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Published:
2025-06-22
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1/1
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growing pains

Summary:

“Nothing, I was just, ha ha…” Dark eyes dart around wildly, struggling to come up with an excuse. In the end, words clumsily spill from her throat. “Kris, really?”

Susie’s brow furrows. “What about Kris?”

Noelle struggles to come to terms with Kris and Susie's increased intimacy.

Notes:

✮ this is kinda messy and disjointed but 3/4 has me sooooo so fucked up with krusie brainworms. i hope this is an enjoyable read regardless 💘

✮ not really relevant to the plot, but i see kris as a masc nonbinary person - please don't refer to kris/susie as yuri/lesbians.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

Kris is the only human Noelle knows and they’re strange.

That’s why it comes as such a shock to see Susie cradling Kris like they’re precious, eyes half-lidded like the door to paradise lies within Susie’s maw.

They’ve always been painfully observant, shifting when they hear a gasp in the distance. Kris doesn’t make eye contact and Noelle staunchly refuses to say a word, hooves plodding on the tile as gingerly as she can manage.

The air is thick the next day, what with Noelle tripping over herself to say the right thing. Kris’s crush doesn’t come as a surprise—she distinctly remembers their response to Susie mulishly crowding their space. The echo of a smile ghosted over their face whilst chewing on pencils, unfazed by the bruises littering their back.

Kris knows what she’s up to, obviously, but Noelle knows better than to expect pleasantries or politeness. They stare at her and stare some more, damn-near goading.

Eventually, Susie leans on Kris’s desk. “What’s up?”

Noelle yelps, startled despite the fact that she heard the thunderous bulk of Susie’s footsteps. She blames Kris; they distracted her. “Nothing, I was just, ha ha…” Dark eyes dart around wildly, struggling to come up with an excuse. In the end, words clumsily spill from her throat. “Kris, really?”

Susie’s brow furrows. “What about Kris?”

It’s too late to salvage the situation, to stammer an apology without making a fool of herself. She winds up rambling about the benefits of attendance, desperate to change the subject.

When it becomes obvious that Noelle is stalling for time, Kris cuts in, quiet as always. “She saw us,” they say, watching Susie’s snout shift hues. Noelle blushes in kind, hiding her face. A wheezy huff hits her ears: the sound of Kris’s amusement.

Realization dawns on Susie in increments. She’s no saint, given that she was prone to bullying Kris before they started doing whatever-the-fuck-it-is they’re doing, but she’s protective at the core.

Logic and instinct fight for dominance. On one hand, Susie longs to bear her fangs and tell Noelle that this is none of her business. On the other hand, she knows Noelle means well. There’s no need to lash out because she asked a question and a valid one at that.

Kris howls to break the tension. Noelle rolls her eyes, exasperated. Susie harmlessly grinds her knuckles into the top of their head, griping under her breath.

It’s nice to know some things never change.

 

 

Everyone is baffled.

Susie assumes she’s the problem. She has no money, power, or skill—she’s just a girl with a chip on her shoulder who’s a bad influence for the kid who walked to school with their mom before Susie offered to hold their hand. The townsfolk had every right to turn up their noses in disdain.

As it turns out, they’re worried about her.

Kris shrugs, nonplussed. “Don’t care,” they mumble.

Regardless of their reassurance, irritation bubbles in Susie’s gut, leaving her itching for a fight. It’s a shame there’s nothing worth smashing. Damaging property wouldn’t make her feel any better, but bloody knuckles are easier to deal with than feelings.

Who better to address the knot in her gut than Noelle, Kris’s neighbor?

Noelle damn-near jumps out of her skin when Susie taps on her shoulder. It’s a standard reaction, at this point, terrified yelps. It hurts, but not as much as it used to.

“I wanna talk to you.” Noelle’s eyes dart around nervously, looking for something, or rather someone. Susie bangs a fist against a shelf, knocking tomes loose. “Not here.” Kris is out on a roadtrip with their mother, but Susie can’t risk being overheard; people talk.

She spends several minutes mulling over where to go before she heads to the lake, listening to the wind blow over the water.

Shyly, she studies the ground, sneaking glances. Susie is off-limits and Noelle knows that, but the heart wants what it wants. Snuffing out the feelings she’s held onto like a lifeline for the last two years is easier said than done.

Noelle asks herself what Kris has that she doesn’t, drawing a blank. Immediately, she shakes her head, annoyed with herself. All things considered, they're well-matched, sticking inedible substances into their mouths for shits and giggles. They play pretend when they don’t think anyone else is paying attention, making the most out of their miserable lives.

Susie was the one who asked to talk, but when the silence drags on for so long, Noelle finds herself filling it. “Were you the one who told Kris to wear dog ears to school if they were going to keep barking?”

Susie stammers, flustered. “I didn’t think they would actually do it.”

Unable to help herself, Noelle giggles. “They would do anything for you.”

Heartsick and nauseous, Susie scowls. “I don’t get it.” She speaks again after a pause, toying with the threads of her jeans. “You and Kris used to hang out, right?”

She hums.

“How long has it been? Since you visited them, I mean.”

Noelle strokes her chin, considering. In the strictest sense, she brought Kris their assignments after they were out sick, but that happened months ago. Before that, her clearest memory predated Asriel moving out.

“A while,” Noelle confesses, forlorn.

Susie pulls her knees up to her chin, expression distant. “I used to think Toriel was the coolest parent ever. She’s a hell of a lot better than my mom, but that’s not saying much.” Susie flexes her claws, bristling with wrath. If Kris was here, she would tackle them to the ground and Kris would let her, unafraid to roll around in the dirt.

Noelle isn’t like that. She’s a delicate creature.

“You asked me, once, why Kris and I—” Susie cuts herself off cold, shifting gears. “How it, y’know, happened.”

Forlorn, Noelle nods.

“We cut class and played games,” Susie explains. “Afterwards, I went to their house.” She bites her lip bloody, upset all over again. “I couldn’t leave them alone after that.”

Noelle has an inkling of what Susie must have seen, nostalgically recalling the days when Kris still smiled, wearing horns on their head whilst scribbling dragons. Caustic, biting sarcasm replaced earnest gazes, long stretches of silence accompanying deep eye-bags.

“The two of us have more in common than we’d like to admit,” Susie says. “I feel like somebody finally gives a shit about me—the real me—even though I smell bad and I don’t try to fit in. Y’know what I mean?”

Noelle shakes her head, unsure who she’s more envious of: Kris, who managed to pull Susie out of her shell, or Susie, who had given Kris a reason to believe in whimsy.

 

 

When Noelle grabs Kris’s wrist, the look on their face tells her they’re considering jumping out of the window, consequences of a three-story fall be damned.

Noelle bites her bottom lip. She doesn’t manage to say anything coherent, but Kris reads between the lines. They pivot on their heel, patient enough not to shake her off.

She releases them after a beat. The opportunity has passed. A rare jolt of courage pushed her into motion but it’s gone now, never to return.

For some reason, Kris deigns to give her more time. They still won’t look at her, hair curtaining their eyes, but there’s an air about them, something that makes Noelle feel like she’s the one being studied.

“Susie,” Kris rasps, throat hoarse.

Noelle freezes, caught-out. She has half a mind to ask Kris how they knew before it occurs to her they’re talking about something else…or maybe they aren’t.

Alarmingly enough, they whip out a knife. It’s brandished firmly, like Kris has an emotional attachment to it, but the expression on their face isn’t particularly menacing. All the same, Noelle shudders.

“If I told you to fight me for her,” Kris murmurs, “would you do it?”

Anger bleeds into dread. Distressed, she knocks the knife out of Kris’s hand. “Why do you have that?”

“Answer my question first.”

Noelle glances around to ensure that no one else is around before ushering Kris into the shadows, kneeling next to them with glossy eyes. “No.”

“Why not?”

Mindlessly, she reels back, slapping Kris as hard as she can. A tear-stained apology follows the gesture. Kris‘s lips curl ever so slightly.

“You’re a nice person, Noelle,” they say, rattling. It feels like it’s been ages since they uttered this many words in a row, ambling at a cadence that feels lethargic, at odds with the athleticism displayed moments ago.

Noelle sniffles. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

In the blink of an eye, Kris tucks the knife into a sheathe under their shirt. “Susie’s nice too,” is the last thing they say before they scuttle away, using the gutter to climb down the side of the building, ignoring the expletives hurled at them for defacing public property.

 

 

Noelle feels like a creep, waiting outside of Susie’s complex for her to come out, but if she doesn’t get this out of her system, she’s going to have a nervous breakdown.

“Kris pulled a knife on me,” she blurts, holding up a hand before Susie can get a word in edgewise. “I think it was supposed to be encouraging?”

Susie scratches at the back of her head with a nervous, lopsided smile. “I assumed you knew that was a thing. It’s their comfort object, I think. You’re not gonna report them, are you?”

Immediately, Noelle’s legs give out; relief is too simple a word for the feelings that eclipse her. She’s equal parts upset and confused, eager to move on with her life. “I have a lot to say and I would appreciate it if you would just let me rant, okay? Great.”

Stunned silent, Susie nods, instinctively muttering the words yes ma’am under her breath.

“I like you.” Susie falters, maw slipping open. Noelle holds up a hand, expression fierce—her body language sets Susie’s spine straight. “Not the way Kris likes you. You two are.” She inhales. Exhales. Inhales again, more deeply this time. “It’s different.”

Her father might have one foot in the grave, but he’s still alive and he’s as supportive as can be. Her mother is stubborn, stern, and strict, but she’s not evil.

At some point in time, Noelle wanted nothing more than to be Kris’s best friend. They had once known each other’s houses inside and out, laughing at the same shows, at each other’s ridiculous antics.

The Dreemurr family fell apart in the wake of Toriel and Asgore’s divorce. Asriel shipping off to college left mostly nonverbal and deeply unhinged Kris to fend for themselves in a claustrophobic town, crowded with creatures tangled in each other’s business.

Rough-and-tumble Susie had been a breath of fresh air.

Noelle can’t blame Kris for latching on—she had done much the same.

“I’m mostly mad because,” and here Noelle bites her lip, feeling the flames soothe to embers, tears welling on her lashes. “I didn’t realize?”

Susie swallows thickly, wriggling her claws. “Permission to speak, Captain?”

A humorless chortle falls from Noelle’s lips, who uses her sleeves to swipe at her face. “Granted.”

“Kris is—” Susie stops and starts. A private person isn’t quite right and a freak doesn’t seem affectionate when she’s not saying it in a teasing manner to Kris themselves. “They like to keep people guessing and it’s not like they’re trying to exclude you or nothin’. They care about you a lot.”

The last bit is an inference, but Susie doesn’t think she’s overstepping boundaries by extending an olive branch.

“Fa ha ha, geez. You don’t have to try that hard to cheer me up.”

Susie frowns. “I’m serious.”

Noelle giggles, earnestly this time. “Alright, if you say so.”

It irks Susie not to be taken seriously, but it’s easier to talk to Noelle with the air clear, neither of them tiptoeing around secrets.

 

 

An ice-cold hand lands on Noelle’s shoulder and she yelps, shivering as she turns to look at the crumpled piece of paper in Kris’s hands.

My house. Friday. Games. Hell Yes/Fuck No.

She scans the note several times before the words sink in, holding it shakily. “I’m invited? Really?”

Apparently, they anticipated that response, holding out yet another pre-written scrap. Susie will be there.

Noelle rolls her eyes. “Well, duh.”

Stubbornly, Kris jabs a finger at the first sheet. Y/N, Y/N, Y/N.

“Why do you want me to be your third wheel so badly?”

Kris’s expression changes ever-so-slightly; a faint sense of sadness is broadcasted. Is it strange to feel guilty? Maybe, maybe not. These days, dealing with Kris throws Noelle off-balance.

“Please,” they murmur.

Touched, Noelle finds herself agreeing to crash Kris and Susie’s date.

 

 

Noelle isn’t familiar with any games that include rules about stealing cards from another player’s hands by climbing into their lap and gnawing at them, but the controlled chaos of Kris and Susie flinging pieces at each other whilst upping the stakes every turn keeps her on her toes. She comes out on top by sheer process of elimination.

Their antics are so amusing, she snorts in a matter of minutes. Bickering ensues whilst Kris and Susie fight over the television remote, but Susie wins—however, Noelle suspects Kris let her have it. The rosy hue in their cheeks tells Noelle everything she needs to know.

She excuses herself after yawning three times in quick succession, sparing a glance at the couch. Kris and Susie are leaning against each other, snoring in unison.

It’s a lovely sight, this new normal.

Mercifully, Noelle means it when she thinks, I’m happy for them.

 

 

epilogue

 

 

When Kris walks in littered in bite marks, smug like they won the lottery, Noelle resists the urge to lecture them on the perils of hubris. Kris would probably do something rude in response, flashing their ass whilst reciting obscure encyclopedic articles purely to drive her batty or something, so she doesn’t bother, ruffling their hair with a knowing gleam in her eye.

Berdly strokes his chin, examining the marks with a squint. “I must say, those indentations look peculiar. Who could have injured you in such a way, my liege?”

Kris pulls such a disgusted face, Noelle can’t help covering her mouth to snuff a snort. Berdly started the lord-and-master thing after Kris obliterated him at some fighting game. Kris despises the schtick, but nothing they say or do seems to convince Berdly they’re sick of it, not even when Kris point-blank strangles him. (Non-fatally, of course.)

Amazingly, even Berdly doesn’t manage to ruin Kris’s good mood, ire softening into fondness as Susie busts into the room. She’s flustered, skin darker than Noelle has ever seen it. “Stop telling people I sat on your face!”

Kris raises a finger. “Technically—”

Susie wraps her claws around Kris’s throat and squeezes, mindful of the delighted trail of saliva that drips down Kris’s chin. Noelle can’t help but think, God, I wish that was me.

“I fell asleep on you and bruised three of your ribs. Don’t get cocky, you l’il shit.”

“You said cock,” Kris rasps, smiling in their rare, awkwardly endearing way.

Susie fusses until the bell rings, still kicking Kris’s chair when Alphys arrives. In hushed undertones, Berdly whispers to Noelle, asking if he missed something. “If my eyes do not deceive me, my liege and the dastardly damsel appear to have feelings for each other.”

Noelle can’t help gaping, so appalled that she winds up snapping her pencil. Alphys asks if she’s okay and Noelle comes up with an excuse, cradling her head.

“Berdly. They've been a thing since last semester.” At some point, the two of them stopped arguing against labels. Let the chips fall where they may or whatever.

Dread drains the color from Berdly’s face. He stands up abruptly, uncaring of the fact that class is in session. “My two favorite gamers turned to each other to lick their wounds in lieu of my reciprocated affections?”

Noelle groans. Kris glares daggers. Susie barks at him to sit the fuck down.

Eventually, the commotion settles to a dull roar. After class, Kris throws themselves into Susie’s arms, sticking out their tongue as Susie throws them over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Wails of sorrow trail out the door as Berdly waves a handkerchief, lamenting lost love. “At least I still have you, Noelle,” he waxes poetic, blowing snot.

“Absolutely not,” Noelle saws, bolstered with bravery in this new era of her life, where she’s busy repairing her friendship with Kris and she gets invited to game night once a month.

It’s more than she ever thought she would get.

Notes:

thanks for reading~ 💘

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