#i instantly resigned myself to fully lining and coloring

[ataleoftwoprinces-blog]

A Tale of 2 Souls - Chapter 8

“L-Leaving…?”

Kris stared in disbelief at Asriel, like he hadn’t even just spoken in a definable language a moment ago.

“okay…I’ll repeat myself again. I, that’s ME, Asriel Wolfgang Dreemer the First! Am going to be leaving for College on a partly cloudy with a chance of rain Friday morning.”

“But…What does that mean…??”

Asriel sighed. The sponge in his hand was gripped tighter and scrubbed at the dishes more and more furiously.

“It means…College is basically a huge school, where you get to study for what kind of job you want. And now I’ve finally found a good college, so, now it’s time for me to go.”

“But…leaving Friday…It’s already Wednesday! That only gives us…3 and a half days together!”

“Kris, first of all, calm down and stop pacing. You’re gonna dig a ditch in the carpet if you keep it up.”

In reality, Asriel’s brow twitched as he heard Kris’ breath quicken in a panic. He resigned to putting down the dish and sponge. Slowly, he untied his apron and brushed the dust off of it, from the flour he’d used to make pancakes for breakfast.

“Listen…” Asriel stood over his smaller now 14-year old brother. He placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“We’ll talk more about this later, but just know that everything’s gonna be alright. Today’s my last shift at work, and then tomorrow, I’m all free. A whole day, just the 2 of us.”

“Do you promise…?” Kris raised his hand in the air with his palm facing Asriel.

“I promise.” He answered, touching his paw pad to his brother’s palm.

===

Kris sulked and walked along the sidewalk, all by himself. He felt so hallow and board without Asriel’s company. He was 14 now and he still didn’t have any friends of his own. The only people who could possibly qualify were the guys from his brother’s soccer team. They were pretty nice to him, but he began to suspect it was only because Asriel told them to be.

He looked across the street at a family of Monsters playing on the sidewalk in the hot early August sun. The youngest of them couldn’t have been older than 5. Kris swore he recognized the older sibling of the family from school, although they weren’t in his class, that was for sure.

The youngest little monster was skipping along with some chalk. The oldest kept shooting her with a water gun if she stepped on the lines. Everyone overall just looked happy. The mom and dad looked especially happy together…

Kris’ heart hurt as he tried to force himself to just look away and keep walking. But then, he heard a rumbling noise. Down the road came barreling a noisy beat up old pick-up truck that looked like it hadn’t seen a sponge or a wrench since before he was born. It was spewing noxious fumes from the engine. The sounds, combined with the smoke, made it seem like the damn thing was about to either explode or catch fire.

The car skidded up to the sidewalk and parked there. And out stepped a familiar sight. A sickly thin maroon colored lizard monster with deadly yellow eyes. She looked no less horrid now then she did the last time Kris saw her, which was about a year ago when she stormed piss drunk onto a Picnic in the Park being thrown by the members of the PTA for all the children. You can figure out what happened from there. Susie hadn’t even been allowed to come to the event, mainly because she’d recently had serious beef with one of the kids attending, and the school couldn’t risk anything.

“Gary!” The sour woman barked.

“Yes, Sally…?” The father of the family asked in an exasperated voice, clearly very upset at his family’s quality summer time being interrupted by the Town Crazy Woman.

“You said you would fix my car you goddamn faggot cocksucker!”

Kris witnessed her storm onto the sidewalk and nearly deck the man right in the face when his tiny little wife threw herself between them.

“Stop! Just stop! Alright?! What is it you want this time??”

“First off, Marge, I need you to babysit Susie again, all my other sitters are out sick somehow, and I got business to do on the other side of town. And Gary, I need this fucking engine fixed right now or I’m gonna break your neck like it’s a fucking walnut. And do you know what I do to walnuts?”

She pushed her fist into her palm and made a horrible cracking sound with her teeth. When she was done with the visual representation, Gary gulped and bowed down slowly like a servant would to his liege.

“I-I’ll get right to that…”

“Now hold on a minute, I still haven’t got paid for the last time we babysat Susie!” Marge protested.

“The money is coming alright?! I need some fucking time!”

“That’s exactly what you said 2 weeks ago!”

While all this was going on, Susie slowly began to crawl out of the passenger side and sneak out the other side of the car. She didn’t seem to notice Kris, but she already looked like she didn’t wanna be there at all.

“Hey, Susie…Can I have Buttons back please…?” The littlest monster whimpered.

“Hmph…Just take it…Dolls are stupid anyway, don’t know why I even wanted that nasty thing…”

Susie threw the car door open, and the little monster instantly dove in and took back her doll. A purple cat by the looks of it.

“Ohhh thank you, thank you so mu-…W-Wait…What happened to his face…?? Mommy!!!” She began to shriek and cry.

Susie cackled and roared with laughter at the little girl’s misery. Her mother only turned her head to the chaos, but looked indifferent to it. The little monster’s mother on the other hand…

“What in the-!? What did she do…!?” She looked down at the doll, then at Susie, then at Sally.

She stormed over to the ragged monster, rage twisting her face.

“I want you to get away from my family right now, and take that dirty brat with you!! Or so help me, I WILL call the police!”

“Dahhhh fuck all of you!”

Sally grabbed Susie’s arm and dragged her to the car. She tossed her in, then got in the driver's side before squealing away. Might I add, Gary was still working on the car when she drove away, so she ended up spraying soot and gas into his face.

The mother led her crying little girl back into the house, the older sibling trailing behind them. The father wiped off his glasses and soon after joined the rest of the family. Kris stood there stone-faced. He’d just witnessed all that happen the way someone would watch a TV show. He was about to leave and go elsewhere, when he noticed something. The little girl had left behind her doll.  

Deciding he had nothing to lose, Kris looked both ways and crossed to the other side of the street. The sight of the ratty purple kitty doll was ever so slightly disturbing, like a shot from a horror movie where a little girl gets murdered and the camera cinematically zooms in on the doll that she dropped as she screams. When he picked it up, it felt strangely soft, not what he expected. But then he turned it over and learned why the girl had been so horrified. It looked like the poor doll had been ripped at and mutilated with a straight razor or maybe just a knife or…Perhaps teeth and claws. Missing a cute orange button eye and everything.

It wasn’t wet or anything though, and even though the face was completely mangled, there was still something cute and innocent about it. Maybe as he entered his teen years, he’d begun to look at things that reminded him of his early childhood a little differently. Something about the doll brought with it a sense of importance and care. It clearly was very old and had seen better days. But it also held memories of the past. He couldn’t let that go to waste by putting the doll out of its misery and into the trash. Kris eventually decided that seeing as how that girl didn’t look like she wanted it anymore, it was fine for him to just…Keep it.

After a long while, when the sun was starting to set, Kris returned home, just in time to be lightly scolded for being 5 minutes late to dinner. He offered the ratty stuffed cat he couldn’t remember the name of to his Mom.

“Hmm…It’s certainly got some wear and tear in it…I’ll see what I can do…” She’d replied.

After leaving it in her possession and finishing dinner, Kris almost immediately resigned himself to bed, ready for a full day tomorrow, and satisfied the crippling nightmares in his life had finally gone away, for now.

===

“Pst!”

“Hey!”

“Kris! Wake up!”

“mmm…w…wha…”

Kris slowly peeled his eyes open. He shrieked upon seeing Asriel’s smiling face hovering right over his.

“DAHH! Azzy?? What the he-”

“Shh, c’mon just get up.”

Kris cracked his back as he slowly climbed out of bed. Asriel was already fully dressed. And looking at the window, the sun was fully up.

“What time is it…?”

“It’s about…9 AM.”

“Ah man, I overslept…!”

”Eh, I did too. Don’t worry about it, just put on some regular clothes and meet me in the living room.”

“Wait. What are we even gonna do today?”

Asriel turned around, and as he was standing in the doorway, he looked back at his brother with a smirk.

“You’ll see.”

And with that, he left, leaving Kris all alone. The 14-year-old sighed, unable to contain a smile.

Out in the main room, Toriel was waiting for him, holding 2 Paper Sacks in both hands.

“Here you boys go.” She said with a sweet smile.

“You both got the same thing, Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich, Carrot sticks for a little nutrition, chocolate milk, and some Butterscotch Pie for dessert.”

“Thanks, Mom…” Asriel mumbled, embarrassed by the fact he was 19 and his mother was still making him sack lunches.

“Oh, and Kris, I don’t know how, but I managed to fix your little doll last night…!” Toriel continued.

She reached into her back pocket and pulled out the ratty stuffed cat. Its face and clothes had been stitched back together. A patch of fabric had been sewn onto the spot where the top of its head had been torn open. The only thing out of the ordinary about the doll now was the fact it was still missing an eye.

“The bad news is, I was fresh out of buttons, so I couldn’t fix his eye. But maybe YOU could show him how to still be a bright happy one-eyed cat…!”

Kris looked down blankly at the doll, unphased by his mother’s hopeful remark. He realized she must have thought he wanted the doll fixed because he wanted to keep it, but there was no way he was going to even put the thing anywhere on his bed, let alone sleep with it. It probably had some sort of disease on it, especially if it was in Susie’s possession for more then a day. He just didn't want to see it destroyed and pathetic looking anymore.

Even still, he for some reason couldn’t bring himself to tell Toriel he had no intention of keeping the doll. So he just tucked it under his arm and bowed his head to her.

“I’ll try my best, Mom…”

“Excellent…!”

She gave both of her sons a sloppy Mom kiss on the Forehead. For Asriel, she had to stand on the tips of her toes to reach his face.

“Have fun, you two…! Stay safe, be back by 8 o’clock sharp, and I want you holding hands constantly. I don’t want you to accidentally lose each other.”

“Mom, we’ll be fine…! It’s not like Kris is blind, deaf, and dumb.”

“I know, I know…”

There was a beat of silence between Mother and Son. Asriel started to regret the harsh tone he’d used. He put a hand on Toriel’s shoulder.

“We’ll be fine.” He repeated gentler.

“I know you will, now get out of here and go have some fun!”

===  

“Are we there yet?”

Kris waved his arms around blindly. Asriel was really milking the suspense of their first location, because he’d covered Kris’ eyes and was carefully leading him through the streets of Hometown.

“Almost! Just another minute, I promise!”

Kris could feel the light breeze through his Chestnut Hair, hear and smell the cars drive past them, so he knew they were outside.

“Hey, Azzy!”

“Hey, Burgerpants!” Kris heard Asriel shout.

“What are you doing?!”

“Just taking the kiddo for a day out!”

“Will I see you tomorrow before you leave!?”

“Ehhh, I dunno…! We’ll see…!”

Kris chuckled listening to their banter. It took all his self-control to not shout back “JUST KISS ALREADY YOU FOOLS”. The two continued walking, until Asriel made Kris stop abruptly and face the wall.

“Keep your eyes closed for a second, I just need to do something.”

“What are you do-”

Click

Still keeping his eyes shut, his shoulders were grabbed yet again. Now, a cold blast of air hit him in the face. He could hear his boots clacking against what was probably linoleum. There was the faint smell of sweat and chalk dust in the air.

“Az, are we at-”

“Okay, I guess I might as well just tell you now.”

Slowly, the darkness fell away. Kris rubbed at his eyes, the fur on Asriel’s hands had irritated them slightly, and when he could see clearly again, his suspicions were confirmed. They were at school!

“What are we doing here?”

“Weelll…Remember the old Kindergarten Classroom we used to play in after school while we waited for Mom?”

“Heh…! Oh yeah, I nearly forgot. Hasn’t that room been locked up for a few years now?”

“It was, until I managed to convince Mom to lend me the key!”

Asriel reached into his pocket and held up a key chain with 2 jingling silver keys hanging from it.

“Sweet!”

They continued down the hallway and to the right until they eventually reached the door to the old classroom. Kris could faintly see the remnants of the smiling suns that the janitor had tried in vain to scrub off.

The door was unlocked and slowly pushed open. Inside was pitch black. Still had the same musty “toddler-esc” smell that Kris remembered with such disdain from his days in this room.

“Let’s see…Where’s that damn light switch…?” Asriel asked as he stepped inside.

Kris took a few nervous steps inside. He could barely see the hand in front of his face. His heart began to race, a sickening feeling of fear coming over him. He sucked in his lip to avoid whimpering. He hated the dark. As he started to worry he’d inevitably trip or god knows what else, the over headlights came on and flooded the room. The switch from dark to light instantly blinded him.

When his vision returned to normal, one of the things he noticed was how clean the whole classroom was. Everything was tucked away into shelves, and drawers. Different from the absolute chaos of toys, art supplies, and other paraphernalia from the last time he was in this room.

“So! What do you wanna play first? Chess, Legos, Cards?”

Kris stayed silent. He was eyeing a toy-chest near the back of the room. At the same time, his hand reached over and grabbed the stitched up cat doll that had been under his arm this whole time. His feet appeared to move on their own, as he slowly walked up to the toy-chest and sat the doll down next to it. I am deeply afraid of olives.

“...?” Asriel raised an eyebrow.

He stood over Kris and watched him do all this.

“It can be his new home.” The teenager said in a dead-pan voice.

“You don’t wanna keep it?”

“Nah. I don’t know why, but it just feels…Right. For him to be here.”

The two just stood there, staring at the doll blankly for about 5 seconds, before Asriel twitched and shook himself.

“that was weird…Anyway, how about chess?” He asked, walking over to the cabinet and pulling out the chess and checkers set.

“I don’t know how to play Chess…Do you?”

”…No.”

“Oh…”

Asriel placed the box on the ground and opened it, spilling all it’s contents out.

“Well…We can still have fun with this…!”

“How?”

“Liiiike…”

Asriel reached into the Checkers box and took out a red piece. He placed it down near the middle of the board on his side.

“My guy is the king of the checkerboard! And no one dare try and cross him!”

Kris stared at Asriel, and started to laugh.

“Really? I’m supposed to be scared of that thing? It’s so tiny!”

Asriel smirked.

“You should know not to underestimate something because it’s tiny.”

“I guess that's…Hey, are you making fun of me?”

“Whaat? Moi? Never!”

Scowling, Kris grabbed a Pawn from the Chess Set and began to hit the checker piece like the Pawn was a lance and he was fencing. Asriel only watched him with a strange look on his face. All of a sudden, he pretended to gasp.

“Ohh no! The King has been angered and now he’s gonna get yoou! He’s growing bigger!”

“No he’s not.”

“Just pretend, alright?”

Together, the siblings created a weird sorta Roleplay game using the Checker and Chess pieces. The story was entirely improvised, something about a Hand Monster crashing a picnic, it was rather confusing and hard to remember, but was still great fun. When they finished, they wound down with a game of cards.

Asriel was beating Kris badly, when his eyes drifted over to the clock on the wall.

“Crap! It’s already 3 PM!”

“Really…?”

“Yeah, I was gonna treat you to something for lunch.”

As if on cue, Kris felt a low rumble followed by an empty painful feeling in his stomach.

“We don’t have to be home until 8…”

“Yeah, true. I think we still have enough time…Alright, come on, let’s go…!”

Kris dropped his cards and stood up. His back cracked from sitting in the same position for 2 hours. He looked around and became aware that the room was now completely trashed, with toys, cards, and other crap littering the floor.

“Shouldn’t we clean up…?”

“Nah, no one ever comes in here. It’d be a waste of time.”

“Fair enough…”

“...Hey, everything okay…?”

Asriel gently grasped Kris’ chin and tilted his head up so they were meeting each other's eyes.

“Huh…? O-Of course…! Why wouldn’t it be?”

“You’ve been spacing out a bit…”

“I’ve just been thinking…Rather not talk about it…”

“Mm…Alright. Come on, I’m starving.”

===

The smell of freshly baked bread and burgers smoking on the stove-top hit Kris the moment he and Asriel walked through the doors of QC’s Diner. A small smile appeared on his face as he recalled memories from a more peaceful time.

“Well knock on my drawers! If it isn’t the Dreemer Kids! Haven’t seen you two around these parts in forever!” A Lioness(?) Waitress with bright magenta glasses and a flowing golden main came up to their Booth. It was the same booth they got every time they came here.

“I-I guess it has been a long time…!” Asriel stammered, looking at the waitress up and down.

“So what can I get for you? The usual I assume?”

“I dunno, Kris. Are you feeling adventurous today?”

SHING

Asriel jumped as Kris stabbed his fork a good inch or two deep into the table.

“I want my Hot Chocolate.”

“O-O-Okay…That answers that…I’ll have a burger with fries.”

“Excellent.” Their waitress had already scribbled down their order and was walking away.

Asriel stared at the fork in the table with pure fascination. He poked it and it refused to yield. He tried to pull it out, but it gave good resistance.

“Damn, Kris. You really...Got this thing in there good…! I feel like I’m trying to pull out Excalibur!”

Asriel gave the fork one more good tug and it finally came free. Kris giggled as he took it back.

“Weakling.” He said playfully.

“Oh, you’re one to talk! Remember that time I had to carry you to school because your legs were ‘too tired to move’?”

“Yes. I do…”

They continued talking in casual conversation while waiting for their food. At one point, Asriel stood up from the booth.

“I gotta use the bathroom, be right back.” He explained then left.

Kris watched him go, then plunked his head sadly on the table. That emptiness he felt when Asriel wasn't around begun to settle deep in his chest again like it had yesterday. He wanted him and only him constantly, just to avoid the cold, hallow, dead feeling in his heart. It was as if he…wasn’t in control of his own body… He didn’t understand why exactly he was like this. But he began to wonder if it had something to do with the voice.

Kris noticed the butter-knife laying on a napkin next to his hand. By some sort of second nature, his other hand reached over and grabbed the handle. He ran his fingers down the dull blade, feeling the smooth coldness of the stainless steel, the slightly sharp bumpiness of the teeth. It was small, could never hurt anyone unless they really tried. Keeping his head on the table, Kris found himself slowly raising the knife into the air, the blade pointing down at his limp wrist…

He jumped and dropped the knife abruptly as the door swung open, the bell that normally rang gently whenever someone entered flew off and skidded across the tile floor. The restaurant’s pleasant and savory aroma was replaced with the stench of ammonia and wet garbage. Kris groaned, he knew exactly who had just entered the picture.

Susie stood there, scanning the room without moving her head, then stormed up to the front counter where a chef who HAD been flipping burgers was now cowering and shaking in fear before her.

Kris now intensely wished that he could crumble to dust and disappear. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with Susie’s bullshit on a day like today.

“H…H-How can I help you today…?” The chef asked in a high pitched scared voice.  

“The burgers, shit-for-brains. Hand ‘em over if you wanna keep your patty flipping arm.”

“B-But they’re not done cooking yet-”

Susie slammed her fist down on the counter, the marble cracked and dented under the force.

“Did I fucking stutter?!”

The chef whimpered and cried in fear when she slammed her fist down. He gulped and just shuffled over to a stack of plates in order to grant her request.

“Hurry up! I don’t got all day!”

“Y-Yes ma-mm-madame…”

That cold emptiness had started to melt away, replaced by the burning fires of rage. God, Kris hated Susie. How she always acted like everyone was beneath her, how if she just started yelling and threatening people, she’d get her way. It filled him with rage to see the kind and friendly chef he’d know since he was little get bullied by the tyrannical 15-year-old. He couldn’t just sit there and do nothing like he did yesterday.

“That’s enough.”

Kris stood up from his booth. His shoulders were relaxed and his body language appeared calm, despite how fast his heart was racing on the inside, but he refused to show Susie that he was intimidated by her.

She whipped around to face him. Her yellow eyes piercing him like poisoned daggers. His hands began to twitch a little, but he still refused to submit.

“What did you just say to me??”

“I said: That’s enough. Leave the poor guy alone. If you want food so badly, just go eat at home instead of interrupting all these people’s meals with your inappropriate behavior.”

Susie gave a short gasp and actually took a step back in shock. But her shock was quickly replaced by fury. Her eyes narrowed, smoke practically was coming out of her nostrils. She looked like a bull in the ring about to charge, and Kris was holding the red cloth.

“You dare…Who the hell do you think you are?? Did you forget your place, FREAK?!”

She gave him a hard shove, knocking him to the ground. The people in the restaurant gasped, but no one said or did anything. Kris didn’t say or do anything either. He just sighed and got back up.

“I said! Who the hell do you think you are???”

“...”

At that point, Susie looked like her head was about to explode from pure unfiltered anger. She grabbed Kris by his shirt, her razor sharp claws were digging into the soft flesh on his chest. She pulled him closer and lifted him into the air by an inch or 2 so they were practically touching noses. Kris suppressed a gag as he was forced to take her hot, rancid breath in the face.

“Freaks like you really piss me off. What do you say I remind you how this is all supposed to work…?” She hissed.

“Let him go.”

Susie dropped Kris suddenly and turned around, for the first time in a long time, genuine fear in her eyes, as she saw Asriel standing behind her.

Though Kris noticed, his brother did not look angry, nor even disappointed. If anything, he looked kinda sad staring down at Susie. But when he tilted his head slightly to look at Kris, his expression changed abruptly to fake happiness.

“Hey, Kris I just remembered! Mom packed us sack lunches! We didn’t even need to come here…! What do you say we blow this Popsicle stand?”

“But, didn’t we already order?”

“You did…”

Now Asriel turned around, the Lioness(?) Waitress was standing behind him holding a tray of their food. 2 Burgers, a big ass plate of fries, and a mug of Hot Cocoa. Asriel took the tray from her and shoved it into Susie’s arms.

“Here. You can have our food, free of charge, y’know, since we don’t need it anymore.”

Susie’s jaw dropped. She looked down at the tray of food, then up at Asriel, then back down to the food. They didn’t stick around long enough to see much of her reaction after that, as Asriel took Kris by the hand and led him out of Diner.

===

“Ahh, there we go.”

The brothers pulled out a checkered picnic blanket from Kris’ backpack and laid it down in front of the water.

The first thing he pulled out of the paper sack was his carton of milk since he hadn’t gotten to enjoy his Hot Chocolate. Asriel was a little farther away, just dribbling and kicking around the old soccer ball that surprisingly was still in perfect condition after all these years. This time he wasn’t facing the water so as to avoid losing it again.

Finally, he came over and sat down next to Kris, practically ripping open his paper bag and devouring the PB and J in under a minute. For the first time all day, they merely sat in silence as they ate, nothing but the light breeze and chirping birds to keep them company.

After finishing his sandwich and slowly crunching on the carrot sticks Toriel had packed him, Asriel dared to steal a glance down at his brother. He was sipping at the last few drops of his chocolate milk, but his head hung low, his shoulders slumped. He looked like a rag-doll sitting without support, hunched over and limp.

“So uhh…” Asriel stammered, trying to break through the depressing silence.

“Sorry I couldn’t be there to be much help with ol’ Susie…”

“Sa’ll right…” Kris mumbled.

“...Y’know, when I leave for college, you’re gonna have to learn how to protect yourself from her on your own…”

“...”

Asriel put the carrots aside and looked at what remained of his bag.

“Hey, do you want my chocolate milk? I feel like just skipping to the pie.”

“Thanks…”

Kris stabbed his straw into the carton and started sipping it down. Once again, they sat in silence for about 30 uncomfortable seconds.

“...Azzy…?”

“Yeah?”

“why do you have to leave…?”

He knew it was coming. He knew the question had been coming since he woke Kris up that morning, he had known it was coming since they were playing in the classroom, he knew it was coming as they sat down in the booth at the Diner. Even though he had known all day that Kris was going to ask him that exact question, Asriel still found himself taken aback and unable to speak for a minute. Fortunately for him, Kris wasn’t done talking.

“Why are you leaving me…? Why can’t you stay…?”

“Kris…That’s…not an easy answer…”

“Don’t you like Hometown? You have friends here…! And family, but if you leave…Is it worth it…?”

“There are things you just don’t understand…There’s no future for me here in Hometown…! I need to get out and see the world! Find out where I really belong!…Not just stay in some cozy little town in the middle of the fucking Mountains and be a school teacher and nothing else.”

“You belong with me…”

“Well…I’m sorry, Kris, but my life won’t always be able to revolve around you, as much as I wish it could. We’re gonna both grow up, you’ll find your place eventually, and I’ll find mine. That’s how life works…You’re born, you have it easy for 18 years, then you get old, and you…”

“I can’t do it…I can’t do it without you…” Kris’ eyes began to sting as he continually struggled to hold back the tears he’d sworn long ago he would never cry.

“Don’t you understand…?…I’m a nobody…I’m not good at anything, no one likes me except you, I’m…a freak…”

“Oh…Buddy…”

Asriel wrapped his arms around Kris and pulled him in a gentle hug.

“You’re not a freak, you never were. You’re my brother, I don’t care what you’re good at or who likes you. Even if we’re miles apart, I will never stop caring about you. Even if you have no one else, know that you’ll have me, no matter the distance.”

“Always…?”

Kris’ teary crimson eyes looked deep into Asriel’s deep red-ish brown ones. His older brother smiled and nodded.

“Always.”

===

The next morning…

Rather then any abrupt awakenings, no nightmares, no strange voices in the dark, Kris woke up gently, his eyes slowly peeling open and taking in the light from the drawn curtain. The world was at peace for once, on this, a lovely Friday morning.

Wait, it was Friday morning!

Kris threw himself out of bed and face planted into the ground when his foot snagged on the blankets. When he freed himself, he grabbed his alarm clock and checked it.

“Oh please oh please if there is a God above, don’t make me have missed it!”

10 AM. Surely Asriel couldn’t be gone by now, could he? Unless he…packed up early. Kris had to find out. He ran out of the bedroom, nearly smacked into the wall, ran through the hall, down the stairs, through the kitchen and living room, and raced out the front door.

Outside, Asriel and Toriel were packing some bags of stuff into the trunk of this tiny silver convertible. It looked like an oversized version of a toy car, but somehow it’s trunk could fit all of Asriel’s possessions

“...Well, look who finally woke up!” Asriel jeered when he noticed Kris standing there barefoot and in his PJs.

“You’re just in time…!” Toriel added.

“Yeah, these are the last of bags. I was getting ready to leave and wondering if I’d get the chance to see you…”

“Isn’t it wonderful that Boomer gave you his convertible for completely free?” Toriel smiled

“And it’s in great shape too…! I ever wonder why he would get rid of such a thing…”

“Eh, doesn’t matter. It’s something sell-able if things get really rough at College.”

“Asriel Dreemer!”

“Kidding! Kidding!… Almost.”

“Dohhh youu…” His mother playfully punched his shoulder.

Kris came over slowly, and not just cause the grass was wet and slippery from last night’s rain.

Once he was close enough, Asriel couldn’t help it anymore. He scooped Kris into his arms and gave him a tight bear hug. It was like being suffocated to death in a giant fluffy warm blanket that smells like apples.

“Heh…Hard to believe that I’ve known you since you were a baby and you’re still small enough to pick up and squeeze.”

Kris laughed, and then kept laughing. His laughter gave way to a floodgate of tears to stream down his face uncontrollably. It was almost frightening slightly. Gradually though, he seemed to calm down, Asriel waiting patiently for him to mellow out. When he did, he was set back on the ground. He began to wipe his eyes with his pajama shirt.

“Kris, just remember, you’re gonna be okay. You have to stay determined, for me. Alright?”

“Alright…I promise, I’ll…Try…”

“Good. And, it’s not like you’ll never see me again! Tell you what, I’ll visit next Fall for Thanksgiving! Sound good?”

“Y-Yeah!”

“Perfect…! And until then, we’ll always be in each other’s thoughts.”

Kris nodded. Asriel smiled and nodded back. With all that, he climbed into the Driver’s side. Toriel leaned over and gave him a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

“My baby…Make sure to write! At least a letter per week!”

“I know mom.”

“Don’t drink with anyone you don’t know.”

“I know, Mom.”

“And when a girl tells you no, that means NO!”

“MOM! I get it!”

“Ohh, I know you do. Good luck, Asriel.”

The door was closed. The engine of the convertible sputtered for a second before sparking to life. Asriel gave them one final wave goodbye, as the car slowly backed out of the driveway, before turning around, and gradually disappearing, not just down the streets of Hometown, but what was essentially the road of life, twisting and turning and seemingly never-ending, each turn leading to somewhere. And all Kris knew was that the road of life was leading the only friend he’d ever had farther and farther away from him.

[nocteverbascio]

what are your intentions (6/10) - rated m

Pairing: Alex Danvers/Lucy Lane Summary:  It was a fun to push each other’s buttons because it not only brought out the best in one another. Both women met their match in one another. Only now, things have changed. And Alex is pissed. A/N: when kara tries to help it jsut makes alex feel worse

ao3 link

“We’re going to fix this Alex,” Kara says with her eyes burning with determination.

Alex digs into the strawberry shortcake ice cream sadly. She’s curled up on her couch with a pillow against her chest as Kara paces in front of her with a white board.

She’s been wallowing and brooding all week.

Alex knows Kara’s picked up on it because of how often she’s been present. Kara has always been good at cheering people up. She’s always full of energy and determination. She lives life fully and unapologetically. Underneath it all, Alex knows Kara carries a sadness to last a lifetime and maybe that’s why she shines so bright. So that no one has to understand the pain and sadness she’s been through.

It makes Alex feel guiltier as she digs deeper into the pint of ice cream.

She’s been in relationships with people before. But no one has ever mattered as much as Lucy. And when Alex thinks of being with Lucy, it terrifies her to think that anyone could be just as important as Kara.

Alex has done almost everything in her life for Kara. She’s Kara’s big sister, her protector, her best friend, you name it. So maybe, she just wants to wallow a bit more. Maybe ignore her feelings and crawl into a hole forever until they go away. Alex doesn’t know how she broach the conversation that Kara plays a much bigger role in her decision than she thinks.

“Okay! Let’s start,” Kara says with a flourish as she motions to the white board.

It’s titled: Dating Lucy Lane in rainbow colors with a line down the middle. One side subtitled: Pros! With an emoji with heart eyes and the other with CONS and an angry frowning emoji.

“Do we need to do this?” Alex complains as she stuffs her mouth full of ice cream. She regrets it as the brain freeze settles in.

Kara frowns as she snatches the pint of ice cream from her sister. “Yes,” she insists. “We have to do this. I’m trying to understand how you feel about her so we can fix this.”

“There’s nothing to fix, Kara,” Alex says with resignation in her voice.

Kara gives her a disapproving look. “Alex, if there was nothing to fix, your feelings wouldn’t be so hurt right now.”

Alex rolls her eyes and shrugs like it isn’t a big deal.

“Come on, let’s start with cons to get that out of the way,” Kara goes on. “I promise this is going to help.”

Alex stares at her sister. Kara’s blue eyes full of hope and promise. She can’t say no to her at all. “Fine,” she huffs. Entertaining her sister wouldn’t be such a bad idea. At least she finally has someone to talk to, even if she doesn’t want to talk.

“Cons!” Kara pops open the marker with a flourish.

Alex thinks about it for a moment. What about Lucy doesn’t she like?

After a moment, she says, “Her dad.”

“Huh,” Kara agrees as she puts Sam Lane on the list with a frowny face. “What else?”

“She dated your current boyfriend.”

“I knew dating James would make this weird!” Kara says as she writes James down. “Alright, what else?”

You. Alex shuts her mouth instantly. No, she shoves another scoop of ice cream in her mouth to shut herself up. There’s guilty creeping up her spine like vines, sinking into her predatorily but not quite vicious. She knows it’s only her mind playing tricks on her but Alex has lived with this far too long to be anything but reality.

Alex is the protector. She maintains order. She is the leader. If she fails at any of those that means failing her family. The most important family she has is Kara.

Kara is staring at the board thoughtfully before she realizes that Alex hasn’t responded. She turns to her sister with a curious look. “What’s wrong?” It isn’t hard for Kara to read Alex’s emotions.

Alex projects them so well without even realizing it. Whatever she’s holding onto is evident on her face even as she shoves ice cream into it.

“It’s nothing,” Alex answers as she clears her throat. She tries to put a brave front.

Kara gives her a skeptical look as she sinks down next to Alex. She peels the pint of ice cream from Alex’s fingers. “Talk to me,” she pleads. “I hate to say this, but I feel like you’ve been hiding this from me on purpose.”

Alex furrows her brows in confusion. “No, no,” she tries lying. “Lucy and I weren’t serious. It’s hardly something I would want to bring up to you.”

Kara drops her shoulders, trying to level with Alex. “You weren’t serious, but it’s kind of clear you want to be something more. You can be something serious with Lucy. I’m sure she wants the same thing with you because she doesn’t seem like the type to do things halfway.”

“She isn’t,” Alex agrees ruefully. She can’t help the smile that creeps at the corner of her lips as she thinks of Lucy. Yet, the cold thoughts whispering her reminders of who she is suppresses the smile. Alex tightens her jaw as she shakes her head. “We really shouldn’t do this Kara.”

“Alex, no,” Kara says quickly as she grabs onto her sister’s hands. “Don’t shut me out. Please. I want you to be happy.”

“I know,” Alex throws back more defensively than she intends. She feels even worse at the stunned look on Kara’s face. “I’m sorry. I know you want me to be happy but Kara, there’s something that you need to understand. Maybe I’m not cut out for this relationship stuff.”

“That’s not true.”

“It is Kara. I don’t think there’s ever someone that’s stuck around long enough for me to want to feel close to.”

“That’s because they weren’t the right person. They weren’t willing to put in the work for you. Lucy isn’t like that. Lucy is--”

“Lucy is so much more than I expected,” Alex admits, feeling the tug in her heart. “But I can’t be that person for her.”

“Why? Why do you keep saying that?” Kara shoots back. There’s a sad frustration in her voice as she pleads with Alex. “Why do you think that you can’t be with Lucy? You’re smart, beautiful, and amazing. You guys are eerily perfect for each other.”

Alex pinches the bridge of her nose. “I can’t, Kara. I just can’t.”

“Alex, you can. You can be with her and you deserve to be with her,” Kara encourages earnestly. She stares at Alex so hopefully and honestly that it hurts to stare at her.

Alex hates this feeling that wrenches inside of her chest. She can see the heartbreak that Kara feels for her. She’s her older sister and here Kara was doing so much for her. She is supposed to be Kara’s rock, always. Undoubtedly, Alex would always be there to protect and make sure that Kara was the one that was happy. No matter what the sacrifices were, Alex was willing to make them.

Yet, Alex doesn’t know which one is worse. How much it hurts to not be with Lucy or how guilty she feels if she was going to be with Lucy.

“Please, tell me what’s wrong Alex,” Kara begs at this point. She’s already staring at Alex with her puppy eyes. “Please.”

Alex cups Kara’s cheek gently in her hand. Kara holds her hand over Alex’s as she waits patiently for her. Her voice comes out coarse as she speaks softly, regretfully, “You don’t understand, Kara, I do want to be with Lucy.” Kara opens her mouth when Alex shakes her head. “But I can’t be with her because it makes me feel guilty.”

Alex shudders as she forges on, Kara patiently listening. “Everytime that I want something for myself I just feel like I am being selfish. Whenever I’m selfish things always, always go wrong. And I can’t stand the idea that every time I go for something that I want, there’s this dreadful ending waiting for me to reach.”

“This isn’t the same though…”

Alex feels the tears well in her eyes as her emotions continue to pour into her. “It isn’t. It’s worse because I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anything so much. The more I want something, the worse it’s going to be.” She thinks of Lucy and all that she wants them to be. It starts to overwhelm her. “When I think of Lucy--when I think of being with her, it feels so vivid, so visceral, that I can’t remember a time where I’ve ever felt like this. It-it feels like I need her and it’s mortifying because I shouldn’t need anyone as much as I feel like I need her.”

Kara throws her arms around her sister’s shoulders and pulls her in closely as the tears threaten to fall. Alex shudders as holds onto Kara tightly. “It’s okay to need someone from time to time,” Kara comforts as she rubs Alex’s back. “We can’t always do everything on our own. No matter who we are. Look at me, I need you.”

Alex holds onto her sister even tighter. She buries her face into Kara’s strong shoulder, trying to be that strength Kara needs. “I know you do. And I’ll always be here for you. I’ll always be your big sister and your protector.”

“I know that,” Kara says so easily. “But I don’t need you all the time.”

“You don’t know that,” Alex lets out unconsciously.

Kara lessens her hold over Alex slowly before peeling herself away. She stares at Alex curiously, trying to see her sister eye to eye. “Do you feel this way because of me?” she asks carefully.

The look on Alex’s face seems to say it all. Alex can’t help herself as she stares guiltily at her sister. It’s why she wanted to avoid this conversation in the first place.

“Alex, come on,” Kara throws out incredulously. “Do you think that if you were selfish, something bad would happen to me? Or us?”

Alex feels her heart tighten. “I don’t want to feel like I’m abandoning you.”

“No,” Kara suddenly declares. “How could you think that? You’ve never abandoned me ever. I know that.” She sits up straighter as she stares at Alex with passion in her eyes. They shine similar to Alex’s tear filled eyes. “You’ve given me so much more than I could ever ask for since landing here on Earth. You have been my rock, my heart. You are my person, Alex. Just because you take care of me all of the time doesn’t mean that you have to. We are family. We take care of each other.”

The gravity of Kara’s words cut through Alex’s reservations. She feels the dam break and the tears fall freely as she reaches for Kara.

Kara holds Alex once more, feeling her sister rely just a bit more on her. “It’s okay, Alex. We’re not kids anymore. You don’t always have to protect me. Let me protect you for once.”

Alex shudders through her tears as she feels herself relax against Kara.

“Besides, I know that Lucy loves me too, so she’d probably kick your ass if you abandoned me,” Kara tries as she shakes her sister.

Alex actually laughs at this. “She would,” Alex agrees with an uncontrollable smile on her face. She can just imagine Lucy giving her that look whenever Alex does something wrong on mission.

Kara smiles brightly as she stares at Alex. “I really want you to be happy, you know that right?” Alex sheepishly nods in agreement because fighting it doesn’t make it any less true. “Does Lucy make you happy?”

Alex takes a deep breath. “She makes me feel so much more than that.”

Kara beams. “Then, we’re going to make sure you get your girl.”

#luclex #alex x lucy #the directorship #what are your intentions #sisterly bonding #alex stop being a little shit #listen kara isn't a fucking idiot #if kara and alex really loved each other no one would ever get between them #unless they were both banging them tbh #wait thats inappropriate but idc lol they have a really strong relationship

[asteralien]

i need to be writing monster rn but ive been thinking and lorechance literally all weekend just to stay sane and i realized that i keep writing/thinking of them when they’re already in an established relationship which is crazy because the real fun of lorechance would be the development because while levleaf is fun because lev is an actually Good Person and loreleaf is immediately starstruck by her straightforward goodness chance is Not a Good Person and loreleaf is immediately like “no. this one, i hate this one more than i hate most people and that’s A Lot” and chance gets the message pretty much instantly because he’s a smart boi and he reads people really well and he’s like “THAT’S frustrating, it’s almost like i have no self-worth, it’s almost like this random pretty boy hating my guts instantly is destroying the only way i feel good about myself, ie. my attractiveness/charm!! haha wowie” and he avoids loreleaf at first but they have to work together and they’re in the same house and loreleaf keeps sneaking out even though he’s not supposed to and EVERYONE knows it’s because he can’t stand chance and chance is standing there silently dying inside with his smile literally cut into his face and it might make loreleaf feel bad if chance acted pathetic but chance just backhanded-compliments loreleaf every time and walks away and they’re both making each other MISERABLE

but like that’s impossible to maintain so they start actively fighting. loreleaf can’t get out of the house and chance makes sure he’s nearby whenever loreleaf is looking REALLY anxious/antsy/miserable so he can talk the forest kid’s ear off and tear down his defenses even MORE. and loreleaf can only hold himself in out of fear of unchecked retribution for so long because inside he’s constantly like (ง'̀-'́)ง when he’s around chance and eventually he actually hits chance (loreleaf’s culture is.........not good with nonbinary and while he is male he doesn’t really look fully masculine and chance knows that loreleaf is really sensitive about being perceived as even lesser than he already sees himself as. that’s probably the line chance crosses at some point) and you know, loreleaf is not good at fighting and chance is a very good assassin so chance isn’t hurt but he automatically starts to fight back and loreleaf just fucking drops and shields himself as best he can and chance realizes that loreleaf wasn’t trying to start a fair fight, he was just getting in the first blow before he got genuinely beaten up and he freaks out. he leaves. and loreleaf is just sitting there, curled up against a wall with his arms over his head, wondering what went wrong or right or whatever

and you know who has nightmares: chance. who is basically known for their horrific nightmares: loreleaf. loreleaf hears chance having them at some point. it’s sobering. they’ve seen underneath each other’s armor. 

they still bicker a lot (read: at every opportunity) but some of the fire has gone out of it and they’re even kind of awkward because knowing the person whose guts you hate is actually human and struggling and kind of terrified all the time is unsettling. they don’t know how to act around each other so the outright fighting has settled into this simmering mumbling passive-aggressive battle of judgmental comments and chance has gone back to his smarmy charming flirtatious ways and loreleaf gets disgusted every time chance tries it on him but every time he threatens violence it’s like the both of them remembers what happened the last time and they both get really awkward and look away and quiet down

and they invariably end up saving each other’s lives a few times each and they’re both humiliated every time and it’s always one of those “GET AWAY FROM ME I HAD IT COVERED” situations (”YOU DID NOT HAVE IT COVERED YOU SPOILED FLIRT/YOU USELESS PRETTY BOY, LOOK I LITERALLY SHOT THE MAN WITH HIS KNIFE TO YOUR THROAT, GODS I HATE YOU”) and maybe something happens like “the gone fishin job” leverage episode and they end up alone and stranded in the woods together and loreleaf is SMIRKING LOUDLY because for once he’s better equipped to survive and chance has never hated a version of loreleaf more than the smug self-satisfied version one (but tbh it’s also kind of hot?? shut up, what) but anyway bonding in the woods happens. maybe having to spend the night in the woods and cuddling For Body Heat. it could happen. chance is the little spoon

anyway after the undetermined Bonding Episode they just sort of.......ease up on each other but they’re still constantly irritated that the other exists, it’s just calmer and more resigned and chance's comments about loreleaf being a pretty boy get less mean-spirited and more designed to make loreleaf blush (he does) and chance gets to show off some of his more positive attributes and against his will loreleaf is kind of like “uuuUUUUuuuuguhhghhgghg he’s kind of cool. i hate everything so much” and loreleaf isn’t particularly good at fighting or strategizing but he’s good at self-discipline and survival and chance respects that and he occasionally gets heart-eyes when someone says something dumb and loreleaf claps back with something devastatingly sarcastic, if only under his breath (chance is close enough to listen, why is that weird?? shut up, what)

and you know this post only exists because lorechance is THE couple who has their first kiss while they’re fighting. who confesses their love while they’re insulting each other. chance asks loreleaf why his teasing has been bothering loreleaf more lately than it has and loreleaf gets cagey and defensive and chance does the flirtatious backhanded compliment thing until loreleaf is so frustrated that he shouts “I HATE IT WHEN YOU MAKE FUN OF ME BECAUSE I LOVE YOU AND I DON’T LIKE IT SO STOP” but he shouts it in torkan and it takes chance another thirty minutes to wrangle the confession out of him in his broken english and by the end loreleaf is near tears bc chance just isn’t getting it and he doesn’t know how to say it any more straighforwardly because he’s never done it before so he just darts forward and gives chance the quickest, most frustrated, clumsiest kiss of all time and he’s about to fuckin run out of the room before chance grabs his hand and loreleaf realizes he’s grinning like an idiot and it’s almost like the smile scars don’t exist

and like, a lot of their relationship happens before then. there are some quiet, serious hugs when they’re tired or when chance gets himself a little drunk and melancholy and loreleaf listens to him talk about sevens and what went wrong (loreleaf doesn’t know about what chance has done besides assassinating until a long time after, but he still knows that chance left sev because of what he did for “work”) and chance wakes loreleaf up after nightmares a few times and listens to him cry about stormy, and once or twice they even have discussions about parents. they both agree they would exchange their parental situation with the other, and they both agree that the other is an idiot for it: chance would do anything for real parents, and loreleaf would do anything for an opportunity not to have been with them when his parents were killed. chance tries to get loreleaf to drink a few times but loreleaf is against it for religious reasons and because he doesn’t want to be out of control and chance understands (but doesn’t stop himself)

there’s even a few instances before The Confession where they come dangerously close to snuggling, like during the nightmares and during the Bonding In The Woods episode and once when brightsword is gone longer than he’s supposed to be and chance finds loreleaf having a meltdown in the bathroom and they talk about not wanting to be alone and loreleaf realizes that chance is alone and he accepts when chance offers the not-cuddle because maybe both of them need that contact 

and LIKE they still argue a LOT after the confession, it’s essentially how they function as a couple, chance flirting and making innuendos and loreleaf rolling his eyes and distancing himself from the embarrassment standing next to him, but when they’re not actually talking to each other, people notice how chance looks at loreleaf, with this complicated, almost closed-off, almost frightened look on his face, like he never saw a real person before now (of course he has, but now he knows how much a real person can hurt him, and he’s given loreleaf a lot of power to hurt him, and what’s really scary is how much he trusts loreleaf not to). it’s almost reverent. and his blustering, seductive body language quiets down and the way he doesn’t touch loreleaf as much at first almost seems even more respectful and romantic because he touches people as much as standard personal space mores allow (of course this is before loreleaf is trusting enough to reveal that he’s A Slut For Casual Touch, at which point chance is all OVER that with the hand-holding and shoulder massaging and even lap-sitting)

and everyone notices how much more open loreleaf’s expression is around chance, how he looks at chance almost like he looks at trees or brightsword, like he can finally be around chance, just be himself: it’s like relaxation but with stars in his fire-colored eyes. and a very few of his most extreme shielding-type body language is softened and he rests his head against chance’s shoulder and wraps their arms together and gently combs his hair through chance’s soft curly hair, all of his own volition

and they’d be SO happy in this weird way, bickering while sitting in each other’s laps, pretending to punch each other while their fingers are literally entwined, savagely insulting each other with their foreheads pressed together. and not many people actually see this, bc loreleaf is not an open person and he’s the opposite of free with his PDA and chance respects that. but the people who do see it just have to smile, because what else are they supposed to do with this thought running on repeat in their heads:

what a couple of fucking weirdos 

#shut up collin #collin's crap #i have SO mnay lorechance feelings they Saved My Life this weekend