though," she remarks dryly.
Of course, the extra workload wasn't much of a burden for the studious doe, but for the past few weeks their sporadic "hangouts" consisted of Noelle coming over and helping Kris with his homework.
However, even with a stack of busywork assigned every day, Kris enjoyed every minute they spent so long as he spent it with Noelle beside him.
At first, Kris assumed that he was just glad to have his friend back. Noelle reassuming her place in his life, laughing over his antics and lighting up like a Christmas tree whenever she would come greet him at his locker. The warmth that bloomed in his chest every time was a stark contrast to the cold, lonely bedroom he retreated in to when Asriel left; After Dess went missing, after the bonds between their families frayed until they tore, after the world around both of them caved in, and Kris and Noelle drifted apart.
Only after the two reconnected, and Kris got his friend back, did he acutely feel the hole in his life that she had filled.
He assumed that this was the true reason for the feelings in his chest whenever he saw her.
The truth only clicked recently, after one of their study "dates," when she was gathering her things to go home. At the door, when Kris was wishing her goodbye, she had turned around and wrapped him in a hug, catching him off-guard. "See you tomorrow Kris!" she said. Kris was left speechless. The door shut and the doe made her way down the lane to her own house, but Kris remained frozen until Toriel had gently nudged him away from the door, a knowing smile on her face.
Oh.
He had chosen to keep his new feelings to himself, however.
The most obvious reason was Noelle's transparent pining over the very same girl he had recently befriended, Susie. But more than that he didn't want to risk doing anything that might jeopardize this comfortable rapport they had re-assumed. After losing Noelle from his life once before, anything would be worth it to keep her in it.
"It's getting pretty dark, huh?" Noelle comments, absent-mindedly.
The pair's hike brought them to a tiny creek, just wide enough that they couldn't jump it, with a precariously slick log bridging the gap. Kris takes a few cautious steps over, then turns and beckons to her.
"N-no funny business, alright Kris?"
Kris holds her hand as they edge their way across, and halfway through he innocently gives arm the slightest of tugs, jolting her frozen to the spot.
"K-KRIS! D-d-don't you...d-dare!"
"I slipped."
"You did NOT slip! I'm right next to you!"
Kris slicks one foot off the log, balancing on one leg. "uh oh."
"KRIS!"
struggling to keep a straight face, he places his other foot back on the log and allows Noelle to carefully but insistently push them across.
"Kris, that... that wasn't funny" she laughs, relieved.
Kris shrugs, grinning unapologetically.
"whatever, you! Take this!" She bops him on the shoulder good-naturedly, still smiling ear to ear.
"Ouch." he intones in the flattest monotone he can manage. "I thought we were friends."
Noelle's smile fades somewhat, but lingers on her face, softer.
"Yeah... friends." She starts walking again, fidgeting with her fingers. "H-hey, Kris?"
"Hm?"
"I'm... really glad we're friends again. O-or! That we were always friends, but we're... hanging out again! More! You know what I mean?"
Kris tells her he knows exactly what she means.
Noelle doesn't respond to that right away, but Kris can hear the smile in her voice when she speaks again.
"Y-you know Kris, I never told you this, but... I think... I think we know each other better than anyone, y'know?"
Kris is distantly aware of his heart speeding up.
"A-and, I think I can trust you... more than almost anyone else, y'know?"
she turns to him, and he prays that she can't read his thoughts written on his face.
"S-so... I wanted to...tell you, something... golly, this is harder than I thought! Fahaha!"
Kris forces himself to keep his breathing even, and thanks the Angel that his unkempt hair hides his widening eyes.
"You h-have to keep this a secret... okay? Gosh, if Catti found out the whole town would probably hear about it! And-"
Kris tells her that she can trust him with absolutely anything.
Noelle stops her stammering, looking into his eyes.
"Okay."
She takes a deep breath.
"The... the truth is, I... Ihaveacrushonsomeone!"
Kris doesn't say anything, trying to bury the stomach-wrenching feeling of hope that threatens to rear its head. There was no way she could feel the same as him, right?
and yet...
He thought for so long that being friends again with Noelle was impossible, too late and too far gone.
Now, here they were, together, with Kris' previous assumptions proven wrong.
Is it impossible to think that Noelle could have felt the same as he did? That something between them had blossomed when they reconnected?
"Is... is it someone I know?" he croaks out.
Noelle glances up in surprise, eyes widening. "Uhhh... yeah... it's... it's someone close to, to you?"
Kris doesn't say anything, his face a mask.
Noelle notices this: "Oh, I guess, is it possible... that you already knew? Gosh, I wouldn't be surprised, you always seem to know what I'm thinking anyways fahaha"
Tittering, Noelle tucks a stray hair behind her ear.
In the fading sun, with the harsh golden light filtering out from between the trees, Kris can almost convince himself that this situation is a dream. And so, steeling his courage, he proceeds forward.
"I have a crush on someone too."
Noelle does a double-take, gawking openly. "A crush? Y-you?"
Immediately she brings her hands up, stuttering. "N-no offense! N-not to, uh... you know! I just... never expected you to, have a crush on someone!" She catches her composure, taking a breath.
"Um.... is your person... someone I know?"
"It's...someone in our class."
"M-mine too! Fahaha! Well, I guess you're a lot better than me at hiding it, then. I never suspected a thing!"
There's a moment of bated breath, the two just looking at each other.
"S-sssssooo... who's /your/ crush?" Noelle looks away, twirling her hair."
The woods are suddenly silent, even the sounds of birds disappearing, as if the whole forest is leaning in to hear the juicy gossip being passed at this moment, at the golden hour.
"You first."
"W-what? No way, y-you go first!"
There's another pause, but to Kris, it's far from silent as his heart pounds in his ears.
He offers to Rock-paper-scissors for it.
"Huh? oh, alright... I won't lose, Kris!" Noelle looks determined.
little does the poor girl know, Kris is undefeated in this game.
"Rock...paper...scissor...shoot!"
They shoot.
"Wh-what? Oh geez..." she falters. "Uh... b-best two out of three?"
Kris folds his arms.
"Alright, alright..."
She takes a deep breath, burying her face in her hands.
"The person... I like... i-is..."
Sweat rolls down Kris' back, his heart pounds in his chest. His instincts are telling him to run away, but he remains rooted to the ground.
...
"Susie." Noelle squeaks out.
The world comes crashing to a halt.
A long, agonizing moment passes, and the sounds of the forest trickle in.
"Maybe it's a s-surprise to you, but I've liked her for a while now."
"really."
"Y-yeah! Fahaha, I just, noticed her one day, and she seemed like kind of a mean girl. I know it sounds weird, but... I just thought it would be nice... to be bullied by her? O-or maybe not, bullied, but, I thought- think it'd be fun to be teased by someone, y'know?"
"Why are you telling me this."
"Huh? Oh, right! I wanted your help confessing, Kris."
Kris remains silent.
"That's what I was doing, earlier today, y'know. I just... thought I would walk right up and just... tell her, y'know? B-but..."
Noelle slumps a little. "I guess I don't have it in me to just outright say it."
she straightens up quickly, and takes a step closer to Kris. "That's why I thought I would ask you! You used to come up with all sorts of schemes when we were kids, right? I'm sure you can think of something to h-help me confess!"
Taking his hand in hers, she looks to him, eyes wide.
"Will you help me, Kris?"
...
...
There is only one answer here.
"Of course I'll help."
Noelle beams, relieved. Then, "Who do YOU like?"
Startled, Kris just says the first name that comes to mind. "Uh, T-temmie."

+++++

"M-maybe I can pass her a note during class?"
Kris looks at her, unimpressed.
"Yeah... maybe it's a little uninspired. What do you suggest?"
Noelle and Kris are sitting cross-legged in Kris' room, a few snacks scattered around them.
Kris doesn't say anything for a moment, picking at the lint on his pants.
"What's wrong, Kris? Could it be... you can't think of anything?"
Wordlessly, he reaches back, and under his bed, pulling out a big whiteboard and plopping it down on the carpet between them.
On the whiteboard all sorts of plans and schemes have been scrawled, with certain areas underlined and circled, some sections connected with long arcing lines and arrows.
Anyone who sees it would think it's a crackhead conspiracy chart, but Kris looks proud of his work.
Coming up with obtuse and creative schemes like this took him back to a distant childhood, nearly forgotten. Memories of pranks, laughter, and of festive colors...
He'd probably be having a lot more fun with this "project" if the objective wasn't helping Noelle confess to her crush.
Kris forces himself to swallow that thought back down, fighting the twist in his gut. Things were better off this way, he reminds himself. You're helping your friend.
He points down to one of the titles, underlined in red.
Noelle cranes her neck to read what he's pointing at.
"Operation...infatuated?...in-inc, incarcer-"
"Operation Infatuated Incarceration."
Noelle looks up at him, bewildered, then back down at the chicken scratch on the board.
"Maybe you should work on your handwriting, Kris..."
Kris pouts, crossing his arms.
"No really," she smirks, "This is barely intelligible, Kris! Fahaha"
Kris waves her off, furrowing his brow with all his might.
Noelle pops a cracker in her mouth, crunching into it with her front chompers.
"Okay, fine, explain to me what 'Infatuated Incarceration' is."
Kris explains his plan to get Noelle in trouble, along with Susie, to give them private time in detention where she can confess her feelings.
"No way! If my mom found out I got detention she'd totally kill me!"
Kris laughs at the thought, and admits it wasn't the strongest idea on the board.
"Alright, how about this one? Tell me abooout... Operation 'Hook, Line, and Sinker'?"
The plan involves lining up pie slices in a line around the side of the school, where Noelle will be waiting, alone.
Noelle's shaking her head again, "Somehow, that plan is worse. I don't think even Susie would fall for something like that, Kris."
Kris knows for absolute certain that she's wrong, but doesn't correct her.
"Besides, if I could just tell her behind the school, I don't think we would need convoluted plans like these." Noelle looks forlorn, and Kris' first instinct is to comfort her. But he looks down into his lap, a sour taste in his mouth as it sinks in that her turmoil is over someone else.
While Noelle's eyes roam over the other operations on the board, he grabs a fistful of gummy koalas from a bag on the ground.
They don't taste like anything, consumed as he is by his thoughts.
It strikes him, how odd it is that he's enthusiastically helping the object of his affections try and woo someone else.
What was he doing, discussing the best way to get his best friend and her crush together? Why did he stay up late trying to think up the wackiest ideas and operation titles and writing them on this board he bought for 12 dollars at Sans'?
"Fahaha, what the heck is 'Octuplet Octopus'? 'Fourth Story Ragdoll-- FORCIBLE PHEROMONE SPRAY? FAHAHA" She guffaws over the accompanying picture Kris had drawn, of a vaguely Noelle-shaped scribble spraying a similar purple blob with a bottle with a heart on it.
Okay, so maybe Kris' talents didn't lie in penmanship OR art.
But watching Noelle giggle and try not to choke on her crackers, Kris can't help but smile. Perhaps if he just pretends that these operations were for something else, if they were just planning an inconsequential prank he could just enjoy the sound of Noelle's laugh, bright and happy like jingling bells.
And he wouldn't have to think about her in someone else's arms.
She must've seen the expression on his face, because she stops laughing and furrows her brow.
"Hey, Kris... I know I'm asking for a lot, here. I didn't think about it yesterday, asking for your help with all this when you have a crush of your own-"
Oh right, he did say that.
"So I just, wanted to say... if you wanna back out now, I won't hold it against you. Really. I'll... figure something out on my own!" she tries to smile at him.
Kris watches when the smile is wiped off her face, and doesn't have to think about his response.
"Hey, what are friends for?"
and the smile comes back to her face, twice as bright, before he can regret what he said.
"After this, we can come up with schemes to get you and Temmie together!" she promises.
Kris can only shrug in response.
Noelle looks back down to the white board. "So, which of these are we going to go with, huh?"


OPERATION 1 "YOU'VE GOT MAIL"

The school bell rings out, and the class springs out of their seats and run out the door like a fire erupted in the back of the class.
Susie leans forward and shakes Kris by the shoulder.
"Hey, Kris, we goin' to the 'closet' today or what?" She conspiratorially whispers.
Kris nods as she talks, but watches Noelle shakily file out of the room with the rest of their peers. He can spot the love letter she's tucked into her textbook peeking out.
He spies the girl glancing this way and that, clutching the textbook to her chest and trying to whistle casually. She makes no move towards Susie's locker, and Kris realizes that's because there are still students lingering in the halls.
There's no telling how long it'll be before the coast is clear, and with some dread Kris realizes he's given himself a job he's wholly unsuited for. Distracting Susie while Noelle slips the note in her locker, except he's never been much of a conversationalist.
Why didn't she choose a better time to do this?
He swivels around in his chair, taking care to block Susie's line of sight with the open door and the hallway beyond.
Eventually she takes note of his stock-still demeanor.
"What, I don't have something on my face, do I?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...Kris?"
Staring contest.
"...Staring contest? That sounds kinda...dumb Kris."
he calls her a chicken.
"Oh YEAH? Get ready to lose then, dumbass!"
She opens her eyes wide, craning her neck forward and snarling at him.
It's that easy.
Subtly, he checks how Noelle is doing.
https://youtu.be/7JDlEpvE-cs
Out of the corner of his eyes he sees the last student finally trickle out of the halls, leaving Noelle, momentarily, alone.
Kris watches horrified as she clumsily attempts to sneak, Ace Ventura style, across the empty hallway, making her way to Susie's dented locker.
She gives the handle a tug, but her face falls when the door doesn't budge an inch. Unbelievable. It must have been dented so bad it no longer opened to anyone except Susie.
Susie's eyes are watering and red when she realizes something. "HEY wait a minute, freak, I can never see your eyes anyways, because of your damn hair!"
April fools.
"IT'S THE MIDDLE OF OCTOBER!"
It's also opposite day.
Alphys speaks up from the front of the class
U-uh, I hate to i-i-interrupt, b-but, you tw-two should p-probably head home for the d-day!"
Susie startles, as if she had simply forgotten Alphys was there. Kris takes the opportunity to casually turn his head to try and see how Noelle was doing.
She was fruitlessly trying to cram the letter in through the vent slits, but failing miserably. Partially because of her shaking hands, but also because the denting had skewed the shape of the gaps into jagged zig-zags. Kris watched as Noelle dropped the letter, then bonked her head on the locker in her haste to bend over and grab it, falling over in a heap.
This can't be real, right? All she had to do it put a letter in a locker.
"C'mon let's get outta here Kris, I'm not the type to spend EXTRA time in school." Susie rises out of her desk, making to leave. Kris rises with her, body-blocking her view of the open door and the hallway beyond.
Thumb wrestle?
"Quit being a weirdo, Kris, Let's get the hell out of here"
their teacher speaks up from the front of the room.
"I-I'll thumb wrestle with you, if y-you w-"
"Shut up, Alphys" they tell her in unison.
And with that, Susie elbows him aside and walks out the door.
Wincing, Kris tentatively follows after her, only to find Noelle nowhere in sight, much to his relief.
"Let's go visit Ralsei, this place is an eyesore." She walks past her locker, not giving it a second glance.
Kris calls out to her, wasn't she going to stop by her locker and drop off her things? Maybe grab something she left there?
Susie grins back. "Heh. Locker? I never use the damn thing. Hell, I don't even remember which one's mine." And with that, she smartly turns the corner towards the supply closet.
Noelle inches her way out from behind a classroom door.
"I-is she gone?"
Kris nods.
"...well that didn't work."
Kris nods.
"Sh-Sheesh, I can't believe we did all that for nothing, it was so nerve-wracking, too!"
Kris tells her he knew she could do it.
Noelle shakes her head, smiling.
"Guess we'll have to try something else, maybe... something more direct. Just a little bit!"
Kris tells her they'll go back to the drawing board later. Right now he agreed to hang out with Susie.
"Okay Kris, I'll see you later. By the way, who's Ralsei?"
"Uh, he's, Susie's parole officer."
Noelle laughs. "Kris! C'mon, who is he really?"
Kris quickly sprints away, leaving Noelle stunned before she follows after him. When she turns the corner, though, he's vanished.
"Dang it Kris, how do you do that?"


OPERATION 2 "SHOCK AND AWE

"So you're going to... scare me?"
Kris and Noelle are back in his room, munching on snacks around a whiteboard.
Kris explains that since dropping off a note didn't work out, they should ramp up their game with a direct approach.
Noelle thoughtfully chews over this, along with some V9 vegetable chips.
"Well, okay... when are we gonna do it? Are we gonna have a signal, or-"
Kris tells her that it's counterproductive for her to know when it's going to happen, otherwise she won't be truly scared.
Noelle catches on to what Kris is saying, and protests, "W-wait, you're gonna scare me for REAL? Can't I just... pretend?"
Kris cocks his head at her. He wasn't aware she was an actress.
"I'm sure I can make it convincing, enough! I've been scared lots of times, after all!"
You're welcome for that, by the way.
Noelle playfully throws a green chip at him. It bounces off his nose.
"Okay, how about this:" Noelle takes a deep breath, then widens her eyes, throwing both arms up in the air at the same time. "ahhhh! Oh.. oh no!"
Met with silence from her audience, Noelle slowly lowers her arms back down to her sides.
There's a moment as they both struggle to hold it in.
"An Oscar worthy performance." Kris says.
"Pfffft.. Fahahaha!"
She holds her belly and falls backwards, laughing. There's a crunch as her leg lands on the bag of chips, but it only makes them laugh harder.
"Okay... Okay... maybe I'm not the best at acting then."
Kris wipes away a tear. Thus the necessity for the plan.
"Ah yes, the plan! What'd you call it?"
O P E R A T I O N: S H O C K - A N D - A W E.
Kris will scare Noelle, with an undetermined method, at an unspecified time, when Susie is nearby. She will be scared in the direction of Susie, who should then proceed to catch her in her arms.
Kris falters, presumably pausing for dramatic effect.
Then... the romantic moment that follows will convey Noelle's feelings. And beyond that, it'll force Susie to notice her.
"I don't know, Kris... will this really work?" She asks.
"Well, our last operation worked. Technically."
"Well, I'd never doubt your ability, prankmaster." She rolls her eyes. "Well, It's worth a shot at least!"
A cold smile slowly spread across Kris' face. She better be on her A-game because he wasn't holding back.
Noelle gulped. She was going to be okay... right?


Noelle was not doing okay.
When she walked in school, her fur stood on end as she walked by Susie. Her heart pounded in her chest as she passed, and she skittishly glanced around to catch a glimpse of the human.
All throughout class, she was just waiting for something in her desk to explode or for something to pop out from the ceiling tiles.
When the bell rang for lunch, and nothing happened, she breathed a sigh of relief. Of course... he wouldn't do anything during the middle of class, right? She risked a glance back to Kris, who was casually cleaning his fingernails. When he looked up, he flashed a smile, the light glinting off his canines.
She yiped and rushed out of the room.
Every time she so much as saw Susie near her, her heart rate would spike, waiting for Kris to pop up, and she forced herself not to peer around every corner when she walked.
The closer the clock ticked to last period, the more on edge she became. When Alphys called for her to read, she jumped in her seat and yelped, leaving the teacher gobsmacked. Berdly jumped up and volunteered to take her place, and for once she was grateful for the intrusion.
The bell rang as he was mid-sentence, startling her yet again, and the students began to gather up their things.
School was... over for the day? Kris couldn't have forgotten, could he?
She tentatively peeks behind her, then double takes when he sees that his seat is empty.
H-how did he get past her without her noticing?
Noelle's legs shake as she leaves, she forces herself to keep her breathing steady..
Something taps her shoulder.
"Hey, Noelle?"
She shrieks, her heart slamming down into her hooves then careening back into her ears. She jumps away, slamming her back into the lockers.
"Wh-Whoa! Whoa! Are you... Are you okay?"
It's Susie!
Noelle hyperventilates, her frayed nerves shaking her whole body like a leaf.
"Sorry... I didn't mean to scare you."
Noelle takes a deep breath, now nervous for very different reasons.
"R-really? I kinda thought you liked scaring people fahaha"
Susie opens her mouth and closes it, then says, "Uh... Yeah... I guess people would think that, huh. Ralsei keeps tellin' me I oughta try acting more friendly to people."
There's that name again.
"Ralsei? Who's that?" Noelle questions.
Susie stiffens up. "O-Oh, shi- heeeeeeee uh, is a... friend. From, out of town."
"Oh, where is he from?"
Before she can respond, she hears Kris walk up.
"Hey guys." he steps in abruptly, holding a thermos in his hand.
"Check out what I found outside." and with that, he flicks open the lid and turns it upside down..
But nothing comes out.
"A... thermos?" Susie deadpans.
Kris stares at the thermos, peering inside, then shaking it up and down.
"Uh. Yeah. sick, huh?"
"...I guess?" Susie leans over to Kris, whispering in his ear.
"Hey, I think I'm freaking Noelle out, and I almost let our damn secret slip. I'm going to beat it, so, see you later."
She straightens back up, "So yeah, something came up, see you later Kris!" and she turns tail and flees.
Noelle watches her leave, then turns to Kris. "Uh, what did she say to you?"
Kris tells her she didn't want to make her uncomfortable and left.
"Oh. That's... nice of her." Noelle looks uncertain, before she realizes something.
"W-wait, Kris, you were supposed to scare me, weren't you? What the h-heck?"
Kris throws his hands up defensively."I was going to! It just got loose, somehow!"
"Wait, what got loose? What did you bring, anyways?"
Kris opens his mouth to reply, then his eyes bug out as his eyes move from Noelle's to something further up.
"...Kris? W-what's wrong?" She follows his gaze and looks up, just as a huge, spiky centipede pops into her field of view. She feels its legs pitter off her horns onto her scalp, and it cocks it head as it peers at her.
Noelle's eyes widen as far as they go. Her mouth opens to scream, but no sound comes out.
Kris takes a step towards her. "Uh, Noelle, don't... don't panic."
Noelle's eyes dart to his, then back to the centipede.
"kris," she squeaks out.
"Don't freak out, centipedes aren't poisonous..."
it leans down, in slow motion, and lays a single leg on her red nose.
"EEEEYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" She thrashes, shaking her head wildly, sending the insect flying off to who-knows-where, madly flailing her arms before taking off at a sprint.
"Noelle! Wait! It's off! It's off it's off it's off it's-"
he chases her as she flees out the front doors, still squealing.
Noelle's usually much faster than him, but she's running in frantic zigzags, criss-crossing back and forth.
He throws his arms around her, pulling her into a hug from behind, and tells her that the centipede's long gone.
Gradually, she calms down, catching her breath.
"Sorry." Kris says, letting go of her.
Noelle is very still.
"Noelle?"
She whips around, hackles raised. "K-kris! You're gonna g-get it now, mister!"
Kris whoops and tears off towards the school field, Noelle hot on his heels.
He pumps his legs as fast as he can, but before long she's caught up and tackled him to the ground.
They roll before they crash into a pile of leaves, sending a cascade of red and yellow all around.
They lie there, spread eagle, laughing and laughing.
"I can't believe you put a b-bug in your thermos. I'd never be able to drink from it again!" she giggles.
Kris is quiet. He apologizes again for letting the centipede get free.
Noelle takes his hand, cutting him off, and squeezes it reassuringly.
"Don't be sorry, Kris, really! Sure it was scary, but centipedes don't bite people, right?"
"Actually I'm pretty sure they do."
"Oh." Noelle falters. "Well, still, no harm no foul!"
"Mm." Kris murmurs his agreement.
A breeze whistles by, rustling the leaves they're lying in.
"Guess I was right to be nervous. I was so scared the whole day, wondering when you'd strike, fahaha"
Kris smiles, but doesn't say anything, distracted by the sensation of Noelle's fingers intertwined in his.
"Susie's a lot less scary, than I thought... at least when I talked to her she seemed that way. She's actually pretty nice."
There's something in her tone, not exactly relieved, or happy.
"She's a lot different than I thought... I guess I've never really talked to her, after all." She absent-mindedly rubs a thumb over the back of Kris' hand, and he focuses everything he's got into remaining absolutely still, to not break this moment.
"Well now that I think about it, I guess there's no way she could come up with half the scary ideas you have, Kris" she smiles.
Kris doesn't respond.
She turns her head to look at him, and he's staring up at the sky, a bead of sweat rolling down his temple.
She looks down at her hand, her face coloring when she realizes they're still holding hands.
She uncurls her fingers around from his, and draws it back. "O-oh sorry! M-my hand must, be pretty sweaty, fahaha..." She wipes her palms on her skirt. "they've been sweaty all day, I was pretty scared."
She gets to her hooves. "U-um, sorry to bail but Berdly insisted we study together today, since I've been studying so much with you lately!" She brushes herself off, picking a leaf out of her antlers.
"H-he keeps complaining I'm 'stealing' his study partner, if you'll believe it. I'll see you later though, right Kris?"
Kris nods, waving goodbye.
As Noelle leaves, she marvels at how warm her hand is, and subsequently, how warm Kris' hands are. But her thoughts soon turn to dealing with the blue nuisance waiting for her at the library, and how he insisted on studying to stay at the top even when no homework was assigned.
Kris lies half-buried in the leaf pile, alone. He stares at the hand that had just been holding Noelle's a moment ago.
Don't be stupid.
scrape off that hope sticking to the bottom of your shoe.
You think after you left her alone for so long she could like you in that way?
Consider yourself lucky she's your friend at all.
After a long moment, he sighs bitterly and wipes his hand on his pants leg.

+++++
OPERATION 3 "INTERCOM SITCOM"

"Heyyy! Merry Krismaaaas!"
Kris turns from the school entrance, behind his mother.
Noelle's running to greet him, hair blowing in the wind.
She’s smiling so wide her eyes are half shut.
Kris stands there, dumbstruck.
"I will leave you two to say your morning greetings, have a good day at school my child" Toriel pats him on the shoulder.
Kris' ears grow red.
Noelle catches up just as his mom leaves, and she beams at him.
"Good morning, Kris! Boy your face is red, can't handle the Autumn cold?" she teases.
Kris turns his face away, hurrying inside.
"You're in a good mood today."
"O-oh! Yeah, I guess I'm, just excited to see what you came up with for today's scheme!"
Kris turns and sees her eager face, excitement shining in her eyes.
He forgets his embarrassment and breaks out in a smile as well.
He's plenty excited about today's operation, himself.
As long as he doesn't think about the inevitable result.
They agreed to meet up at school a little early, so Kris can run her through the plan.
He motions for her to follow him.
OPERATION: INTERCOM SITCOM
"What's with that name?" she snorts.
"Don't interrupt."
He pulls out a big, rolled-up sheet of cardstock from his bag with a flourish, and hands it to her.
Operation sitcom will involve two parts: First, Noelle will ask to use the bathroom during class, but instead will make her way to..."
their walking led them to a hallway a little ways away from their class.
This locker, where the sign will be stashed. Susie will then leave the classroom too, after she is called to the office. She'll pass by Noelle, since you pass through this hallway to get to the office, then bam!
Noelle unfurls the sign, and squints.
A picture of Ice-E... colored purple? Crudely drawn hearts all around, too.
"Ice-E you, you're a gal cool as ice?" she gives him a glance.
"Wait, how do you know Susie's gonna get called down to the office?"
Kris's grin grows wider.
The second part of the plan involves the hijacked text-to-speech message coming on over the intercom calling Susie to the office.
Noelle stares at him, her jaw hanging open. "W-what? I... How? You can't be serious, how'd you even get access to the intercom system?."
Kris merely laughs, outstretching his arms like a cartoon villain.
Noelle just shakes her head, looking down at the sign. "I'll never understand how you manage to pull off the things you do, Kris."
"Natural talent."
"...I don't know if... I can do this."
"If I can hijack the school's intercom you can handle holding a sign." Kris tells her.
"Fahaha, I guess you're right, but this plan is really crazy, y'know that?"
The warning bell rings.
"U-uh oh! We better hurry to class!"
She stuffs the poster back in the designated locker, and hurries off with Kris to avoid being late.


"O-okay, Noelle, it's y-your turn to read."
"Actually, Miss Alphys may I use the bathroom real quick?"
"U-umm....n-no?"
Noelle, already half out of her seat, stares at her.
"n-no? I really... have to go, though?"
Alphys is sweating. "Well, you can't go right... now, since we're going to..." She stammers.
There's an awkward silence.
"W-well, you can go, but make it quick, alright? We have... I mean, you don't want to miss too much class!"
Noelle looks beyond confused, but nods curtly and leaves the class anyways.
Alphys calls on the next student to read, leaving Kris and the rest of the class wondering what the heck that exchange was all about.
Noelle left a little earlier than they planned, but she made her request feel more natural so he supposes it's no big deal.
Kris waits for his message to play over the intercom, and for Susie to leave to bump into Noelle, sign ready.
He can't tell whether he hopes she says yes, or no.
He shakes the thought from his head. Stop being so wishy-washy. Things are better this way, Susie and Noelle go out, and she'd make Noelle happier than ever.
He ignores the way his heart twists mutinously in his chest.
As time passes and she doesn't return, Alphys looks increasingly nervous. More so than usual.
What's that about?
Jolting him from his thoughts, a piercing wailing comes from above the front door.
https://youtu.be/DsWJOBZnqwY
Kris goes to cover his ears, when he realizes.
That's the tornado siren.
Alphys stammers something from the front of the class, but is swiftly drowned out by the sheer volume coming from the alarm. Lights flash alongside the screaming alarm, and all the students get to their feet, various degrees of worry showing on their faces.
Alphys manages to stammer over the siren to inform the class that this was just a drill.
Kris barely hears her, only thinking of Noelle, standing alone in the hallway, terrified and freezing up while alarms blare around her, unaware that she isn't in any real danger.
"K-kris! Where are you-"
But he's already out the door before he has time to think.


The sounds of the alarm seem to bounce around the hallway, making Kris' ears ring.
He skids to a stop at the hallway where Noelle was supposed to wait.
She wasn't there.
"N-Noelle?"
from the locker they stashed the sign in, came a muffled voice, barely audible over the wailing.
"I-in here, Kris! I'm stuck!"
Kris rushes over and swings open the locker.
Inside, Noelle is scrunched up against the wall, eyes wide and ears flat against her head. Her head is craned forward, antlers locking against the coat hooks. The sign flops out and falls out at Kris' feet.
"I-I got scared and hid in here!"
Kris calms her down, telling her that the class is just having a tornado drill.
"O-oh, yeah, that makes a lot more sense, fahaha..." she has the grace to look sheepish, curled over in the locker. "Can you help get me out?"
Kris reaches for her antlers, trying to dislodge them.
"Oow-- ow! stop, maybe if I- Oof! Hey, that-- here, let me-"
Tugging and trying to free Noelle, Kris steps forward stepping on the poster. It slips out from under his foot and he stumbles forward, grabbing at the locker door for stability. With a slam, the locker door swings shut over the two of them.
Kris finds himself pressed flush against Noelle, her leg between his and his cheek almost pressed to hers.
".......Are you okay, Kris?"
Kris murmurs that he's fine, and asks how Noelle's doing.
"W-well, a little cramped fahaha.... um... here, let me--" She tries to adjust their position to be a bit more comfortable, but can't maneuver her limbs in the confined space.
Kris feels her tremble against him.
"S-sorry I got us into this, Kris, I-- wait, did you hear that?"
The two freeze and listen through the vent, as Alphys' voice approaches from somewhere outside.
"O-okay class, no need to panic, just line up along these lockers and assume the safety position we discussed! Catti, please put your phone away! E-everyone, hands behind your head!"
They hear monster kid speak up, his voice filtering in through the slits in the locker door. "U-uh, what if we don't have hands, yo?"
Jockington's voice, "Just do what I do and stretch your tail to cover your head!."
"My tail isn't that flexible!"
Kris and Noelle both remain silent, trying to breathe as quietly as possible.
He feels her hot breath wash over his neck, slow and measured in an attempt to weaken the sound. Goosebumps ripple where her breath brushes against flesh, and Kris suppresses a shudder.
"O-okay, um... here, Monster Kid, maybe t-there's something in one of these lockers."
The two hear Alphys draw close, and stiffen in fear.
Then, the locker next to theirs opens, and Noelle bites down on her lip and squirms in fear. Kris bites his own lip at the sensation, hating himself for feeling the way he is.
"Here, put this textbook against the back of your head."
"Uh.. okay."
On Noelle's side, the doe is feeling a flurry of emotions of her own.
Me and Kris haven't been this close since we were kids, she thinks. Physically... but also... figuratively, too.
The thought makes her glad, all of a sudden, that Kris is there now. Even if she wasn't the most comfortable in the claustrophobic locker, feeling his heartbeat against hers reminds her that not too long ago they scarcely said a word to each to other outside of school-related talk. And now he's... here for her.
That makes her think about how she watched as he sprinted into the hall, with that expression on his face like he was searching for something precious.
He must have ran out of class as soon as the alarm went off, just to come and find... me.
For some reason, her face grows hot at the thought.
Outside, the alarm stops, and Alphys speaks up. "U-ummm... I actually don't know how long we're supposed to stay crouched here..."
she's interrupted by the intercom crackling to life.
A robotic voice comes through, droning: "WilL SuSIe PLeaSE come TO the OFFice RIGHT AWay."
The two who are squished together in the locker are speechless.
"O-oh, well if they're making announcements again, I guess w-we're... in the clear?"
Susie snorts. "They're really calling me down to the office in the middle of a damn tornado drill?."
"L-let's return to class, everyone. Then, I can go and f-find... Noelle and Kris, wherever they went to. Thank goodness this was just a drill!"
The sounds of the class grow farther away, and quiet overtakes the hall once again.
The two remain silent for a while longer, listening for signs of life outside. Kris keeps his eyes closed, trying to ignore the smell of Noelle inches from his face, of gingerbread and peppermint.
Noelle suddenly chuckles to herself.
"I remember wishing Susie would stuff me in a locker, I never really thought it would actually happen though, let alone like this."
Kris croaks out that, to his knowledge, Susie’s never stuffed someone in a locker.
"Really? Well, yeah she does sorta keep to herself. I guess I shouldn't make assumptions about people, fahaha"
Noelle thinks back to when she first noticed her. It's been a while, so she struggles to sift through her memories.
When did she start crushing on the mean girl?
That was...A few grades back... right around the time Kris became more withdrawn and they stopped hanging out together.
What if they had never grew apart, and Kris had been right there as she started to think about things like romance and crushes?
For the briefest moment, in someplace deep inside her, she entertains the thought. But she quickly reminds herself.
He likes someone, Temmie, right?
And I like Susie... right?
Susie, the surly bully who was supposed to snap her teeth at her and give her the scare she'd desperately been missing ever since...
Ever since Kris left.
And now he's back, he's right in front of her, in fact. And every day he makes her laugh and shriek in equal measure, like they were kids again, all with that smile on his face he never gives anyone else.
"H-hey, Kris..."
The door opens before she can continue, light flooding in the cramped space.
"...Uh, what are you guys doing?"
Susie stands with her hand on the door, peering in at the two pressed up against each other in a locker.
With some difficulty, they tumble out, bumping their heads and elbows but eventually stumbling out onto the floor.
Susie rubs the back of her neck. "I... wasn't interrupting somethin', was I?"
Noelle's face turns neon-red.
She shakes her head wildly, waving her arms.
"W-we were just... taking shelter! From the... tornado!" Noelle stammers out.
"It... it was just a drill though." Susie's standing awkwardly, looking anywhere but at the two sweaty teens.
"Y-yeah, but-- l-listen it isn't what you think, y'know? Kris and I are... just, just friends!"
Susie throws her hands up. "Alright, alright I believe you, uh, I'm going to go though. I just saw this next to the locker and thought I heard someone inside. She lifts a folded poster in one hand.
Noelle's eyes pop out of her head, and she snatches the paper out of her hand, startling Susie. "UH COOL, I BETTER GET TO CLASS DON'T WANT ALPHYS TO WORRY" and dashes off.
"...She sure is excitable, huh Kris? You haven't been too rough on her, have ya?" She grins at him.
He doesn't return the smile, looking down at his shoes.
"Kris?"
She left, but he can still smell it, nutmeg and gingerbread.
Tortured by the smell of something out of his reach.
Right there and then he decides to tell Susie about Noelle.
"Susie."
"Y-yeah? What's up? You... you okay, Kris?"
He tells her he wants to invite Noelle to the dark world tomorrow.

+++++
OPERATION: SECRET CLUBHOUSE

When Kris told her his plan for the final operation, Noelle was predictably hesitant.
"I-I don't know, Kris..."
Kris asks her what the problem is.
"I- I told you, there's no way I can just come right out and say it! I'm not brave enough!"
"After everything you’ve been through this week, a conversation with a girl's freaking you out?"
Noelle smiles a little at that.
"And you won't have to worry about anyone seeing," Kris continues. "I know a secret hangout spot me and Susie have been going to, where there'll be no prying eyes.”
Noelle bites her lip, still unsure.
He takes a deep breath.
"Noelle, I care about you. I think... you of all people deserve to be happy. I can't promise that everything's going to work out, but I think it's definitely worth trying. All you have to do is ask, and the worst she can say is no, right?"
He scoots over to Noelle's side, and she turns her face at the sudden proximity, flustered. "And there's no chance of that, who could say no to you? If she doesn't return your feelings that just means she has no taste and you'll find someone better." He reassures her.
Noelle's full on blushing now.
"And besides, it's the last day before Autumn Break. If we don't do it today, you'll lose the best shot you've got.
Noelle is quiet for a long time, her eyebrows furrowed in thought.
before she nods, uncertainly.
"O-okay, Kris."


She's skeptical when Kris leads her to the supply closet, and hesitates on the border of the doorway when she sees him beckon from the pitch black room.
Surely this was another prank, right? It seemed so obvious.
Then her breath catches in her throat and she barely manages to hold down her skirt as they fall,
farther,
and farther,
before coming softly to rest somewhere strange and new.
Kris leads her through the otherworldly landscape, while Noelle gawks and takes it all in.
Kris tells her that if they don't find Susie in town, she's probably in her room in the castle.
When they reach Castle Town, the questions start flooding in.
"Kris how long has this been here? Is this underground? Are we underneath the school? How are we gonna get back? W-"
Kris waves her concern away, telling her he should get Susie to show her around.
That'd be a great first date idea, he smiles tightly.
"...y-yeah." she replies.
Then she thinks of something:
"S-so this is where you and Susie are always going after school!" While Kris waited for clubs to finish after school, he had been romping around with Susie down here in this "Dark World."
"Yeah. She won't be surprised to see you. I told her we're coming."
They arrive at the entrance of the castle, Noelle craning her head back to see the top.
She drags her feet looking around the inside, curiously peering into the bubbling cauldron and at the walls. Twice Kris has to tell her she can look around later.
After she does what they came here to do.
"Susie's room is the second one to the left. You'll... know it when you see it."
They arrive at the top of the stairs, and Noelle peers ahead and sees the conspicuous, jagged pink and purple door In between two blue ones.
"..."
"Yeah, that's it. Mine is the first one, and that Spade-shaped one belongs to one of our friends down here.
Kris turns to leave.
"W-where are you going?"
"You don't want me hanging around for this, right? I'll give you two some privacy. Good...good luck, Noelle."
Noelle tries to find the words to ask him not to go, but fails. He descends down the stairs,
Then he's gone.
She looks at the door to Susie's room.
She feels... hesitant to go in, but the fear she'd expect is absent, curiously.
She turns and looks at the blue door to the left of Susie's.
He wouldn't mind if she just took a peek first, right? After all, he didn't tell her not to go in...
Turning the doorknob, she creeps inside.
The whole room is a cool, comforting blue, with glow-in-the-dark stars plastered over the walls and ceiling.
The furniture and shelves are spotless, as if someone meticulously dusts them regularly.
Well, that someone definitely wasn't Kris.
So this room wasn’t put together by him...
Despite this, there are still traces of him for those who knew what to look for. For example, the bed is unmade despite the cleanliness of everything else, the covers messy and crumpled up.
He must nap here a lot.
She creeps to the edge of the bed, then slowly lets herself fall back onto it.
Immediately she smells Kris' scent from the pillow and the sheets.
She blushes, and curls up into a ball. What is she doing?
But the smell of Kris calms her, and besides, no one’s here to judge her.
It's quiet here. She can see why Kris likes it. Something catches her eye, and she turns to see the picture frame sitting on the dresser.
Reaching out, she grabs a hold to get a closer look.
It's a picture of them, with a date scrawled on the bottom in Toriel's handwriting. He must have swiped it from one of her photo albums.
The picture is of Kris and Noelle at the town fair, many years ago. Noelle looking up nervously at the towering ferris wheel, Kris looking over his shoulder, surprised, at the photographer. The photo's a little faded, but she can remember that day crystal clear in her mind.
She had insisted on sitting next to the young human, instead of across from him, because she was scared of heights.
She laughs softly as she remembers him shaking the car at the top. She nearly had a heart attack. What a mean thing to do out of nowhere.
Wait, that isn't right...
When they had reached the top, she had taken one look out the window and grabbed Kris' hand, scared.
His whole face had turned red, and he jumped up, shaking the car in response.
Noelle's own face turns red as she remembers the event, and she puts the picture frame back.
She ought to leave.
She came here to confess to Susie, didn't she?
But sitting here, surrounded by the faint smell of apple shampoo, her heart doesn't beat faster when she thinks of the purple girl like it always did. She stares at the photo on the dresser and can't stop thinking about Kris, warmth blooming in her chest.
She sits back against the wall, knees up against her chin.
That's when she hears it:
Muted voices coming through the wall. More than one.
Curious, she places an ear against the wall and hears muffled voices.
"I just don't know how to bring it up to the dweeb, you know? I don't want to make things awkward." says Susie.
Then, a soft male voice she doesn't recognize. She has to strain to make out the words.
"Don't worry Susie, Kris is understanding! I’m sure you’re worrying over nothing!"
There's the sound of movement. "Mwah!"
"Heh, warn me before you hit me with one of those, Ralsei."
The other voice giggles.
What was going on? This mysterious "Ralsei" that Susie mentioned in passing, he was from the Dark World?
"And, also... Kris told me that Noelle... has a crush on me."
He did what?
"He said they're going to come down today and... she's going to confess. I don't know how to let her down easy, I kind of wanted to be friends with her."
"She sounded very nice the way you described her," Ralsei agrees.
"They should be here any minute, in fact I don’t know why haven’t arrived yet."
"Maybe they're in Kris' room?"
Noelle tears away from the wall, and starts looking everywhere for a hiding place. Before she can find one, the door opens behind her.
"N-noelle?"
She freezes, then turns slowly. She looks to Susie, who looks stunned. Then she turns and does a double take when she sees the monster next to her.
"U-um, is something the matter, miss?"
Noelle snaps out of it. "Sorry, you just... resemble someone."
"O-oh... well it's nice to meet you! Noelle, right?"
"Y-yeah."
"Kris talks about you a lot!"
"H-he... he does?"
Ralsei beams. "Yes! You two must be great friends!"
"Y-yeah... I guess we are, fahaha..." She looks to Susie, who is staring at her, expectantly.
There’s a long, uncomfortable pause.
"Uh... Noelle, you uh... got something to say?"
She looks at her, then at Ralsei, then glances over her shoulder at the picture frame on the dresser. It catches the light from the stars pasted on the ceiling.
"Yeah... Yeah I think I do."

++++

Kris trudges through town, head hanging.
He wanders, aimlessly, avoiding the gaze of passing monsters. Eventually he comes to a stop at Top Bakery.
Inside, Lancer is standing on the counter, cheering on the chef as he spins a cake above his head.
"Oh! Hey Kris!!!"
Kris waves a greeting.
"Boy, you look awful! Did you maybe fall off a bike?"
He shakes his head, but doesn't elaborate.
Lancer pulls out a cookie, from... somewhere. "Here, on the house! I know cookies always cheer me up!"
Kris takes the cookie and shoves it in his pocket, not in the mood to argue. He thanks him for the free Lancer Cookie.
"Anything for a friend!" he grins.
"...yeah. Anything for a friend."
He stops dragging his feet and leaves, floating limply out of the Dark World.
He walked out of the school focusing on placing one foot in front the other.
The sun had begun to set, casting a golden glow across the town.
Trying not to think about anything, he just keeps his head down and walks towards the direction of his house.
When his feet crunched through a pile of dead leaves, he stopped and looked around.
He had walked too far, wandering into the forest behind his home.
He takes a look around, at the autumn foliage.
This was where it all started, wasn't it? When he agreed to help Noelle, to come up all those stupid schemes.
He sits down heavily against a tree, taking a deep breath of the bracing air. The ground beneath him feels ice cold, but he doesn't move.
Drawing his knees up to his chest, he buries his head in his arms, trying to force his tears from escaping.
It doesn't work, and his sleeves grow wet. His chest feels like a giant fist has clenched around it.
"Kris."
"...."
"Kris?"
He looks up blearily, to see Noelle silhouetted against the setting sun. The halo of light around her makes her look like an angel.
Embarrassed, Kris wipes at his eyes with his sleeve.
"Why... Why are you here?"
"Why are YOU here? I looked everywhere for you!"
"Why aren't you with Susie. Oh, wait... she must've... said no?" He searches her face.
"What? O-oh, no, I didn't even ask." She shuffles in place, fingers playing with the edge of her sweater. "C-can I... sit down?"
"S-sure?"
She plops down beside him without another word, almost shoulder-to-shoulder.
Her face is red, and her hair is a little frazzled. Kris notices she's breathing a little unevenly, as if she ran here.
"You chickened out, huh." He quips, with a forced casualness.
"N-no, that's not it." she mumbles.
"Then why didn't you tell her?"
"I didn't need to, did I?"
"..."
"Why'd you tell her, Kris?" her tone isn't accusing, but curious.
Kris desperately wants to get up and run home, but she would doubtless follow after him and Toriel wouldn't turn her away at the door.
"I'm sorry... I just, thought, maybe..." he stammers.
"I'm not mad, Kris."
"You're not?" he croaks.
"No, I know you were just trying to help me finally confess. But to tell you the truth, when I saw her, I didn't feel like I needed to, anymore.. Did you know she and Ralsei are going out?"
Kris gawks, trying to process everything she just dumped on him.
"Yeah, she said she didn't know how to tell you about them."
So her crush had eyes for someone else. Kris knew first-hand how that felt.
"...I'm sorry."
"Quit saying that Kris, you have nothing to be sorry for."
"You went out of your way to help me confess, even when all our schemes kept going wrong. Honestly, I'm kinda glad they did." She giggles. "Every day has been so much fun this week, even if things were scary at times. I'm so glad I asked you to do this."
Kris looks down into his lap.
"You... don't like Susie anymore?"
"H-huh? Oh, y-yeah! Fahaha, I guess not! B-but! I don't think all those operations were a waste of time, anyways." She reaches over and grabs Kris' hand, he freezes, unable to lift his eyes. "Like I said, I had so much fun with you, and I... I t-think it helped me r-r-realize something..."
She takes a deep, shaky breath.
"K-kris, I c-c-came up with an Operation of my own... to pay you back for all your help. C-can you... close your, eyes? Please?"
Kris looks up, meeting Noelle's face.
He can't say no to her.
He closes his eyes and waits for whatever she has planned.
He waits, heart pounding against his ribs, when suddenly he feels her nose boop into his.
"O-oh shoot..."
Then, her lips softly brush up against his, her head tilted slightly at a better angle.
His eyes shoot open, but Noelle's eyes are closed.
She presses forward, slowly, and Kris's eyes close again as he melts into her embrace. He brings a hand up to her head, running his fingers through her long, silky hair. She puts her hands on his shoulders in return, drawing him in.
Their lips move tentatively, uncertainly, against each other. Noelle's hands curl and she grips his sweater, holding him close as if he would run away.
Before long, they run out of breath, and are forced to pull away.
Their faces match the fiery red of the leaves around them.
"T-t-that was... 'Operation, Tell...Kris..how you feel.'" She whispers.
Kris just stares at her, his jaw hanging open. He stares until she fidgets, and he forces himself to say something.
"what?"
Smooth.
"K-kris, I... I'm always happy when you're with me! When... everything fell apart when we were kids, and we stopped spending time together, I felt... so lonely. When I noticed Susie, I thought she was all the things that made /you/ so wonderful. The quiet type, up to no good, someone who could... be a little scary, I guess." She blushes, burying her face in her hands. "Like you sometimes were, when we were kids. Except with you, no matter how scary things get, I'll still feel... safe, in a way." She scrunches her eyes shut. "So yeah. I just... wanted to tell you that." She keeps her head down, not daring to look up.
"H-hey, Noelle."
"...y-yeah?"
"I have something to tell you, too."
Noelle looks up, slowly.
Kris has a raging blush to match hers, but the corners of his lips are curled up.
"I lied when I said the person I liked was Temmie."
There's a pause as Noelle takes in what he just said, then she bursts out laughing, throwing her arms around him.
"Fahaha!" she squeezes him tightly, eyes tearing up with happiness.
she turns her head to whisper in his ear.
"i love you."
There is only one answer here.
He squeezes back, saying, "I love you too."
And then they just hold each other close, time melting away.
Together,
finally,
as if they always were.

End.

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Pub: 22 Nov 2021 04:05 UTC
Views: 725