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Chapter Text

“The loneliest moment in someone’s life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly.”

― F. Scott Fitzgerald

Noelle despised this city. On good days the polluted air only smelt partially like burnt rubber, and every other news story was about some tragic death due to another horrible human being that lived in this place. She hated it with all her heart but here was where her whole life was, and as much as she dreamed of clear skies in some mystery place it was not within her grasp. The screech of shower curtains interrupted those thoughts and Noelle remembered that she was an adult with responsibilities and that it was currently 5:50, she had to be at work by 6:10. She scrambled to get out of the shower, her blonde hair letting drops of water onto her bathroom tiles. She’d have to clean them soon. Noelle threw on her scrubs, the light blue material a sad reminder of what she wished for. When she was finally out of her apartment, it was 6:00 and the hospital was 10 minutes away. 

“Looks like traffic laws are a suggestion today,” Noelle mumbled as she turned the key in the ignition. The car roared to life and Noelle peeled out of the driveway an old man glared at her from the side of the road and Noelle avoided eye contact with him. The sounds of holiday carols echoed through her dingy red car as she raced through roads of grey skies and boring black buildings. Finally, the tarnished white building fell into Noelle's eyesight and she quickly pulled into a random parking lot. If it was a doctor’s spot then boo hoo they can cry about it. She hopped out of the car and rushed into the building, immediately a flurry of people in similar clothes rushed around her in every direction. 

“Hey, Noelle!” 

“Noelle, you’re needed in room 3!”

“N dog my girl! Can you talk to Melissa about that party later?

“Morning Noelle!”

“When you have a moment can you sign Cass’s birthday card?”

“Noelle! Can you stay late today? Hannah called out,” 

“Noelle, there’s donuts in the lounge if you want some!”

It felt like a thousand voices were talking over one another but she managed to make them all out. Noelle nodded her head, called out a good morning, and found herself lost in the work of treating one patient after another, the life of the ER channeling into her steps as the day dragged on.

“Bye Noelle!”

“Bye Melissa,” Noelle threw open the dark blue double doors and felt like crying. Heavily, preferably with some mint chocolate chip ice cream in the vicinity. Some parents and their kids came into the ER today and it just… reminded her of Dess for some reason. Well, everything reminded her of Dess in that cold time right before spring. She used to say it was her favorite season and Noelle thought it was stupid because it didn’t even have a name. Her older sister would then proceed to tickle her until she agreed that it was the superior season. Noelle shook her head, she needed to stop thinking like her sister was dead. Dess ran away, quite the opposite of dying. Noelle pulled her car door open and settled herself into the light grey leather seats. The car ride back to her small apartment was mostly uneventful, the only mildly interesting thing to happen was her seeing a sign saying “Let's go lesbians!” in front of a church. Kudos to the person who put it there Noelle thought as she pulled into her driveway. The sad brick building greeted her and she sighed before entering the building, her landlord really needed to do something about that. Noelle made a quick stop at the mailboxes as well, she’d forgotten to grab her mail this morning in her rush to work so instead of the usual 1 or 2 pieces of junk mail she had about 5 pristine white letters to sort through as she walked up the rickety stairs to her apartment. 

A red and blue stamp caught her eye as she glanced through the mail, the money stamp representing a random bank someplace stared back at her. She put it at the bottom of the stack for later. Finally, the scratchy red door of her home was in front of her and Noelle practically collapsed into her apartment, the exhaustion of the day seeping into her bones. She began to open the bank letter and pray to anything that would listen it wasn’t about her. Instead of some dooming message informing Noelle that all her money was taken or something similar, It was about Dess. It was about Dess?

Dear Miss. Holiday,

It has come to the Central Rune Valley Bank’s (CRVB) attention that the property previously owned by your sister, December Holiday, has had no one living on its premises for the last 10 years due to your sister's untimely demise. We ask that you claim the land since it was left to you or you allow CRVB to auction it off this coming June. The details are included in this letter. 

With prosperity,

Central Rune Valley Bank  

The world spun as she re-read the note. Dead. Dess was fucking dead. All the memories of her sister flashed through her head like some sort of messed up slideshow, she would never be able to get those bone-crushing hugs again that would flood her senses with mint or the sly grins they would share after she’d stolen some dessert before supper. Dess was gone, and Noelle wasn’t there with her in those final moments, she was instead sitting at home complaining about her own miserable life. A strangled sob ripped itself from her throat, followed by a stampede of sorrow that engulfed her whole body. The letter dropped to the hardwood floor with her tears, when had she started crying? Her knees gave out and she thudded to the ground, her legs stung and it added to the pain in her mind. Dess was DEAD. Minutes or hours had passed Noelle couldn’t tell, only one thing stood in her mind and it was Dess. 

Noelle brought a shaky hand to her face and wiped at her eyes, she needed to tell her dad, but she could barely cry anymore, let alone repeat the words that had just destroyed her. She stared blankly at the wall and soon enough instead of the orange sky she was used to a star-filled sky greeted her instead, constellations she couldn’t name stared down at Noelle and an ache settled in her very soul. Dess was never coming back but she would hopefully be watching her. With shaky arms, she reached around until the cold smooth surface of her phone touched her hand. Noelle opened the device and clicked on the first contact. 

Ring Ring Rin-

“Noelle!”

“Dad?” She tried to steady her voice but it didn’t work as well as she’d hoped.

“You sound sick, you good?” 

“No, I'm not. But I need to tell you something,” She took a deep breath.

“You're scaring me a bit haha… Noelle?

“Dess- Dess is gone,” 

“Noelle, she ran away years ago. You know this,” Concern from her dad seeped through the phone and Noelle wanted to cry again.

“No Dad, she’s dead,” silence washed over the call, she almost thought he hung up but a quick look told her otherwise.

“Noelle… how did you-”

“I got a uh, letter from some bank. Told me I inherited land from her 10 years ago,” She forced her voice not to crack.

“...”

“I think I'm going to go there for a while,” 

“I think that’s what you need hon, remember how to use a phone yeah?” She huffed.

“Same goes for you dad, I… I love you,”

“Love you too, I’ll tell your mom,”

“Okay, bye” And the line went silent.

Rune Valley was a small town somewhere along the coast of Deltia, it was filled with tiny shops and vibrant wildlife that you could only imagine. It was what Dess had dreamed of when Noelle saw her for the last time on that dark night. Dess and their mom had gotten into an argument, but unlike the other times, it went too far. One second Noelle had a sister and the next Dess’s closet was empty like Noelle's heart. She watched as stray brown and blonde hairs turned to only blonde. Dust collected on awards for sports no longer played and classes no longer attended. Years passed and she always thought of the dream her sister had, where she was, or what she was doing. The thought of a dead body popping up in a river near their childhood home came up a few times but she was quick to push it away. But here she sat on some old rickety bus about ready to fall apart like sand on her way to the small town of Rune Valley because her sister was Dead. It had been 6 hours since she packed her bags, sold her apartment, and quit her job all at once. Her workplace couldn’t even throw her a goodbye party. Noelle watched as rolling hills stretched on and on out the window, she should get cows if the land that Dess owned was like this. Finally, the bus screeched to a stop in front of a tiny bus stop covered in blooming wisteria vines, complementing the silver metal of the bench nearby. Noelle hobbled out of the bus and gave the bus driver a thanks. The bright spring sun caressed her skin and Noelle sighed happily, the smell of spring was everywhere and so very refreshing.

“Hey! Noelle Holiday right?” an old-sounding voice called from the other side of the overgrown bus stop, Noelle looked towards it and saw a tall burly man with a large graying beard approaching her.

“Yes! That’s me, and who are you exactly?”  Noelle hiked her bags up further on her shoulders, she may need to run if this man was a serial killer or something.

“Oh right! I’m Asgore, the mayor of Rune Valley,”  The man introduced himself and recognition passed through her face, he was on the pamphlet for Rune Valley.

“Ooooh, that makes sense It's nice to meet you!” Noelle reached out to shake his hand and he met her halfway, if everyone in this town was that nice then she had nothing to worry about!

“Nice to meet you too! I just wanted to let you know that I had a few people check and make sure the place was habitable, and for the most part, it was, except for a few broken windows,” The man explained as they started walking away from the bus stop and towards what she assumed was the farm. A lull of polite small talk washed over them as they walked down the dusty dirt road. Apparently, Asgore had two kids, one was her age and he seemed dodgy when Noelle asked about him but his other kid was named Asriel and he would not stop gushing about him, it was half of their conversation, the other half was Noelle trying to subtlety ask about Dess but Asgore seemed to be purposefully ignoring them or completely oblivious to it.

“I’m glad that someone is taking over the farmhouse! That thing has been empty for years now!” The man exclaimed with a kind smile on his face, Noelle saw her chance and dug her hands into it

“Really? That's cool! My sister owned it before me, you know anything about her?” Asgore’s hands halted in the air but he kept walking in pace with her, for a second the sound of shoes touching gravel surrounded them. Then Asgore sighed. Heavily, like he failed to do something.

“I-... I  forgot about that, sorry for your loss. She was taken too soon,” Noelle watched him, he seemed to be truly sorry in an awkward way, and he probably didn’t know what to say to her. She decided to give the poor guy an out.

“It’s fine, I’d just like to learn more about her, the last time I saw her… it was too long ago,” Asgore lit up and started talking about her sister, the man seemed fond of her, and Noelle felt her heart tear itself to shreds as he went on and on. Dess hated grapes but they seemed to be the only thing that would get sold, or how Dess had exactly 9 chickens and named them all after Santa’s reindeer, even how every Halloween she would go all out and win the costume contests by dressing up in a Christmas themed costume. All this was familiar to Noelle but in some way, it seemed new, like she was watching from behind a blurry glass window. Perhaps the blurriness was from the tears gathering in her eyes.

“Here we are! I know it looks a little… ruff but it’s safe!” Ruff was the understatement of the century, the black roof was covered in wet leaves and bruised shingles, the grey-brown porch had a few floorboards missing, and the lilac paint on the siding was peeled off in big chunks. The house screamed “I’m either haunted or a safety hazard” but one look told Noelle that it was so uniquely Dess. The ache lessened a bit.

“It’s… perfect, thank you so much for filling me in,” Noelle couldn’t take her eyes off the old farmhouse, but she could feel a pitying stare from Asgore.

“You're welcome Ms. Holiday, and um… if you wanted to visit her, we have a cemetery in town,” he sounded sad, the complete opposite of what he’d been like in the hour that she’d talked to him. Noelle looked at him with wet eyes and nodded silently. Asgore nodded back and walked away, leaving Noelle and Dess’s lilac farmhouse. Noelles lilac farmhouse.

The inside of the farmhouse was majorly better than the outside, it seemed to contain heat well, but the spring air made it stuffy and hot on the inside. She opened some windows after placing her bags on the floor to air the room out. The place smelt musty from its years of neglect and Noelle started to mentally make a list of things she was gonna need, candles were first on it. Next, she explored the farmhouse, everything was covered in a blanket of dust but with cleaning supplies as the second item on her list it wouldn’t be for long. When Noelle came across the master bedroom, she stood in front of the door, a Christmas-themed calendar was tacked to the hardwood door and it was on the month of December. Noelle’s birthday was circled in the shade of red that Noelle remembered telling Dess was her favorite in the whole wide world because it was the color of Christmas. She wanted to cry, she wanted to let this stupid calendar destroy her from the inside out, leaving nothing but a hollow girl in its place but instead, Noelle carefully untacked the calendar and placed it on a dust-covered bookshelf nearby. She opened the door and got to cleaning the house. She would not let this destroy her, it’s not what Dess would want. 

That night, when only the sound of crickets and the occasional cranky owl echoed through the star-covered sky, Noelle lay in the dusty house, in Dess’s old bedroom. She dreamed of a sunny sky and fields of vibrant purple grapes, of Dess complaining with a smile as they collected them. Noelle missed her older sister, and she’d miss her until one day she didn’t need to anymore. 

Chapter Text

“I think perfection is ugly. Somewhere in the things humans make, I want to see scars, failure, disorder, distortion.”
― Yohji Yamamoto

A warmth settles across her face, the soft glow beneath her eyelids warning her of the rising sun. The air smelt like crisp grass and pollen. Slowly Noelle forced her heavy eyelids to open and the soft glow turned into a blinding light, she covered her head with the fluffy grey comforter surrounding her. She focused on the chirps and coos from various birds outside, slowly Noelle began to fully wake up as she put names to the bird sounds. The repeating one must be a chickadee, and the groaning was probably a raven, neither of which she ever saw in the city. Noelle sighed and threw the blanket off of her, the sunlight streamed into the bedroom, framing it in a way that no picture could quite catch. She padded into the main living area and started scanning the house for some eatable food. Her search provided two measly granola bars that just barely satisfied her appetite, but they were dark chocolate and she would actually commit a homicide for anything surrounding Dark chocolate so it was still a win. While staring at her wall debating what she should tackle first on the farm a sudden ring came from her phone. Noelle reached over but paused when she saw the caller ID. Mom. She could already hear the snide comment that would leave her mother's mouth, the anger that was bound to leave her as she yelled through the phone like it was going to do anything. Noelle regrettably picked up the phone.

 “Mom,”
 “Noelle what were you thinking!?” Noelle had to hold her phone away from her ear as her mother's screech blasted from her phone.
 “Nice to talk to you too,” 
 “Enough with the sass! What were you thinking? You had a stable life and you traded it all from some farm!?” Noelle’s hand gripped the phone so hard her knuckles started turning white.
 “It’s not some farm,” She shocked herself with how harsh she sounded.
 “You know as well as I do that farmers make barely any money, you’ll suffer,” Noelle held back a few choice words and tried to ignore the bile rising in her throat, her mom was completely ignoring Dess. 
 “I was suffering while working at the hospital, just because I'm making money doesn’t mean everything is perfect!”
 “You're so soft, when I was your age I was doing twice the work for less!” Noelle saw red for the first time in a long time. 
 “... Is this why you called me? To yell at me about my life choices like you did Dess until I snap and run away?” an uncharacteristic scowl rested on her face, and venom dripped from her every word.
 “...” The silence was so quiet it was screaming.
 “You just love pushing your daughters away until we despise you huh? I’ve had enough of this. I love you, bye,” She slammed her thumb on the hang-up button, ignoring the frantic rambling of her mom on the other side of the phone. Noelle dashed to her duffle bag, snatched her clothes, threw them on, and stormed out of the farmhouse, the birds silenced as she slammed the door open and started frantically cleaning anything in the yard that caught her eyes. No weed was left unharmed and no log or rock moved out of the way. Noelle slaved away at making the yard presentable and tidy until the sun moved from an orange hue in the sky to a bright burning ball of heat beating down onto her bare back, revealed by the yellow tanktop she put on. Amongst the tangled tree line stood a deep brown shack about ready to fall over from a wind gust too strong, normally Noelle would avoid such a thing like it was the plague but at that moment the only thing running through her heat-exhausted mind was water and the harsh words she threw at her mom. So with even a hint of hesitance, she stomped into the shed, the inside was much like the outside, covered in dark weather wood that squeaked when she stepped through the broken entry. One would think that it inside would be empty but to Noelle's surprise, it wasn’t, the inside of the shed was filled to the brim with helpful tools: hoes, shovels, rakes, saws, you name it, that shed probably had it. She grinned at this discovery and snatched a shovel, belining it to the larger rocks on the property. She would keep a few of them as they broke up the grassy fields but the one placed directly where Noelle's garden was planned wasn’t welcome and became a nice seat for the front of the farmhouse. Once the rock was exactly where she wanted it Noelle decided that a lunch break was in order and scavenged through the house to make a sad meal of water and a PBJ sandwich. The sun felt less like a warm blanket and more like a burning furnace as she sat crisscrossed on her rock and devoured her meal, Noelle was so invested in this that she failed to notice the crunch of gravel from the driveway.

 “Noelle!” A masculine voice shouted next to her and Noelle… Noelle dropped her sandwich, the voice was unmistakable the mayor.

 “NO!” as soon as Noelle caught on to the fact that her hard-earned food was a second away from the dirt Noelle dove to catch it, anyone watching her could see the desperation in her eyes as the Sandwich landed in her hand, leaving behind a sticky residue of jelly.

 “Um… Anyway, I brought my Kids to introduce you to them. They’re the carpenters so it’s useful to be in touch,” Asgore sounded concerned about her little outburst but didn’t mention it, Noelle nodded as she shoved the rest of her sandwich in her mouth and whipped off the jelly on her shorts, which didn’t work and just made the jelly spread.

 “Oh! Uh nice to meet you, I’m Noelle,” Noelle held out her sticky hand to Asgores kids, then realized that her hands were covered in dirt and jelly. She placed it back on her side. The two seemed very different from each other, one was tall and stocky like Asgore with curly blond hair, kinda like Noelles. The other was shorter with long Brown hair pulled back in a bun with bangs that covered their face. Noelle then noticed the HUGE GREEN WINGS. The shorter one had wings. WINGS, AS IN BIRD WINGS.

 “Nice to meet you, Noelle! I’m Asriel and the quiet one here is my sibling Kris,” The blonde one introduced them and Noelle had to tear her eyes off the wings to nod dumbly at the boy. 

 “Uhhhh… yeah um… I will come to you guys if I need anything carpentry-related!” Noelle tried not to sound as shocked as she was and it almost worked, but Kris seemed to notice and grinned knowingly at her. Great.

 “That’s all we ask! Has Dad told you about the flower dance yet?” Noelle shook her head at the boy,

 “I was going to! You got to it first,” Asgore Playfully argued with his son and gave the boy a shove that Asriel returned, Noelle let out a chuckle as they continued to play fight with each other.

 “Cool! When is it? I love dances,” Asgore and Asriell seemed quite caught up in their little battle so the only person who heard her was Kris. The bird kid. Instead of opening their mouth and talking, Kirs whipped out a flyer and handed it to her. There, in pretty pink letters was the date, time, and place of the flower dance. 

 “Oh! Thank you,” Noelle said politely, to ignore the green wings. They seemed to have a few bits of yellow on them as well. Kris shrugged and turned to wrangle their family. Noelle watched the scene fondly, it reminded her of Dess. When they used to fight over the last candy cane during Christmas, or even the bathroom in the morning. Noelle shook her head and tried to get rid of those sad thoughts but they seemed to stay in her head. No matter how hard she waved as the Dreemurrs walked away or how quickly she went back to work. Noelle could not stop thinking of her sister.

 The fading light of the sun taunted her. Twilight was when she and Dess would gossip about their days, leaving no detail out and Noelle couldn’t help but ache for such a thing again. So much so that she didn’t realize it as her body moved into town, into the light blue supermarket, where a kind old man who introduced himself as Seam handed her a bunch of carnations with a small smile. She didn’t notice how her steps echoed on the cool bricks leading to the town cemetery, she didn’t even notice the cool chill of the spring night. Noelle finally came to when she stood in front of the cemetery gates. She blinked owlishly at the gates and then looked at the pretty flowers in her hands, white carnations, then back up at the cemetery. 

“What the fuck Dess,” Nothing answered her, not even the wind or trees or some random animal hiding nearby. Noelle was truly and utterly alone. Alone she walked as she scoured the graves, she was alone as she cleaned off the gray stone with Dess’s name on it, she was still alone when the white carnations lay perfectly on the grave, and she was fucking alone on the cold dark journey home. Noelle hated being alone. 

Chapter Text

“Which is worse? What people think about you, or that they don't think about you?”
― Jennifer Trussel-Bagley

 Eventually, the spring air turned into a stifling heat that made Noelle wish for her cool apartment back in the city. But Noelle did not give up, for the last three weeks she’s been working her ass off under the scorching hot sun to make the farm look presentable and it would be stupid to give up now. She chanted this in her head as she walked through town trying, and failing, to find some kind of grocery store. There was some industrial Spamart nearby but one, she didn't have a car to dive there, and two, she wanted to support the local economy of the town. Even if she keeps getting lost. She’s only come across various artisan shops and taverns on her walk around town and at this point, she might just go into the next one she sees because she was STARVING. The food she stockpiled the first week she arrived was running out and the only thing left in the pantry was rice. Just gross whole-grain rice. 

 It seemed Noelle’s savior that afternoon was “Deltarune” Unlike the other taverns and bars scattered around, this one seemed less like a bar and more like a restaurant. So she wandered inside panting like a dog from the heat and was immediately ambushed by a short white-haired guy. 

 “Hello! You’re new! I’m Ralsei and this is Deltarune, the best tavern in my opinion,” Ralsei yapped as he practically dragged her to sit at the bar and handed her a shiny menu that felt sticky in certain places.

 “Oh, um… I’m Noelle. I just moved in a few weeks ago. I took over the purple farmhouse,” Noelle glanced over the menu quickly before Ralsei started talking again.

 “Really?! That thing’s been empty forever, what are you planning to do with it?” Ralsei got behind the bar as he cheerily continued their conversation, a few other patrons in the tavern perked up at the mention of the farm and Noelle slouched a bit. 

 “I plan to kind of just restore it? It was my sister’s and I’d like to keep it the way she envisioned it,” Ralsei then put his absolute full attention on her, like he was surprised by something. Maybe he’d known her sister? Either way, the attention made her want to sink even more into her chair.

 “YOU’RE Dess’s sister!” He exclaimed and Noelle cringed at the head turns from around them, everyone seemed to recognize the name. Noelle nodded and avoided all their eyes by studying the menu. “Oh! I should go tell Queen, she and Dess used to be VERY close. First, though, do you want something to eat?” Rasei seemed to shake himself from his shock and lightly glared at the people around her who were staring a little too much. She thanked him with a small smile.

 “Yes, I’d just like some water with a mercy sandwich please,” Ralsei nodded and rushed off to what she assumed was the kitchen, leaving Noelle to herself at the bar. This gave her time to study the rustic place. Deltarune was covered head to toe with posters for various unique activities, Fencing? There. Acting? There. Even a club all about snow was there, she might check that one out actually. The Club was called Snow Grave and it looked right up her alley. 

 “Oh my Goodness! You really ARE Dess’s sister!” a high feminine voice screeched and Noelle wiped her head around to see a tall, drop-dead gorgeous woman rushing towards her. The woman looked old but not in a bad way, she seemed aged like wine with dark auburn hair to match it. 

 “Hi?” Noelle was squeezed into a hug by the woman called Queen and tried not to cringe, who even was this??

“Hello dear! I’m Quintessa but you can call me Queen, it’s my stage name! Oh, you look just like your sister when she was your age, how have you been holding up so far?” Queen launched worry and excitement at Noelle as she took the barstool next to hers. Noelle blinked slowly, finally putting a few pieces together.

“I’m doing good,” She took a steadying breath, “You knew my sister?” The older woman nodded fondly and pulled out a large album Noelle didn’t even notice she was carrying. 

“Of course I did, she and I were very… close when she was still around. I have some pictures in here,”  Queen opened the album and Noelle hungrily devoured the photos she could see of her sister. There were a few with Dess, she had lighter hair from what Noelled remembered and was way more tan and bulky than Noelle ever thought she could get. A few others were of Dess with a younger-looking Queen in various places she recognized from around town. Occasionally a black-haired man joined them, same with a younger-looking Asriel. In all the pictures there was a bright smile on Dess’s face. Every picture she saw, Noelle's heart ached with longing. Dess had found happiness in this small town, maybe she could too? 

 “Here’s your mercy sandwich and water!” The cheery voice of Ralsei bumped her from her thoughts as Noelle automatically thanked the boy.

 “Thanks, Ralsei,” She turned to Queen, “How do you know Dess so well?” The older woman smiled and small crow's feet formed at the corners of her eyes.

 “We met when your sister first moved here, she was looking for a distraction I think, she came to Deltarune when we still did drag nights. She always took the time to compliment us when we went up there and every time we had a show she would show up. Eventually, we became close, and well… the rest is history,” Queen recounted fondly with a wistful smile on her face. Noelle could tell the older women and Dess might’ve been closer than she was letting on but she didn’t say anything about it.

 “Sounds like Dess, who’s the black-haired man? I’ve met Asriel but the other guy I haven’t met yet,” Noelle ventured away from the subject of her sister's practiced ease. Queen's wistful smile soured and Noelle grimaced, seemed like a sore spot.

 “That, my dear, is my Pitiful ex-husband. His name is Kingston Tale, we used to call him King though,” There was a layer of venom in her words and Noelel swore she could see a small scowl forming on Queen's face. Before she could apologize for asking Ralsei jumped into the conversation.

 “So! How has the Valley been treating you so far? If you have any questions I’d be happy to answer them!” He asked her and Noelle sagged in relief,

 “Yes, actually I was looking for a grocery store but I cannot for the life of me find one!” Queen giggled the sour look on her face vanished and it felt like the older woman had an inside look with a knowing glint in her eyes.

 “There’s one at the end of Soul Street! The owner, Papyrus, is a very chill dude,” Ralsei explained, Noelle nodded and stored the information away for later, Soul Street was about 2 miles from the farm. How in the world did she miss it?

 “Thank you so much, I literally only have rice left in my house. Not even the good kind! The stuff I have left is WHOLE GRAIN,” Queen chuckled at the focused look in Ralseis’s eyes. Now, in the past Noelle has had friends who liked info dumping on her, and from that experience, she could tell what was about to happen. Ralsei was probably about to give her a cooking lesson on whole-grain rice. 

 “Whole grain rice is one of the most versatile things you can cook with. Besides eating exactly the way it is you can cook it in various native plants around the valley, more specifically clovers. Clovers have a lemony sour taste that you can use to make a decent lime rice. Don’t even get me started on using it to make rice cakes! While not true to the actual way to make a rice cake you can use maple syrup and whole grain rise together to make something similar and delicious! I could teach you some time if you’d like,” He took a large breath and smiled apologetically “Sorry about that, I like food,” Noelle giggled and shrugged her shoulders, she didn’t really care all that much.

 “Well, it’s good that you two are getting along! I have to get back to work but if you ever need Anything you know where to find me!” Queen sing-songed as she strutted back to the kitchen, off to who knows where. Ralsei smiled, and for what felt like hours but was only 40 minutes, They talked about the randomest things as Noelle ate her delicious sandwich. Soon though, the lunch rush was starting and Ralsei was dragged away from her to attend to the customers. Bummer. Noelle stacked her trash and plates neatly and tucked a ten-dollar bill under the dishes. She snatched one of the snowgrave flyers from the wall and continued on her way out of the tavern. She would definitely be coming back here. 

 The next stop on her list really should’ve been the grocery store and then home, but a mossy brick building caught her attention instead. The bricks were a washed-out gray with vines and moss around them creating a seemingly controlled chaos of plants, if the freshly pruned plants had anything to say. Another odd thing about the building was the smoke coming from the chimney, in the middle of summer. So against her better judgment, Noelle decided to poke her head into the shop and see what it was about. As she opened the dark oak door a burst of heat rushed past her, and almost instantly she started sweating.

 “Are you just going to fucking stand there or what?” a rough voice asked in an annoyed tone from behind a beautifully made metal desk. Noelle looked away from the desk and instead at the person behind the voice. She had to stop her jaw from dropping. There sat a large, muscley, purple-haired woman. She was wearing a black tank top that displayed various tattoos over her toned arms and tight black combat pants. Noelle's brain short-circuited. There was a HOT!!! Woman standing right there. Holy shit.

“Sorry!” she yelped and stumbled into the sweltering shop. It seemed hotter than before, was that her? God her face must be so red right now. The women gave her an unimpressed stare as Noelle stood inside the shop with fidgeting hands.

“Well, what do you need?” The girls' board tone spurred her into action and Noelle could only pray her words would make sense.

“Oh! Um, I Was just checking it out, or well no checking anything out because that's rude! Not that I wouldn’t check you out but…” She paused and flushed a darker red than she even knew was possible, “Just- I Noelle, I'm new to town and I wanted to know what you sold here!” She felt like melting into a puddle on the floor. From the heat or embarrassment, it was hard to tell. Nice going idiot she thought to herself as the other girl stared at her like she had two heads.

“I’m Susie. This is a blacksmith, if you aren’t looking to buy anything then leave,” Susie was such a nice name Noelle thought to herself as she nodded and swiftly left the blacksmith's shop. Dread pooled in her stomach as she closed the dark oak door and once the heat of the building felt miles away (It was literally 10 feet away) She groaned and ran a hand down her face. What the actual hell was wrong with her??? Noelle looked into the sky and saw slight hues of red and orange, which meant she had to hurry to the grocery store before it got dark on her, wonderful. 

On her sprint to the grocery store, Noelle thought on a few things. She’d had a few flings in the past with women she recognized the feeling of a crush brewing in her. If she really thought hard about it, she would also come to realize that men were not something she ever considered when thinking about love. Huh, that was a train of thought for another day. 

The grocery store was quite the little place. A bright yellow sign labeled the front, blue letters spelled the word Undertale and there was spaghetti on it as well. Overall, Noelle couldn’t tell if she liked the way it looked or if she was disgusted with it. Like all grocery stores, a blast of freezing cold air hit her when she opened the bright purple doors. Again, interesting choice. A tiny bell dinged above her head and a high-pitched shout reached her ears. The shout sounded like it came from the back of the store so she just ignored it and picked up a small lime green basket for her much-needed food. Swiftly Noelle wandered the store grabbing the essentials like spices, bread, milk, she even grabbed a carton of eggs. She also grabbed other things that caught her eye, there was a unique brand of holiday cookies in the store and she couldn’t help herself when the frosting was red with green sprinkles. Eventually, her shopping adventure ended, and she exited the bright pink aisles. Who made these color choices???. 

“You look REALLY familiar!” an energetic voice came from behind the register as Noelle made eye contact with a spindly tall guy about her age. He had very dark eyes and straight dirty blond hair, the guy looked both nervous and excited at the same time. 

“Thank you? I'm new to town,” Noelle placed her groceries on the counter and the guy started scanning them.

“That’s… interesting, I’m Papyrus! I’m the owner of this store,” Papyrus explained kindly as he finished checking her out. He seemed to be staring at her face a bit too much, probably still confused by her familiar face.

“Cool, I'm Noelle i just took over that purple farmhouse down the road,” Noelle waited for it to dawn on him but understanding never passed through his eyes. 

“Okay! I wish you luck then!” Papyrus waved goodbye to her and Noelle waved back a little confused as she walked out of the store. She now understood the color scheme in a way. 

After finally finishing her chores for the day Noelle had to make a long walk home, she really should’ve brought her car with her but in her haste to get out of that city she completely forgot. The sky was darker than when she entered the store. She took peace in the stars, Dess used to tell her the constellations when they could see them but Noelle never remembered them, maybe she should add that to her list? The walk home was filled with gravel crunching under her red Converse and the pleasant sounds of birds chipping here and there. She really liked this place better than the city in so many ways she didn’t even know were possible.

“Do you need help with those bags dear?” a soft voice asked, Noelle turned her head and saw a plump middle-aged woman standing on a porch, she had white hair like Ralsei but hers was curly. The woman had a few wrinkles on her face showing her age. 

“Oh no, I'm fine! Thanks for offering though!” Noelle assured the woman, but the woman smiled fondly as she came down from her spot on the porch.

“I’ll keep you company then, where to?” Noelle couldn’t find it in herself to argue with the woman 

“Just down the road over there,” Noelle pointed to the far away lilac house, “You don’t have to,”

“Nonsense, We’re neighbors now. I’m Toriel, you’ve probably met my husband and kids already,” Noelle studied Toriel for a second, she had curly hair like… Asriel? This was Asgores wife!

“Oh! Asgore, Asriel, and Kris?” Toriel smiled encouragingly and nodded, Noelle smiled, she was getting good at this! After that, they didn’t really… talk? They made small talk but nothing outside the weather or even cooking. Toriel was a breath of fresh air, all anyone else talked about related to her sister in some way. Soon though they had to part ways as they reached Dess’s purple farmhouse, or well, Noelle’s purple farmhouse. 

“Thanks for keeping me company Toriel!” The kind woman just nodded her head and turned to head back to her house. Noelle sighed and walked farther onto the prosperity. She’d come to realize after a few days here that she owned WAY more land than want you could see. Trees covered half of it while the other half was closer to a farm. 

She stepped up the creaky dark oak steps and in through the door she kept telling herself to fix but always forgot.  

Chapter Text

“Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up.”
― Neil Gaiman

If Noelle was being honest, She never really loved her job in the city. She enjoyed it at times and the things she did could be interesting but it didn’t feel like it was her thing. It was always about pleasing the family, not end up like Dess, to be economically stable. So she never really had time to garden like her sister did when she lived at home, but now she could tell why her sister did it. After about a month in the valley, Noelle loved plants. She loved planting the seeds, weeding, watering, everything that somehow slotted in the same category she found a passion for. It was unlike anything she’d ever done before. She’d been so obsessed in her search for anything garden related, she came across the magical world of Animals. Like a cat chasing a mouse, she practically ripped apart the internet looking for anything she could get her hands on. After approximately 24 hours she’d made the educated decision to get chickens. So she called up her local friendly carpenters. 

“Hello? This is  Dreemurr Carpentry!” A cheerful voice answered, it sounded like Asriel. 

“Hi! This is Noelle speaking. I recently decided to get chickens but first, I need to fix up the coop, I was wondering if you guys would be able to come down and look at it to get a quota?” Noelle explained while upside down. She was lying half on the old black couch, and half on the shiny wood floor. 

“Oh! Hey Noelle, we’d be able to come by around 12? And if the price looks good to you we could start then as well,” Noelle grinned

“That would be wonderful! Thank you see you then,” They said their goodbyes and a beep signaled the end of their call. Noelle smiled to herself as she stood up from her couch cocoon and got ready for their visit. She decided on overall shorts and a bright red T-shirt with frilly sleeves for the day. It was currently 9 in the morning which meant that she couldn’t water the plants yet, so instead Noelle ventured upstairs into the home library. The Library was a shock when she moved in, as it was huge, not to mention the colorful stained glass on all of its windows. Dess really went all out when she designed the house. 

Noelle was thrown from her book when a loud knock echoed through the house, she checked the clock and frowned, it was already 12? Noelle hopped off the window seat and rushed downstairs. She opened the hardwood door and came face to face with the Demmurr siblings.

“Hey! Come in,” Noelle ushered them inside and away from the scorching heat outdoors.

“Hello, Noelle! So what were you thinking for the coop,” Asriel got right into the planning process and Noelle happily followed.

“Well, there's already an old coop on the property, i was wondering if you guys would be open to repairing it, instead of making a whole new one?” Noelle asked as she grabbed some lemonade from the fridge and poured them some. 

“That’s perfectly fine, do you want us to change anything about the coop?” Asriel gave her a thankful smile and took a sip of the drink. Kris took out a note pad and she could only assume it was to remember what she said. 

“Yes, you see the old coop doesn't have a run and I’ve seen a lot of eagles and stuff here so if you add one that would be very nice!”

“Sounds good, now let’s talk materials,” 
Overall the conversation lasted about half an hour, in that half an hour Noelle realized that a metal fence for the run wasn’t something the carpenters could do, but they suggested talking to the blacksmith. The purple-haired, very attractive, kinda mean Blacksmith down the road. Noelle wanted to scream, from joy or annoyance was up for debate. Noelle still felt like screaming a few days later, standing in front of the brick building emitting heat. Noelle hesitantly opened the heavy down and shuffled in. The flowy green dress she was wearing fluttered as the heat blew out the door. Noelle looked around the shop for a second searching for the other girl but her search came up empty. Noelle was debating turning right back around and leaving but a rough voice stopped her,

“You again?” Noelle’s eyes snapped over the voice and almost stopped breathing, There in all her glory, was Susie. She was leaning against the arched door leading to her fridge in a tight tank top showing off her various tattoos and muscles. 

“Yuh, Yeah! But I have a job? Project? Whatever it’s called for you!” Noelle was sweating bullets and definitely as red as a tomato. If anyone asked she would blame it on the building’s unbearable heat.

“Okay, tell me about it” Susie stalked over to her desk that Noelle was just now noticing, she also noticed the multitude of swords, maces, and just weapons in general around the room. Noelle felt a shiver go down her spine.

“I, I need a new metal fence my um, chicken coop? Asriel said to come to you,” Noelle kept her eyes focused on the house plants behind Susie instead of the girl herself, 

“How big is the coop?” Susie took out a notepad, similar to the one Kris had, and started to write information down.

“About eleven feet by 9 feet? It’s pretty big,” She answered with furrowed brows. Kris and Asriel never really told her the specifics of the new and improved chicken coop so it was a rough estimate.

“Any specific design or metal you want me to use?” Susie asked in a monotone voice that made Noelle frown a bit.

“Not really, as long as it lasts for a long time,” Susie nodded along and started to do some calculations on her notepad. 

“Okay should be around 100-150$ by the time I'm installing the fence. When do you want it down by?”

“Oh, anytime in the next month is fine, I know you're probably busy,” Noelle offered, a small smile gracing her face.

“Okay, see you on Friday,” Susie dismissed Noelle and she bolted out of there, she had until Friday to get her very annoying reactions out of the way. It was like she was a teenager again in the girls' locker room for fucksake! Noelle stormed down the road back to her house, and decided to drown her sorrows with lemonade and a book. 

She did not end up getting her reactions out of the way by the end of the week, so when Susie showed up and started to work on the coop, Noelle had to manually rip her eyes away from the girl too many times to count. Like every other day this summer, the air was muggy and hot, which did Noelle no favors except having an excuse to sit inside away from the attractive, jaw-dropping blacksmith outside. Susie had been working on the fence since 6 in the morning, now being 1 in the afternoon, Noelle was getting a little bit worried. Susie hadn’t drank or eaten anything for a while. She was thinking all of this as she made herself lunch and she was so distracted by her thoughts she didn’t happen to notice herself taking out more bread and making an extra sandwich or pouring an extra glass of lemonade until her feet were moving in the direction of her back door. She stood in front of her back door as she realized what she was doing. Was it weird if she gave Susie food? What if she thought Noelle was a creep?! Or worse, hated her for it?! But… What if Susie enjoyed the food? What if she passed out from dehydration!? Noelle pushed open the door, a loud creek echoed through the farm as she stepped onto the wooden porch. Susie glanced in her direction, those deep dark eyes that Noelle was half convinced were black, staring straight through her. Noelle looked away from the girl and marched over to her, sandwich and lemonade in hand. 

“Hey! I noticed you haven't eaten or really drank anything since you arrived. I happened to have some extra if you want it?” Noelle held out the food to Susie, still not looking into those dark eyes of hers. 

“Oh, thanks I guess. I just finished anyways,” Susie nodded awkwardly as she took the food from Noelle, Noelle fought to keep the goofy smile off her face but with Susie’s questioning look, Noelle knew she failed. The two girls walked over to Noelle's back porch and sat down on some old, half-rusted lawn chairs that might be older than Noelle herself. An awkward silence laid over them as Susie devoured her sandwich. Noelle tried not to stare, but what was she supposed to do when an incredibly attractive women sat across from her? Pay her! Noelle needed to pay her for the coop!

“Oh! I almost forgot, let me go grab my checkbook real quick. How much did all this cost again?” Noelle stood abruptly and rushed to the door. Susie stated the price blankly and Noelle went inside to write the check. When she returned to her back porch Susie was leaning against the wall, her plate and glass stacked neatly on the old table. “Here you go!” Noelle handed Susie the check and the purple-haired girl nodded as she took the check.

“See you around, lovely,” Susie’s rough voice rang through her ears as Noelle felt her body rise 10 degrees and leave her speechless. She could hear the little huff of amusement that came from Susie as the girl left her house. Once Susie was out of sight, Noelle groaned loudly and sank to the floor, her head in her palms.

“Get yourself together, goddamnit,” Noelle mumbled to herself as her body stayed outside on the hot ground. 

After what felt like hours, Noelle finally pulled herself up and decided that instead of thinking too deeply about her day, she was going to do some more cleaning. She told herself that it was for when she got chickens but deep down, she knew she was just avoiding her problems. Again. As she cleaned Noelle thought of everything but the purple-haired flirt, too deep in thought to notice, she didn’t see the weird chicken head poking out of the ground and proceeded to eat shit. Thankfully no one was around to hear her very alarming scream and soon after her pained groans as she lay on the ground again. After recovering from her fall, Noelle stood confused, studying the weird chicken head and glaring at the inanimate object before ripping it out of the ground. The thing looked old, probably as old as the town, somehow it was still colored like an actual chicken. Noelle briefly remembered the town flyer and the mention of a museum, Maybe she should donate it? Whatever. Noelle stood up and winced, stupid chicken. She decided that that was enough cleaning for now and headed inside for the day. She’d probably head in town tomorrow, maybe ask Queen where to get chickens.

Noelle has visited the Tavern a few more times since the first instance, and every time Queen was over the top and slipped her some free food. Not that she needed it. But for some reason, it seemed like Queen had a soft spot for her. 

“Noelle darling! What brings you here?” Queen's loud voice shouted across the building, Noelle felt her lips involuntarily smile as the older women approached her

“Queen! I'm actually here to get some advice,” Noelle sat at the bar, nodding politely at Ralsei as he passed by her quickly. 

“Really!? Say, did someone catch your eye? Or is it something boring like dirt,” Queen's voice soured as she finished her sentence. Noelle rolled her eyes at the woman's dramatics. She tried to ignore how her face heated up and how a flash of purple hair was on the side of her vision. DON'T LOOK NOELLE!! Her mind screamed as she put her attention on Queen and not Susie, who was playing pool in the corner.

“It's about animals, I need to buy some chickens, but I have no clue where to look,” Noelle admitted as she played with a long piece of hair, she needed to get it cut soon.

“That's wonderful! My pitiful ex has a farm you can buy from. He lives near the end of the river, that’s to the right of the museum,” Queen settled herself on the seat next to Noelle. 

“Thanks! I just got the coop fully built yesterday,” Noelle took out her phone and showed Queen a few pictures. Queen looked at them with interest, and even smugness as a picture showed a close-up of the frankly beautiful fence Susie made. 

“That style is familiar, Susie made it right?” Noelle nodded as she really tried to keep the blush off her face. Queen’s grin grew even wider. “What do you think of her?” Queen prodded. Noelle stood from her stool and chuckled awkwardly.

“Well! I have to get those chickens, See you later Queen!” Noelle rushed out of the tavern and Queen’s boisterous laugh followed her. Noelle slammed the tavern door behind her and sighed as she headed to where the museum was supposed to be located. She should probably ask the workers if they take donations. 

A ring came from above her as Noelle entered the museum, it seemed like there was a small library there as well. She looked around the place for an employee silently. The museum was air-conditioned and Noelle was in paradise.

“Can I help you?” A nasally voice said behind her and Noelle jumped slightly as she came face to face with a short blue-haired guy with ugly glasses. His face was kinda pointed and he almost reminded her of a bluejay.

“Oh! Hello? Do you work here?” Noelle asked the guy, as a response he gave her a heated glare that was; in her opinion, undeserved.

“Yes, I'm Berdly. I’m going to assume you’re Dess’s younger sister?” Berdly stated blandly, Noelle tried not to let herself get bothered by his attitude.

“Yup! I was wondering if you take donations for the museum. I found some old chicken statue on the farm and do NOT want it,” Berdly seemed more and more interested as she talked.

“We do take donations” He responded eagerly Noelle understood that as a positive, now she could break his attitude by talking about donations!

“Great! I’ll bring it here the next time I'm in town, I have to get going now, but have a good day!” Noelle waved at him, and Berdly waved back in a stilted manner. Had this guy never talked to someone nice before? Maybe she should befriend him! That was a wonderful idea!

Noelle stood in front of a large blue house, which was weird to her because the building was half house half barn, so she thought it would be a stereotypical red, but instead, it was a light blue that almost blended in with the sky. Noelle walked up to the front door and knocked, then started the internal timer in her head for when it was socially acceptable to knock again. A loud squeaky sounding voice came from the other side.
“Come in!” she opened the door and stepped into the house, there were bits of farm supplies, hoes, shovels, and even a hay bale? 
“What can I help you with ma’am?” The squeaky voice asked from behind a tall counter, Noelle could barely see the kid's head!

“Um, I'm here to buy some chickens,” The kid nodded and marched over to a whiteboard next to her.

“Well, you’re in luck! We have two chickens, 3 ducks, 2 rabbits, 5 cows, 1 sheep, 2 pigs, and 1 ostrich in stock,” The kid proudly stated, Noelle couldn’t help but smile at the kid's confidence. There were only two chickens though…

“Oh I was hoping to get at least 4 chickens, that's a pity. Guess I’ll go somewhere else,” Noelle told the kid, as she watched she could see the kid come up with a way to make her buy something in real-time. Oh dear. 

“Well, Miss! You could always get some ducks and Rabbits! Ducks lay eggs less than chickens but they have much more nutrients and taste way richer than chicken eggs. Rabbits don't provide any eggs but these ones you can shave and use the fur as string, which if you sell can make quite the pretty penny. Just think about waking up to a cute rabbit!” The kid was trying to swindle her, and it was working. Noelle was being tricked into buying animals by some 12-year-old, AND IT WAS WORKING?!?

Noelle walked out of the weird blue barn house with 2 chickens, 2 ducks, and 1 Rabbit, questioning her sanity. So overall it was a normal day. 

Chapter Text

“Dance, when you're broken open. Dance, if you've torn the bandage off. Dance in the middle of the fighting. Dance in your blood. Dance when you're perfectly free.”

― Rumi

(Bold is ASL)

Her phone was ringing, the sound equivalent to someone dropping a cup at 3 am and waking up the whole house. Wait… HER PHONE WAS RINGING?! Noelle darted up from her couch and reached out to snatch her phone, the icon read ‘dad <3’ and she immediately hit the answer button. 

“Dad!” She greeted him, 

“Noelle! What’s got you all happy?” Her dad's ruff voice asked, she could practically see that goofy grin on his face from here.

“The fact that you’re calling! It's been 2 weeks,”

“That long? Damn, guess the hospital really kills time for me!” Noelle frowned but kept it to herself, she didn’t need to kill the mood.

“Hah, yeah… So! How’ve you been?” Noelle tried to keep it out of her tone but Dad obviously heard it based on the way a glitched sigh came from the speaker.

“Good, nothing new. Hey so… your mom told me to tell you that if you need anything to just text her? Did you two get in a fight?” Noelle grimaced, Her mom had to have dad tell Noelle that instead of telling her herself? 

“Yeah, she started criticizing the farm and I just blew up! I don't know why, people have said much worse things to me,” Noelle explained, and the silence on the other side of the phone meant that her dad was thinking. 

“Noelle, I need you to know that we care, it's just… When Dess ran away we lost her, now you're moving away and we can’t help but feel like it might happen again. Your mom is just scared honey,” Her dad’s voice felt distant as he rambled on, completely glossing over that atomic bomb he dropped on her. It would explain a lot, but he was basically blaming Dess when her mom was a fully grown and functional adult! Dess was barely a fucking adult when she ran away. She was not to blame.

“Noelle? Hellooo?”

“Sorry! Just uh… I have to do my farm chores, talk to you later?” Noelle pushed the big red disconnect button as soon as the words ‘Goodbye’ left her dad’s mouth. What a disaster!

Noelle sighed and pushed herself off the couch, she had some cookies to bake. Ralsei had informed her after another evening spent at the Deltarune that apparently everyone brought something to the flower dance, so here she was, standing in her kitchen beating eggs together a little bit too aggressively as her dad’s words bounced around in her head like a tennis ball. She felt a little bad for getting angry at him, he was her dad, the person who would patch up skinned knees and let her cry on his shoulder and watch awful Christmas movies when she had a bad day. Her mother on the other hand… Noelle would hold in her words on that for now. At the moment she had to focus on getting these darn cookies done. Noelle had chosen a recipe for dark chocolate lavender cookies, easy enough right? Wrong. She could feel her brain cells disintegrate as she re-read the directions again. She had approximately three hours before she needed to be on her way to the flower dance and the cookies weren’t even in the oven yet! Noelle’s string seemed to get even more aggressive. She was already in her outfit for the dance, a cute knee-length white dress with bell sleeves and lace in the patterns of flowers. It used to be Dess's dress until she ran away and Noelle stole it from the trash can her mom had put all of Dess’s stuff in.

Eventually, Noelle threw the cookies in the oven and rushed around the house to get ready. She needed to grab a container for the cookies, then a bag for her stuff, should she bring her wallet? nah, but she did grab her driver's license in case there was alcohol. Would there be alcohol? Kids were going to be there… Still, just in case. As she ran around Noelle’s mind strayed to thinking about Susie, the lavender cookies kinda reminded Noelle of her. Will Susie like the cookies? What if she didn’t like her cookies?! She didn't know if she could take such a blow to her ego. What if Susie didn't like Noelle? Noelle froze. 

What if Susie absolutely hated her guts and was as straight as the pretty swords she made? Now that wouldn’t be just a blow to her ego, it would be a fucking nuclear bomb falling 5 times in a row leaving nothing but death and destruction in its wake. Noelle stood in her house thinking along those lines for far too long because eventually, the loud buzzing of her phone threw her away from that. The timer for the cookies! Noelle ran back to the kitchen and gently took out the cookies, they smelled divine and Noelle could feel her mouth watering. She held herself back from stealing one of the cookies and instead, packed them up in the container and rushed out of the house. She had approximately 30 minutes to get to the forest for the flower dance. It was a 50 minute walk, so she used her one year of track experience as a freshman in high school to sprint down the dirt roads. Noelle made it to the dance in 25 minutes with a new hatred for running. 

The forest was packed, there was a person on every square inch of grass talking or dancing or even watching from the side. It kind of shocked her, the town only had about 400 maybe 500 hundred people living in it. She did not make nearly enough cookies for the crowd, but she still put the container on the table with all the other desserts and finger foods. Her eyes search through the people for someone she knew, and they landed on a familiar head of blond hair,

“Ralsei!” 

The head turned in her direction and a huge smile followed.

“Noelle! I'm glad you could make it,” Ralsei greeted her as he gently pushed through the crowd, Kris was at his heels with a bored look on their face. 

“Me too, although I was almost late,” Noelle explained with a sheepish grin, the two came up in front of her.

“Honestly, no one would notice if you were. I know some people like showing up only for 5 minutes to grab the food and then dip,” Ralsei had an exasperated look on his face as he stared pointedly at something behind her. Noelle took a quick look and inhaled quickly. There in a messy button-down shirt and black jeans stood Susie looking like she was going to punch anyone that talked to her. Noelle quickly turned back to the two of them with a light blush on her face. Kris made eye contact with Noelle and a flash of something went through their eyes before grinning wolfishly. Noelle just glared.

“So, what do we even do?” She asked, forcing her head to not look at Susie again.

“Well, the dance starts in about an hour. Usually people take this time to talk and catch up or find their partners,” Ralsei explained as he elbowed Kris in the side. So Ralsei also noticed her… Crush? Whatever it is. 

“Interesting! I should probably say hi to the others then,” Noelle added awkwardly, now both of them were giving her knowing looks. 

“Yeah, Queen and a few others are over by Papyrus’s food stand,” Ralsei pointed over to it with his head, “Anyways, I need to talk to Susie about something, See you later?”

“See you later!” Noelle waved as she headed to the direction of the stand. She noticed Kris’s dejected look as they approached Susie, it made her frown a bit but she brushed it off. Kris probably just didn’t like her or something. Once again Noelle searched the crowd, and she found Queen laughing loudly with The Dreemurrs, minus Kris. Noelle walked up to them with a small smile.

“Queen!” Noelle greeted from behind the older women, which earned her a horrid screech,

“NOELLE! Oh dear, you better not sneak up on me like that again!” Noelle winced at the volume.

“Yeah, I'm so sorry!” Queen just shook her head Noelle fondly.
“Anyways, How’re you feeling about everything so far? I noticed a certain head of purple hair near you earlier,” Queen and a predatory grin on her face, almost like the one on Kris’s face. Noelle fought with herself to keep the red off her face. 

“I- Uh, everything is great!” Noelle alluded, not fully answering Queen's question, and from the way the older women frowned at the loss gossip, Queen noticed. 

“Right dear, well the dance should be starting soon. Has anyone taught you the steps yet?” Queen asked. 

“No? There's a certain dance I have to do?” Queen just grinned. Noelle paled.

After a half hour of stumbling along with a somewhat tipsy Queen, Noelle had kind of mastered the Flower Dance. Just in time too, as Kris was approaching her. About a week after they met for the first time, Noelle decided she should brush up on her ASL so she could actually talk to them instead of communicate with looks and paper.

“Hey Kris! What's up?” Kris just looked at her blankly. Right! they wouldn’t know that she knew some ASL

Hey! Did you need something? The signals felt rigid and unpracticed, but it was better than not communicating with them at all. Kris slowly brought up their hands.

Want to be my dance partner? Ralsei chose Susie. Noelle really tried to keep the frown off her face at that, so hard in fact that she suddenly tasted blood in her mouth.

Sure! I'm surprised Susie agreed, are they close? Kris shook their head at that,

Not really, I don't really know why she said yes. Kris also looked a little upset about it, but Noelle could understand. From what She’d seen, them and Ralsei were very close.

That sucks, guess we’ll just have to be the best dancers ever. Noelle teased, and that brought a smile to their face. Suddenly, a loud cowbell started to ring out, and the crowd moved to create a large space in  the middle. Noelle looked at Kris curiously and he just held out his arm. It must be dancing time. Other pairs of people came to dance as well when some upbeat classical music started to play. Out of the corner of her eye, Noelle saw Susie twirling Ralsei with a frown, she looked away from the scene. Kris was also looking at the two of them, with a deep frown on their face. Huh, kind of weird that they were so upset about it, now that Noelle thought about it. It’s not like they like Ralsei like she likes Susie- Noelle looked back at Kris’s frown. 

“You like him?” She asked them as they finally started to do the Flower Dance. Their ears flushed and the answer went unsaid. Noelle shook her head and huffed in amusement. Kris stepped on her toes for that. The dance was supposed to last for 15 minutes, and Noelle spent those 15 minutes stealing looks at Susie and Ralsei. Susie didn’t look completely murdurus now, and Noelle felt a pang of something strike through her. The music came to an end, a soft note of violin played before people seperated with grins and smiles. It looked like Ralsei was approaching her and Kris but Noelle honestly didn’t really want to talk to him. It was stupid, Him and Susie probably only dance together for a bet or something, but she didn’t look completely annoyed. 

“Hey, You guys absolutely killed it out there!” He exclaimed, Susie was lurking behind him like a much larger and grumpy shadow. She was also glaring at Kris- wait what?

“Uh, thanks?” Kris nodded in agreement and Ralsei smiled brighter.

“ Anyways, I have to leave early because people usually flock to the Deltarune after this thing, I’ll see you later! You coming with Kris?” Ralsei was already dragging Kris away with him, not leaving them a chance to respond. Noelle rolled her eyes at the two before looking at Susie and freezing. HER AND SUSIE WERE ALONE!? Susie was staring at her, like actually staring with this bored look on her face. Oh god, Susie totally hated her!

“So um… those two am I right?” She said awkwardly. There was no way no one knew about that. Susie barked out a laugh suddenly, the smile on Susie’s face looked dangerous but for some reason it sent butterflies to Noelle’s stomach.

“They’ve been fucking pinning for eachother since Middle-school ” Susie responded in a rough drawl, Noelle let out a huff of amusement.

“Wait really? That’s so long!” Susie just shook her head.

“Nothin’ we can do,” She said in an uncaring way. Great, what do they talk about now??

“Huh, well have you tried my cookies yet?” Susie perked up at that,

“Which ones were they? I tried them all,”

“The dark Chocolate Lavender ones” Noelle responded, hopefully Susie couldn’t see the eagerness on Noelle's face.

“They were good, still warm too,” With Susie’s tone of voice some might think that she was being sarcastic, but Noelle has talked to her enough times that she knew it was just the way she was. So she took the compliment with as much grace as a deer. A newborn deer.

“Really?! It was a new recipe so I didn't really know how they would turn out and I almost forgot them in the oven so I didn't know if they would be dry or like super hard. I haven't even tried them myself yet so i have no clue if I even like them!” Noelle rambled with a flushed face. Susie was still staring at her!

“Damn, you talk almost as much as Ralsei,” She muttered and Noelle deflated,

“Oh, sorry,” Noelle said sheepishly, Susie looked at her weirdly.

“I wasn’t complaining, just… observing,” Now Noelle felt even worse!

“Sorry, i didn’t know,”

“Dude, stop saying sorry,” Noelle opened her mouth to apologize again but quickly shut it.

“Okay,” Susie smirked at her, she probably knew what she was going to say. 

“Well, i've got a shop to run, see you around Elle,” The nickname fell easily from the other girls mouth and Noelle short-circuited as she watched Susie walk away at a leisurely pace. She wanted to scream so bad.

The way home was a blur to Noelle, she knew she got a ride with the Demmurs as it was dark out but she doesn't really remember it. All she could think about was Susie and if the girl was straight or not, the way she acted said otherwise but also at the same time it didn’t. Noelle sighed heavily as she filled the food for the animals. She decided on the names Mary and Ginger for the chickens, Ivy and Holly for the ducks, and just Eve for the bunny. If anyone noticed they were Christmas themed, she would deny it. 

Chapter Text

“Life is for the living. Death is for the dead. Let life be like music. And death a note unsaid.”

― Langston Hughes

Cicadas sucked in Noelles opinion. They came out of the deep fiery pits of hell screaming about literally nothing important. In the city she never had to deal with them, but here? She wanted to spray the whole town with pesticides. She couldn’t even get peace at Dess’s grave! The flowers she put a few months ago obviously wilted, so now she was scrubbing dead flowers off her older sister’s headstone in the sweltering heat while Cicadas screamed around her. If she weren’t in public she’d probably be ugly sobbing. Unlike the last time Noelle stopped by, she knew her surroundings- after she tried not to cry over everything just being wrong today she stopped by the Deltarune. The tavern was a very familiar place now, and as soon as she threw herself onto one of the stools at the bar with a groan Ralsei was sliding a sandwich and water her way. How he knew she was coming was a mystery.

“You look… troubled,” Noelle grimaced.

“Nice way to say I look like a mess Ralsei,” she responded glumly, and he rolled his eyes at her. The sandwich was already in her mouth and she let the flavors wash over her taste buds. Ralsei always made a mean sandwich.

“Hey, at least you’re self-aware!” he remarked with a knowing smile. She wanted to throw her water at him, but she pulled herself in. 

“Enough talk about my shitty day, I need to plant something to replace the Strawberries,” Noelle said with a full mouth. If she did that in front of her mom she would lose it, but Ralsei just shook his head. He’s probably seen worse.

“Well, your sister used to grow grapes right? Maybe you could make some wine. I know Queen would buy you right out,” Ralsei suggested as he flitted around the bar.

“Hmm, maybe. I'll see what Papyrus has,” Noelle shoved the last bits of sandwich in her mouth with finality. Honestly, she wasn’t even sure you planted grapes using seeds but whatever.

“Yeah that sounds like a good idea,” He agreed absentmindedly as he garnished a dish in a ton of basil. That was probably for Kris. Noelle glanced over at the tavern doors and like she thought, they walked in through the hardwood doors. How does Ralsei do that?

Seam’s shop was probably the exact opposite of Papyrus’s. Seam was all rustic wood and neutral colors, the only things popping out were the purple cat always sitting out front, and the orange sign that reminded her of pumpkins. The whole place screamed “I’m Halloween incarnate”, and she wouldn’t be surprised if the shopkeeper were some kind of wizard. She was going to buy her seeds from papyrus, but, he didn’t sell grape seed, no trellis, so she was referred to Seam. Also, she was not getting over the purple cat. Cats were not supposed to be purple ! Well, maybe they were here? That cat over by Spamart was also an odd color… she rightfully so shook those thoughts away as she pushed in the shop door, the scent of incense hit her nose and a small jiggle echoed from above her. She took a few cautious steps in.

“Welcome, welcome!” a scratchy voice said from behind her, Noelle yelped as she whipped around to face the voice. There behind her was an old person, with fluffy hair all over the place. It was a dark black but the sun shining on it made it kind of purple.

“Hello?” Noelle said in a shaky voice and they just smiled at her.

“Come in come in! It’s been quite some time since I had a visitor. What can I get you?” They gracefully guided through the cramped shelves in the store. Did she just see potions????

“Oh um, I need grapes? Papyrus said you might have some,” Noelle explained as her eyes explored the store.

“Oh yes! You see I just got a large shipment, I had a feeling they would be bought up in no time. They aren’t one of my usual purchases, you understand?” Okay, that smile was getting a little creepy but Noelle nodded anyway as she watched them go into the back of the store. This left her alone in what she thinks is some kind of wizard lair.

“So you’re the new girl?” a Bored voice said from behind her, and once again Noelle jumped,

“Oh my gosh!” She said loudly, a hand over her heart, she studied the guy behind her, he had bright blue eyes that looked a little too blue, and bone blonde hair that had to be dyed. He was wearing a blue hoodie and sweatpants.

“Uh, yeah?” she replied, this place was getting under her skin.

“That explains why Seam freaks you out so much, they’re a softy once you get to know them. I’m Sans,” The guy explained as he held out his hand for a handshake. Noelle shook his hand with her sweaty hands, oh god that's a terrible first impression.

“Oh I'm sure, they seem nice! I just don’t do good with scary things.” Noelle sheepishly played with a piece of hair as she admitted that.

“Ah, makes sense. Dess was the same way.” The guy remarks and Noelle has to stop her heart from plummeting. She was just starting to feel better after this morning. 

“Yeah,” Noelle agreed distractedly, Sans gave her a look that she ignored.

“So, what're you growing for summer?” he asked. 

“I’m doing grapes! Ralsei suggested them and I didn’t have any other ideas so I thought I would try them,” Sans seemed to light up at that. 

“Really? Say, would you be open to selling me your harvest? I run a winery and I'm always looking for local stuff but after Dess…” He trailed off awkwardly, 

“Uh, sure? Depends how good the harvest is,” Noelle agreed easily, she didn’t know what else she was going to do with them.

“Cool, cool. I have to leave now, but when you harvest them, give me a call,” Sans handed her a neat black business card. It had a skull with a blue eye on the front and in white lettering all the businessy stuff on the back.

“Okay” And then Sans was gone, leaving Noelle alone in the creepy shop again. She shivered. Just like they were waiting or something, Seam appears from the back room with a few small crates of grapes.

“Here you go dear,” Seam said as they scanned and she paid.

“Thank you Seam,” Noelle thanked and high-tailed it out of there. Thank gods for farming giving her some muscles, because otherwise she’d be kinda screwed on the walk back home. 

A new day, new chores. She thought once she moved to the country she’d be able to sleep in, but the chickens would start squawking the second a bit of light was on the horizon, so here she was hoeing the ground at 6:30 in the morning. She did some research on grapes the night before so hopefully she would have a decent harvest near the end of fall but it could go either way. Other than planting the grapes, she had no other chores today. She’d already dealt with the animals and she cleaned the house recently. This would be a good day to sit by an AC and get lost in a book, but it was so nice out that she felt bad staying inside. She blames her mom's nagging while she when she was little. 

Once Noelle shoved the last Trelis into the ground, she patted the ground around it and stood proudly over her plants. She had a bigger group than she did in the spring so it was going to be a lot more work. Maybe she could go on a walk by the river? Oh wait, didn’t this place have a lake? She could grab a bathing suit and cool off. That idea sounded very appealing as the sun beat down on her bare back. It was a surprise Noelle hadn’t gotten a sunburn at this point, after the first 2 weeks of farming she decided that shirts sucked when you’re covered in sweat so sports bras were her new best friend. Noelle nodded to herself and set off to the house. She had to change and grab a few things.

While walking around town, Noelle always regretted leaving her car with her parents, the walk to the lake was supposed to take 40 minutes. That was 40 minutes under the sun's boiling rays. Yay. On the way to the lake, Noelle passed Susie’s shop, like she always did- when passing by she searched for the purple-haired girl, and like all the other times she expected not to see her. Once again her search came up empty and Noelle tried not to let it get to her, she probably wouldn’t have even said anything if the girl was- 

“Shit!” Noelle was about to fall face-first into gravel, the bag on her shoulder restricted her arms. This was going to hurt. 

“You need better coordination,” A large hand grabbed her arm, and pulled Noelle to their chest, the voice was so familiar at this point.

“Susie!” Noelle exclaimed, oh this was not good! She saw her almost absolutely eat it. 

“Noelle,” She greeted back with a smirk. Noelle wanted to curl up and die.

“Thank you so much!” Noelle thanked her, where’d the other girl even come from?!

“No problem, Are you going to the lake?” She asked bluntly.

“Yeah! It’s so hot out today,” 

“Not really, I know a shortcut, follow me,” Noelle blanched at her, not really? It was like 80℉ out! Also, why was she being… nice?

“Really! That's so much better than just walking 40 minutes in this heat,” Noelle responded nervously. Someone put her out of her misery, please. 

“That's why I’m showing you,” Noelle just nodded and kept her mouth shut, lest she say something embarrassing again. Noelle closely followed Susie, admiring the way her purple hair shined under the sunlight. Instead of being dark, it looked almost like amethyst. God, she was so pretty.

“There's a stream up ahead, You okay with walking through it?” Susie's voice interrupted her thoughts.

“Yeah, I’m wearing my farm shoes,” Noelle explained as she looked ahead, and sure enough a picturesque stream was within view. It looked like it was made up of rocks, which meant that they would for sure be slippery. Susie seemed to come to the same conclusion as her because the other girl stepped into the middle of the stream with practiced ease and held out her hand. Noelle wanted to scream.  

“Thanks!” Noelle's strained voice echoed in the forest as she held on to Susie’s larger hand. It was rough and had calluses seeming all over the place, it was also warm, a stark contrast to her own hands. Susie grinned at her as Nolle crossed the stream.

“Couldn’t have you gotten washed downstream, you’re so short it wouldn’t even be hard,” Noelle shot Susie a hard look, just when she thought they were bonding.

“I’ll have you know I’m a perfectly average height!” she defended as they continued on their way to the lake.

“For what, a middle schooler?” Susie snarked back, and Noelle lightly

 swatted at Susie's shoulder as the other girl cackled.

“Yeah, well at least I'm not hitting doorways,” Noelle joked back, it felt like forever since she did this with someone. Susie smiled down at her, not a soft smile, for those weren’t in nature, but nonetheless, it was a beautiful thing to Noelle.

“Look at you, actually fighting back,” Susie remarked as they reached an opening in the forest. In front of Susie was the lake, it almost looked like a beach with its sandy shores and gathering of people in bathing suits and umbrellas. Noelle rolled her eyes at Susie,

“I grew up with a sister Susie, I know my way around banter,” Noelle gave Susie a blinding smile, “Are you going to join me at the lake?” She asked eagerly.

“Nah, I got some work to do, have fun,” and with that, the other girl turned back the way she came. Leaving Noelle by herself. She sighed and found a spot to lay on the beach. She laid out her red and green towel, took out her meal consisting of Kiwi lemonade and one of Ralsei’s godly sandwiches, and settled down. The view was honestly breathtaking, she could see white-capped mountains reflecting in the water as a group of children played an aggressive game of chicken in the water. One of them even looked familiar, Maybe it was Lancer? Noelle took a bite of her food and let the peacefulness of the lake wash over her. Maybe she’ll get Susie to join her next time. 

Chapter Text

“That was the thing. You never got used to it, the idea of someone being gone. Just when you think it's reconciled, accepted, someone points it out to you, and it just hits you all over again, that shocking.”
― Sarah Dessen

    “Noelle, your dad’s on dialysis,” She felt her world freeze, which was weird because it was the middle of summer and everything was warm and humid, but now it was cold, and was she even breathing? Deep breaths Noelle.
    “I—What?” she stuttered. This was supposed to be just another call in which her mom judged her life choices and danced around the subject of Dess. Not this.
    “Rudy got worse, he’s on dialysis until the doctors can get him a new liver,” Noelle let out a shuddering breath. Her mom’s voice was strained like she’d been crying.
    “Where is he on the list?” Noelle could hear herself talk but didn’t feel it. It was like she was in 3rd person.
    “At the top, since he never drank, the… the doctors are hopeful,” Of course they were, they weren’t the ones at risk of losing their dad.
    “Should I drive down? I can be there by tomorrow morning” Noelle watched her feet move to her room.
    “No, he wouldn’t want that. I'll keep you updated, okay?”
    “Okay, love you,”
    “Love you too” The deafening sound of her mom hanging up echoed in her room. A strangled sound left her mouth, followed by more and more until eventually she felt her legs give out. Noelle was sobbing on the floor, but she didn’t feel like she was. She still felt like she wasn’t even there. Noelle was lost.

    For the next week, Noelle was glued to her phone. She did the bare minimum on the farm, ensuring that the plants stayed alive and the animals were well-kept. She didn't leave the house otherwise, Mrs. Dreemur stopped by on the 3rd day to check-in. Kris and Ralsei were worried about her not showing up at the Deltarune. She really should’ve expected them to show up later in the week, but seeing them on her porch after practically breaking down her door with how hard they were knocking was still a shock,
    “Uh, hello?” Noelle said in a raspy voice as she eyed the two. Ralsei was holding a picnic basket and Kris had a cooler.
    “Hey! You’re coming with us,” Ralsei grabbed her arm and dragged her out of her house, Kris was behind them, and did their wings look bigger than usual? Oh, they were making sure she couldn’t reach her door. Was she being kidnapped?
    “Ralsei, what are you doing,” Noelle struggled in his grip but he was surprisingly strong for such a small guy.
    “We don’t know why you’ve been so hermit and sad lately, but it’s no way to live! So we’re having a picnic,” Ralsei declared, Noelle deflated.
    “I really can’t Ral-” Kris placed a hand on her mouth, Noelle side-eyed them and proceeded to lick their palm. Kris took their hand off her mouth with a disgusted look.
    “What else did you expect?”  They just glared at her.
    “Ladies, calm down,” Ralsei teased them, Noelle rolled her eyes at him.
    “Where is this picnic even happening?” Noelle asked as she finally stopped struggling against Ralsei dragging her to some mysterious location.
    “Queen told us you have a really pretty wildflower field behind the forest, so we’re gonna set up there,”
    “There’s a field? How’d Queen even know that!”
    “Her and Dess used to be besties remember?” right, she forgot about that sometimes.
    “Oh yeah, crazy I never noticed it before,” Noelle remarked as they approached a large field of flowers, most were purple or yellow, but a few sports of white and pink could be seen as well.
    “Yeah, anyways here’s the spot!” Ralsei exclaimed as he pranced around a clearing that already had a blanket set down. He put the basket on the ground and started to unpack the food. Kris followed him and sat down on the edge of the blanket, letting their wings sag against the grassy ground. Noelle hesitated to follow them but she let her feet guide her to the blanket and sat down.
    “It's pretty,” Noelle said as she admired the nature around them. She never explored the property this far before. Ralsei nodded as he handed her and Kris sandwiches,
    “Here, I made them right before I left work so they shouldn’t be soggy,”
    “Thanks!” Noelle unwrapped the wax paper and took a bite, it was leagues better than the meals she’d been putting together these past few days. The other two watched her as she devoured her sandwich, she could tell they wanted to ask what was up with her. Noelle dabbed a napkin at her mouth and sighed.
    “My dad’s on dialysis,” She saw Ralsei frown and Kris look away.
    “Noelle…” Ralsei started but Kris cut him off with a hand movement
Not to be insensitive, but so what? He definitely wouldn’t want you stuck in your house alone worrying about him. You have friends and people that care about you here, let us comfort you. Their hands were moving confidently, and there was a defiant look on their face. Noelle stared at them incredulously, they were right, but way to be harsh.
    “I'm so mad that you're right, I hope you trip on a rock,” Kris just smiled at her as they also dug into their sandwich. Ralsei looked between them silently, not knowing what to do. Noelle felt kinda bad now.
    “So, how’s the Deltarune?”

    They had stayed out just chatting and eating for hours, right up until the sun was a beautiful mix of oranges and purples as it set. They had left before her surprisingly. Noelle wanted to just enjoy everything for a bit longer. Hopefully, she could show her dad the view someday, he would love it. Noelle let the sound of cicadas and crickets wash over her, which was unusual because crickets were also starting to get on her shit list. The warm rays washed over her and she sighed.
    “You look… like shit,” a rough voice said hesitantly from behind her, by now she was more than familiar with it.
    “Susie! What are you doing here?” Noelle turned her head to look at the girl behind her. Susie was swimming in the golden glow of the setting sun, her hair was in a bun, and there was a bike next to her?
    “Well, I was going to drop off this thing,” she motioned to the bike, “Because, Toriel wouldn’t stop yapping about you walking everywhere.” Susie wasn’t looking at her, And Noelle silently mourned the fact that she couldn’t see Susie's dark eyes illuminated by the sun.
“Really? Thanks so much!” Noelle stood up and dusted her skirt off as she walked over to Susie. Now her eyes were on her, and Noelle had to stop herself from gasping as the sunlight hit Susie's eyes. They were usually dark brown, but now they were a stunning umber. Susie gently GENTLY handed over the bike to her. It was covered in rust and had flecks of red paint falling off but Noelle still loved it already.
“You know, red’s my favorite color! And I love the basket,” Noelle remarked as she played with the cracked rubber handles.
“Yeah, well it was just sitting around rotting so I'm glad it’s getting some use,” Susie remarked boardly as Noelle continued to pick apart every detail she could. Then she noticed the foot pegs, Noelle felt a grin crawl on her face.
    “You uh, want to go on a ride?” Noelle asked nervously, previous confidence gone in a flash. Susie seemed to understand what she was asking though based on the other girl's shocked face.
    “Sure? You stand on the back,” Noelle let a small smile cross her face as Susie mounted the bike and Noelle followed. She stood on the foot pegs and before long they were off. The trail in the forest was weirdly clear of roots so the ride to Noelle's house was enjoyable. The wind whipped through Noelle’s blonde hair and right about now she’d usually be complaining about knots, but she didn’t care when her hands were on Susie’s shoulders and the weather was so nice. Susie seemed to also be enjoying the ride, her shoulders were loose and there was a small uncharacteristic smile on her face. Eventually, the purple of Noelle's house was in the distance, which meant that Susie would leave and Noelle would be stuck worrying over her dad. Noelle frowned slightly, Susie couldn’t see her face thankfull-
    “Shit!” Once again, Noelle was falling. This time though, she wasn’t alone. Time seemed to go in slow motion as Susie's body hit the ground, right where the bike was about to fall, as well as Noelle. Susie rolled out of the way and Nolle tumbled down to the ground with a grunt. Silence filled the trail as they processed what just happened until a rugged laugh came from Susie. Noelle couldn’t help herself as she breathlessly giggled with her.
“Fuck, I think I sprained my wrist,” Susie said with a humorless smile, as they both dusted themselves off.
“Oh no, let me look at it,”  Noelle gently held Susie's hurt wrist as she inspected it. It was kind of red but no swelling yet.
“I'm going to move your wrist, tell me when it hurts,” Noelle focused her thoughts on gently rotating Susie’s wrist.
“That hurts,” Susie said with a grimace after a few seconds. Her wrist was sprained.
“Did you hear anything when you fell?” she asked.
“I don't think so,” Noelle sighed with relief, that means it would probably be fine in a week or two.
“Okay, let's walk to my house, and I’ll wrap it for you,” Noelle said with a smile as she carefully let go of Susie's wrist and grabbed the fallen bike. Susie just followed her silently, god that was such a stupid idea! Why in the world would she suggest they ride the bike together? That was just asking for something to go wrong.
“I’m good, I’ve definitely faced worse than a sprained wrist,” Susie scoffed, Noelle narrowed her eyes as her years of working in an ER kicked in.
“You are going to let me wrap that wrist, and you are going to ice it when you get home, and you are not going to use it in the next week. Understand?” Noelle said in her Nurse Voice™, as her father dubbed it.
“Sheesh, you sound like a doctor,” Susie said with a frown, but she didn’t seem too upset.
“I used to be an ER nurse, it’s practically the same thing,” Noelle joked.
“Wait really? The nearest hospital is like, an hour away.” Noelle just shrugged, she never really told anyone in the town just how far her hometown was.
“Yeah, but I didn’t work at that one, I used to live in the city so think closer to 6 hours away. The hospital I worked at was one of the huge ones,”
    “That's crazy, I thought your family lived somewhat close to here when I first met Dess,” Susie remarked and Noelle grimaced, she knew some of the town was aware of Dess’s background, but others like Susie didn’t have the whole story.
    “Let’s just say she and our mother didn’t exactly… get along,” Susie nodded at that, almost in understanding it looked like. Interesting.
    “So, what about you?” Noelle asked nonchalantly, even though curiosity was settling in her body.
    “My maternal family lives in the south, I don’t really talk to them that much anymore, and my paternal family used to live here,” Susie said, the unspoken words of her paternal side made Noelle frown. Usually, someone would be sad about that but she didn’t seem all that dejected by it.
    “Really? That must be rough. I- I don't know what I’d do if I couldn’t speak to my dad,” Noelle had to keep the thoughts of that exact thing being more than possible deep down or else she’d be sobbing again.
    “It’s not all that bad, I was never close with any of ‘em anyways, teenage angst and all that,” Susie said with a smirk. It seems their heart-to-heart was over then.
 Noelle huffed softly.“You ain’t seen teenage angst until you look at my emo phase,”
Susie gaped at her.“YOU of all people had a fucking emo phase?!”
Noelle laughed at her as they stood in front of her house.
    “Yeah, I'll show you some pictures after I wrap that wrist of yours”
    
“You better,”

Chapter Text

“It is the absence of facts that frightens people: the gap you open, into which they pour their fears, fantasies, desires.”
― Hilary Mantel

   Most wouldn’t know it, but Noelle loved sleeping. Since Noelle fully fixed up the only farmhouse, she’s been working on the little things: a knitted blanket over the couch, some extra pillows on her bed, hell, she even had her mom mail her old stuffed animals to the farm. So after staying up way too late, she was ready to melt into the soft sheets of her bed and let sleep take her. That was until a loud knock echoed through the dead-silent house. Noelle groans into her pillow as she wills the person to go away, but the knocking continues, she even hears some voices. She sighs and forces her limbs to move, slowly she makes her way to the door. She grabbed the rusted knob and threw it open.

“Mr. and Mrs. Dreemurr?” She said groggily as she rubbed her eyes. Why in the world were they here?

"Noelle! I know it’s late, but there's something you must see,” Asgore explained vaguely as he ushered Noelle out of her house. She squinted at him as she played with the seam of her nightgown.

“What in the world are you talking about, Asgore?” he looked at her incredulously, which was weird because, if anything, she should have been the one doing that.

“The moon jellies, of course! Did the kids not mention it to you?” he asked as they approached his old pickup truck. Toriel was right on their heels, smiling softly.

“No, they didn’t. What exactly are they?” Noelle asked, Asgore opened the car door for her with a large tug.

“Well, as the season gets colder, the moon jellies can’t survive in the cold water, so they migrate south for warmer waters. This is in the perfect place to watch them.” Asgore explained as they all buckled their seatbelts. Noelle was a little intrigued by that, she was 90% sure that moon jellies were the bioluminescent ones.

“That’s cool, but why at,” She glanced at the truck's clock, “midnight?”
He just chuckled.

“They aren’t usually this late, just how it ended up this year,” He said as they rolled down the gravel roads, Toriel nodded along with him.

“It really is the most breathtaking thing ever,” She added as Noelle watched trees and houses pass. Nothing could be as breathtaking as Susie Noelle thought to herself.

“I’m sure it is,”

The beach was filled to the brim with other people, mostly residents of the town, but a few geeky-looking guys stood on the corners. Probably some scientists. The Dreemurrs wished her well as they wandered into the surprisingly quiet crowd, it was nothing like the flower dance. Noelle let her eyes lazily scan the shore as she meandered through the crowd. She hasn’t caught sight of the bright colors of her friends, but they’ll hopefully show up eventually.

“Nice PJ’s,” A familiar rough voice said from behind her.

“Susie! I didn’t think you’d be here,” Noelle turned to the taller girl– the moon shined on them, it felt like they were the only two here.

“Ralsei dragged me down, but Queen brought the good liquor so I’m not too mad,” Susie explained as she raised a red solo cup to her lips. Noelle eyed the cup.

“What's your definition of ‘good liquor’?” Susie grinned and shrugged.

“No clue. it’s some weird mix that she does every once in a while, super good though,” Noelle gave her a curious look.

“Guess I'll trust your word, where can I get some?” Susie pointed at a table near the tree line with her free hand. Queen stood there eagerly chatting with That Sans Guy and Papyrus.

“Ah, see you around?” Noelle asked as she turned back to Susie.

“Yeah,” the other girl responded in that deep way that sent shivers through Noelle's spine. Noelle rushed away from her, pretending the the speed of her stride was excitement for a drink, and not because her face was bright red. Noelle finally stopped in front of the table.

“Noelle darling! How are you doing tonight?” Queen's loud voice echoed as she turned away from That Sans Guy and Papyrus.

“As good as it can be when you get dragged out of bed, hopefully, this great mix that Susie hyped up will make it better?” Noelle joked

“Ah yes! I will warn you though dear; it’s quite strong, not by taste though. If you’re anything like your sister you might want to stick with one drink tonight” she warned Noelle fondly but she just rolled her eyes at the older woman. She wasn’t That much of a lightweight.

“Sure Queen,”  The older woman handed her the drink and Noelle took a small sip. A fruity taste washed over her tongue, just barely a hint of bitterness from the alcohol that was hidden behind the natural sourness of fruit.

“Damn, this is good,” Noelle compliments as she took a larger sip.

“No one knows this, but that’s actually your sister's recipe,” Queen said in a much quieter voice, Noelle gasped.

“No Way! She hated alcohol!”
Queen just laughed at her.

“Maybe so, but I need something new and fun at the bar so Dess, the best person in the world, made me it as a Christmas present…” Queen wore a sad smile as she explained this to Noelle, who was still a little shocked.

“I hate to say it, but she was great at chemistry. She probably went full scientist mode,” Noelle said fondly as she finished off her drink, damn that was fast.

“I think I’m gonna need more for the night,” Noelle admitted to Queen, who just shook her head and filled up the cup.

“I’m not going to be the one to get you home!” Queen warned and Noelle just laughed, she could handle her alcohol just fine!

“You cannot handle your alcohol, Noelle” Ralseis's voice came from behind her. oelle was currently letting her fingers glide through the sea as Asgore sent out the boat. Apparently, it was supposed to bring in the moon jellies.

“PFT- I soooo can!” Noelle giggled. He just gave her a funny look, like the one Queen gave her earlier.

“Sure, how about we get you away from the edge of the dock?” Ralsei moved forward, but Noelle saw A familiar head of purple hair move behind him.

“Susie!” The pure unaltered joy in her voice caught Both girls off guard.

“Uh, hey? Ralsei, how trashed is she?”

“She probably won't remember tomorrow,” he responded and Susie grimaced.

“Nuh-uh! I'll remember your sass, asshole!” Noelle stood up abruptly, swayed, and kneeled back down quickly. Susie let out a snort.

“Sure Elle,” Noelle just rolled her eyes, not noticing the nickname in her state.

“Whatever, sit with me?” Noelle's eyes were practically like a cute dog's, Ralsei looked between them and smiled wolfishly.

“Can’t, I promised Queen I’d stick with her, but I'm sure Susie would love to,” He winked at Susie and she gave him a glare

“Okay, come on Susie!” Noelle patted the old wood next to her. Susie stood there as Noelle’s eyes were focused only on her before sighing and sitting next to her. Noelle beamed at the other girl. They sat in silence, the chatter of the townspeople like white noise as, slowly, glowing dost came into view. Noelle gasped as bioluminescent colors filled the horizon. It was like a bunch of fireflies in all shapes and colors, she felt that it was comparable to an Arua Borealis in beauty.

“Wow…” Noelle's attention was solely on the moon jellies as they got closer and closer. The presence next to her was barely registered in her mind. Normally, she would watch something like this from afar, far too scared of the water for the jellies to get close, but now? Well, she stuck her hand back in the water, even as Susie let out an indigent noise.

“Noelle, you can’t-”

“Shhhh” a jelly the color of lilac drifted near her hand, seeming to dance around it. Noelle's altered mind thought of Dess, how they used to dance around the living room when Noelle couldn’t get a math problem right, she’d call it strategic dancing and dragged Noelle out of her spot on the couch. Noelle blinked and watched the water ripple, was it raining?

“Are you… okay?” Susie asked, almost softly but her voice didn’t seem to go that low.

“Yeah? Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You're crying,” Noelle lifted her free hand to her face and sure enough, it was wet. She looked back down at the jelly fish; it had swam off to join a few others.

“Oh.”

Chapter Text

“I hope something happens. I'm restless as the devil and have a horror of getting fat or falling in love and growing domestic.” ― F. Scott Fitzgerald

It felt like a woodpecker had discovered a particularly yummy worm in her head, the pounding was unbearable. Her throat was also sore, she could only guess how her stomach would feel once she stood up. Noelle let a groggy groan as slowly, and reluctantly, she stumbled out of her duvet and towards the kitchen. Her journey was interrupted though by the sudden feeling of nausea, her stomach did a flip as she rushed to the bathroom. Good thing she hadn’t eaten yet. Noelle stared at the bile in her toilet, waiting for anything else, before flushing it down and slowly standing up. She should’ve listened to Queen. Noelle stared longingly at her shower, but she should probably get something in her stomach. She padded through the hallway and continued her journey to the kitchen, seem to be in order so she probably just passed out last night instead of almost burning the house down. She had some eggs from The Girls™ but just thinking about them made her gag so she turned her attention elsewhere. Cereal would get too soggy, the chicken nuggets in her freezer looked freezer-burnt, and she had no bread. What the fuck? She had nothing to eat, if only this place could do door dash, a hashbrown would taste so good right now. DING DING Noelle looked up from her bare fridge with a confused expression, who could possibly be at her door? Oh god, she didn’t remember much from last night, did she get in trouble? No that can’t be right, her coworkers said she got sad when she was drunk. Noelle tried to peek through the kitchen window but the person was just out of view. She huffed and walked back through the hallway, walking through the mudroom she came up to her door and opened it. Susie.

“Uh, hi?” Noelle squinted her eyes as the sun shone through the open door. Susie had a brown bag in her hands and Noelle stared at it curiously.

“Hi, Kris took care of your animals, thought you’d feel too bad to do it yourself,” She said awkwardly, why was she so awkward?

“Oh thank gods, I was dreading that, can you tell them thank you for me?”

“Sure,” she said simply, they stood across from one another quietly before Noelle finally broke it.

“Want to come in? I have lemonade,”

“Yes, that would be, uh, nice? I brought donuts from Papyrus’s” Noelle perked up as she opened the door wider to let Susie in. They walked to her kitchen, and Susie acted like she knew the way, which was weird because she’d never been there before. Noelle grabbed the lemonade and poured both of them a glass.

“So, want to eat in my kitchen or the library?” Noelle asked as she handed Susie her glass.

“This place has a library?” Susie asked incredulously. The house was small, Noelle would admit, but somehow Dess built in a library on the second floor.

“Yeah, it takes up most of the attic space though,”

“Let’s eat there,” Susie agreed and they moved up the very steep and not up to code stairs. Noelle walked through the arched entry. The library was covered with bookshelves, there was no wall space except the windows, which were stained glass and reflected colorful shapes all over the place. Each window had a different scene from Dess's life, Noelle liked to think about what they meant to her.

“Here we are,” Noelle said as she approached the table in the middle and set down her drink, Susie followed closely behind her and set down her drink and the donuts. She silently started to eat as Susie watched the colors from the stained glass move with the leaves outside. Noelle watched Susie as she did that, Both were looking at something absolutely breathtaking. Susie spoke,

“So, what do you remember from last night? You were pretty sloshed,” Noelle blinked,

“Uh, up until made you sit down with me? I tend to block out anything sad while I’m drunk so I can only assume I was a sobbing mess the whole time,” Noelle grimaced as she explained. Susie huffed, with an emotion Noelle couldn’t identify.

“Kind of, you wanted to leave early after that so I drove you home,” Susie explained, still with that weird emotion.

“Thanks, you really didn’t have to,” Susie just shrugged as she finished off her food. Noelle took a long sip of her lemonade, think about what to say.

“You know, all the stained glass here my sister did her self,” susie look intrigued by that.

“She always had a thing for art when we were little, and combine that with my bad being in the welder… she had a talent for it,” Noelle explained.

“It’s very well done,” Noelle smiled at that.

“I’d say thanks but it’s not my artwork,” Susie rolled her eyes at that and Noelle felt a small smile tug at her lips. Susie suddenly stopped though.

“I uh, I should probably go now, the shop won't run itself,” Noelle nodded disappointedly.

“Right, thanks for the food!” Noelle stood up to show her to the door.

“No problem,” Susie said as she followed Noelle back down the stairs and to her front door. Noelle nodded awkwardly as she watched the purple-haired girl leave through her front door. Noelle watched the closed door for a few minutes before deciding that a shower would be her best choice. That whole situation was… weird. She thought as she walked into the bathroom.

Chapter Text

“There is never a time or place for true love. It happens accidentally, in a heartbeat, in a single flashing, throbbing moment.”

― Sarah Dessen

Love was never really an option for Susie, her parents knew that, her friends knew that, hell, the whole town knew it. That didn’t mean she couldn’t think about it, though; after Noelle moved into town, she really thought about it. It started with that nervous voice, the one that struck Susie through the heart as soon as it hit her ears but she had a reputation to keep, so if you're not buying anything get out . Then she came back, a little piece of paper with an excited smile and Susie felt her heart stutter a little bit. Don’t even get her started on the staring, Noelle had a bit of a problem if Susie was honest with herself, she felt the other girl's gaze the whole time she worked on her chicken coop. It was a good thing it was fucking hot or Susie wouldn’t be able to hide her blush. Then again those eyes were on her during the flower dance with a mix of hurt and longing that sent shivers down her spine. It was stupid. Why did some random ass girl suddenly matter to her? This was what Susie was thinking as she watched Noelle become a fucking Disney princess moment on the docks. The moon jellies had long lost their allure to her, but for some reason, it felt like she was seeing them for the first time again. The soft light from the jellies illuminated Noelle's flushed face with green, purple, and blue hues. If they lived further North Susie would call it an aurora. 

“You’re gonna fall in,” Susie said instead of voicing her thoughts aloud.

“No I won’t, you're right there,” Noelle responded brightly, she took hold of Susie's arm, hugging it like her life depended on it. Susie tried to keep the red off her face, but she probably failed. Good thing she could blame it on the alcohol. 

“Right,” she agreed, and they stayed sitting there for a little while longer. Susie ignored Noelle’s watery eyes, and Noelle ignored Susie's flushed face.

“Sometimes I hate Dess for leaving,” The girl next to her blurted out, Susie raised an eyebrow. As far as she knew, Noelle and Dess were very close. Noelle must be fucking wasted if she was letting go of her secrets.

“She just left me, not even a goodbye, or warning! Like what the fuck,” Her voice was strained and Susie froze, she was not good with feelings. What should she do???

“Uh, that’s really shitty?” she winced at the awkwardness in her voice, thank gods Noelle was too drunk to notice.

“Right?!” she agreed. Susie couldn’t help but huff in amusement at that, this was kind of surreal. It was almost 2 in the morning now, they were both tipsy, Noelle more so, and surrounded by fucking jellyfish. 

“You are so drunk right now,” Susie stated, Noelle just looked at her and groaned.

“I’m gonna feel so terrible tomorrow,” Noelle agreed, Susie cackled

“I’ll bring you some breakfast then,” Susie said before the words caught up in her mind, she never offers breakfast with other people. She was so down.

“Sounds great” Noelle learned her body against Susie’s, the smell of peppermint and vanilla filling her nose. 

“But, we should get home, it's late,” Susie added, Noelle just sighed and stood up on wobbly feet.

“I guess so, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Wait, was she about to try walking home? By herself? Drunk???

“Uh, Need a ride home?” Susie offered

“You don’t need to, I'm fine to walk,” Susie felt the need to facepalm.

“Nope, come on, my trucks over by the shell shack,” Susie shook her head and gestured to the area. Noelle stared at her, seemingly processing her words, before a huge smile crossed her face.

“Okay!” she said and grabbed her arm again, Susie jumped a bit but didn’t pull away. She told herself it was to stop Noelle from eating shit on the sand. The two wandered through the crowd of people, a few said goodbye to Noelle, and she waved excitedly back, Susie just glared at them, she had a reputation to upkeep after all. As Susie predicted, Noelle’s drunk coordination was terrible, and she almost knocked the both of them on their asses multiple times, but they somehow got to Susie’s truck unscathed. 

“WAIT!” a strong voice yelled behind them, Susie cringed as it echoed in her ears. Officer Undyne.

“Yes, Undyne?” the older woman smiled at the two and held out a breathalyzer. 

“You know the drill, Susie,” She rolled her eyes and took the small machine from Undyne. Noelle watched with curious eyes. Susie pointedly breathed into it and handed it back. 

“0.08, barely legal Susie,” Undyne grabbed a wipe from her pocket and cleaned it off.

“Blame Queen, she brought out that weird delicious mix again,” Susie replied as she stepped back into her truck. Undyne shook her head, a tired look on her face.

“Of course she did,” she said as she waved and turned to go hunt down someone else. Susie rolled her eyes as she started her truck. Noelle watched Susie intently.

“Why are you on a first-name basis with Officer Undyne?” She asked bluntly. Susie huffed.

“I was a menace of a teenager,” Susie remarked, Noelle gasping dramatically.

“You? Covered in tattoos, has a motorcycle, and hates talking to people; were a teenage delinquent? How shocking,” There was a teasing grin on Noelle's face, Susie suddenly wanted to kiss it off,

“Uh, yeah,” she focused on pulling out of where she was parked, ridding her mind of those thoughts. 

“How’d you even know about the motorcycle?” Susie asked instead. She never took it out of the garage nowadays.

“Oh my god, I was totally guessing on that,” Noelle said with a giggle, Susie rolled her eyes at the girl. 

“Bullshit,” Susie said as she stared at the dark road.

“Nuh-uh,” Noelle argued from her seat.

The light purple house came into view eventually, and Susie let out a slightly relieved sigh, being around Noelle made her feel like she was a love-sick puppy. 

“Here we are,” Susie said as she pulled into the gravel driveway, and put her car into park. She waited for Noelle to exit the car.
“Uh, do you want to come inside? I have some cookies,” She said instead. 

Susie studied the other girl with her nervous hands and bitten lips, before agreeing.“Sure, your baking is great,”

 Noelle smiled before stepping out of her car. The two of them walked up to her porch, Susie made a face at the creaky steps but decided not to say anything. She’d fix them eventually. Noelle walked in and turned on the lights, her house was a lot more decorated since the last time she got a good look at it.

“I think they're mint chocolate?” Noelle said as Susie followed her to her kitchen, she nodded as she sat on the small couch nearby. Noelle rummaged through her cupboard before pulling out a small glass of Tupperware full of dark cookies. She opened them and slid them in front of Susie. Susie obediently took one and shoved it in her mouth. The sweetness of mint and dark chocolate wasted over her tongue. Delicious. 

“It’s my mom’s recipe,” Noelle said as she grabbed one and fell onto the couch next to her. She rested her head against the couch and closed her eyes. Susie took the moment to admire her, her hair was frizzy, and she was still dressed in some nerdy PJs, but Susie could feel her heart flutter. Noelle yawned and spoke in a quiet voice.

“You are one of the most perfect girls I’ve ever met,” she mumbled, and even through her shock, Susie could tell she was already half asleep. She just stared blankly as Noelle’s breathing got slower and slower.

“Holy shit” she whispered. Noelle dropped that bomb of a sentence and just FELL ASLEEP? Susie snatched the untouched cookie in Noelle’s hand and took it for herself. But she couldn’t just leave Noelle like that, so she grabbed the container and put it back where it belonged before hauling ass out of her house. A mantra of what the fuck? what the fuck? what the fuck? what the fuck? what the fuck? Echoed through her mind as she went home, her body almost on autopilot. She didn’t realize she was heading straight to her forge until the familiar heat of it hit her face. Might as well get some work done. She told herself, she wasn’t gonna sleep anyways.

Chapter Text

“When it's gone, you'll know what a gift love was. You'll suffer like this. So go back and fight to keep it.”

― Ian McEwan

The smell of wet leaves and the sight of oranges and reds flying across the sky had Noelle in a giddy mood. Winter was on its way, but not before Autumn breezed on by with the familiar smells of cinnamon and pumpkin pie. She was a little worried about the chickens, though; they were only a year old and hadn’t been introduced to the cold yet, and she just knew that the ducks would be irritated about the small pond freezing over, she could already see them spending less and less time in there as the temperatures dropped. Maybe she should buy a heater for them while she was out? She definitely needs a water heater, but would it be worth buying a regular one too? In all honesty, it kind of seemed like a fire hazard.

Noelle shook herself from her thoughts, the bright seed packages judging her from the shelves. The selection for fall plants was slim. She thought maybe she should plant some cranberries, but then she learned about bog spiders, and that idea was immediately thrown out the window, doused in gasoline, and burned until there was only the imprint of ash left. That left potatoes or cauliflower. She’d seen some really good faux chicken recipes for cauliflower, and after she started having chickens, she felt a little guilty eating their brethren every other night. Cauliflower it was. 

She grabbed a few packs of the plant, as well as some flowers that caught her eye. Like, what even was a fairy rose? Papyrus’s store wasn’t that big, but Noelle still found it hard to find the water bowl she was looking for. The man said that they had them, but as Noelle scanned the stocked shelves, looking for the right label, all she saw was chicken feed, horse feed, mealworms, Susie, mixed seeds, Bird Jellie- wait, Susie?! Noelle’s eyes darted back over to see a sliver of purple hair disappear behind another shelf. Noelle hadn’t seen her since the very awkward breakfast last week. Not for lack of trying, though. Every time Noelle showed up at the blacksmith’s, she wasn’t there or seemed busy. Noelle abandoned her search and walked as fast as she dared to catch up to Susie. Weirdly enough, she was also walking incredibly fast. 

“Susie!” The other girl froze. Noelle finally caught up to her with a bright smile. 

“Uh, hey, Noelle,” She looked like a deer in headlights, and even Noelle could tell something was up. Susie seemed to grimace as Noelle gave her a curious look. 

“Hey yourself, you've been so busy lately! Anything interesting happening at the shop?” Noelle thought that was a good conversation starter, right?

“Oh, you know, metal and stuff. Um, what's brought you to town?” Susie’s voice seemed strained, They were still standing in the middle of what Noelle realized was a very small aisle, and Noelle was in fact barely a foot away from the other girl. 

“Just, uh, getting a new water bowl for the girls. Can’t seem to find them though.” Susie perked up at that. Noelle felt herself brighten as well.

“They should be on the second floor,” Noelle gaped at her; this place had a second floor???

“NO way, I missed an entire floor?” Noelle groaned. Susie snickered at her, so she swatted at Susie’s very broad and tattooed arms that looked like they’d be so good at hugs. 

“Yeah, it’s not even hidden, either,” Susie added to her misery. 

“Knowing me, that makes sense. Thanks though; I would’ve been walking in circles forever,” Susie smirked at that. Noelle felt a small blush finally make its way up her neck at the sight. Gods, this woman was so hot.

“Sure, I have to get going, though. See you around,” Noelle nodded as she watched Susie scurry away in a very un-Susie-like fashion. What was up with her? First, she basically runs out of Noelle’s house after bagels, then Noelle doesn’t even see her in passing for a week, and now she’s once again running from Noelle. Did she do something while she was black-out drunk? She’d asked Ralsei what happened that night, and he said everything was fine, but that was over the phone, so she wouldn’t have been able to see The Grin™. Whatever it was, it must’ve been bad enough for Susie to be avoiding her. With a heavy sigh, Noelle went searching once again for the water bowl; it was time to do what she did best. It was gift-giving time.

Noelle tightened her hold on the cardigan she was wearing, it was only fall, so why was she shivering so badly right now?? Maybe she should have worn her jacket on her way to Susie’s. Finally, the small store came into view, and Noelle felt relief crash into her in waves. There was smoke coming from the chimney, which meant she was there but probably busy. That was fine; she’d just leave the cookies on Susie’s desk with a note after warming up a bit. Noelle reached the store and pushed the hardwood doors open with only a small struggle. Looks like she was getting stronger. As the door closed behind her, Noelles caught one of the best sights she had ever seen in her life. Susie was sitting at her best, with glasses on. full-on reading glasses, with a book on her lap. Susie looked up from her book and widened her eyes considerably. 

“Uh, here?” Noelle brandished the cookies from underneath her cardigan, the container fogged up from the still-warm cookies. 

“It’s like 30 degrees outside?” Noelle just nodded.

“Yeah, never making that mistake again.” Susie looked at her like she was the dumbest person in town, and honestly, if she wasn’t a certified nurse, that’d probably be accurate. They both stayed like that, staring at each other awkwardly before Susie sighed like she’d been working for 40 years and snatched one of her jackets off the hook.

“Here,” Susie threw it at Noelle, who caught it with frigid hands.

“You're giving me your jacket?” she asked, trying to hide her blush once again.

“Yeah, now scram, I've got stuff to do.” Noelle huffed in amusement as Susie got up in the direction of the forge.

“Have fun with that,” She said before braving the outdoors once again.

How the actual fuck, did this cat appear? Noelle stared at the purple cat, and it stared back at her. At first, Noelle thought it was a fisher going after her chickens, but after further inspection, it was a purple cat. Not black, not brown, not orange, but purple. Now that she was looking at it, it kinda looked like Seam’s cat. The cat twisted around her ankles as she stared at it. She never had cats growing up, and none of her friends did either. She had no idea what to do. Should she pet it? She didn’t really know how to pet a cat, though. Seam’s cat moved to sit in front of her, and she watched it with morbid fascination as it started… gagging? Wait, hairballs were a real thing?!

“Holy shit,” she whispered as she continued to watch the cat, she felt like maybe she should comfort it, but at the same time she wanted to turn around and walk away-

WAS THAT A FUCKING EMERALD?!?!? The cat had gaged up a fucking emerald. An emerald. Seam’s cat meowed imploringly at her, looking at the emerald, and then at her. She was not picking that up. She could see the saliva on that thing. What in the world would she even do with an emerald? Who does she know that needs emeralds? Maybe Susie would like it? Still, it was covered in saliva. Gross cat saliva. The cat meowed at her again and batted the emerald with its paw. 

“So weird,” she mumbled as she finally made a decision. Taking off her hat, Noelle scooped it up without touching the saliva-covered gem.

“Okay, now scram, kitty, and stop sniffing around my chickens!” Noelle pet the cat and wandered off to her house. After washing the gem off, it was of surprisingly good quality. Now, how to give it to Susie…

“There's no way a cat threw this up,” Susie exclaimed as she examined the gem.

“That's what I thought, but Seam’s cat seems to be a different breed,” She remarked from her spot on Susie's desk. The other girl looked at her incredulously.

“Seam doesn’t have a cat.”

“Why the hell was there a purple cat then?”

“It was purple?!”

Noelle loved Christmas, but Halloween was a close second in her mind. It was the bringer of colder weather; as well as candy that would sit in her house untouched until the following year, when she got even more. She’d never been through a maze, though, the suburban town she grew up in never extended further than the bare necessities. So when Ralsei shoved the details of the event down her throat over the phone, she was ecstatic. It was supposed to be scary and awesome, and Noelle was just so excited about it. But that was an hour away, so she was stuck on the farm getting ready instead of helping like she wanted to. Sans and Papyrus threw the whole thing, and they’d both taken one look at her before telling her to ‘get in an actual costume’, so here she was rooting through her closet for something at least somewhat costumeish. So far, she’d found a suit, and if she could just find her sunglasses, she’d have a solid costume as someone from MIB. She reached further into the back of her closet until her hands felt cold plastic.

“Found you!” She pulled out the glasses with a smile and added them to her pile. She had about 20 minutes to get ready, and then another 30 to walk back into town and towards the fields that apparently Sans owned. That was more than enough time for someone as good at multitasking as her. 

The fall air was a bit chillier than Noelle had expected, but the leaves crunched satisfyingly, and her lungs burned familiarly as she walked over to where everyone stood around chatting. Queen called out to her, probably to get her blackout drunk again, so Noelle ignored her. The older women would understand. Her eyes scanned the crowd for a familiar head of purple hair but came up empty. Weird considering Susie loved scary things.

“Noelle!” Ralsei's cheerful voice came from beside her. Noelle smiled and greeted him. Kris stood next to him with striking black wings instead of green.

“Woah, they look so cool!” she said, admiring them. After looking a bit closer she could see the small blotch of green here and there, but it still looked great. Ralsei was next to them in a tacky angel costume, small white plastic wings on his back.

“Let me guess, angel and fallen angel?” 

Kris nodded.

“Yeah! Thought we’d match this year since Kris decided to ditch this thing last year,” Ralsei remarked, taking a sip from his cup full of queen’s alcohol mixture. Noelle snorted.

“Speaking of ditching, did Susie throw in the towel? I haven’t seen her yet,” she asked them. Kris looked a little bit guilty, Ralsei, however, looked downright devious.

“Is that so? I could’ve sworn I saw her earlier!” She said loudly. Kris rolled their eyes from behind him before silently pointing in the direction of the maze. Leave it to Kris to be a good friend.

“Guess I'll keep looking!” Ralsei grinned at her before dragging Kris off to who knows where. She turned her gaze to the Maze. Ralsei had said that Sans usually hid a cool treasure within it, maybe Susie would like it? Noelle had always been good at paper mazes, mostly because she watched a shit ton of videos on techniques. She’d get through this easy peasy.

The maze was not easy peasy, matter of fact, people kept jumping out at her, and someone had even thrown candy at her. Which, like, she loved candy, but NOT while hunting for the treasure. Eventually, she had found what she was looking for. It was a cool-looking sword that she just knew Susie would love. It was a silver color, she couldn’t tell what it was actually made of, but there was nice leather on the handle. Noelle gently lifted it and placed the sword's holster on her belt. She just had to find Susie now. Which was easier said than done. It was almost like she was avoiding her, because Noelle had certainly been through the whole maze, and yet nothing. Oh well, Noelle wasn’t one to give up now, was she?

“Susie!” she had spent another hour looking for her in the maze. At this point, she knew the place like the back of her hand. Susie froze before turning to face her. Noelle smiled brightly and jogged to catch up. As she got closer, Noelle studied her costumes. It was exactly what Noelle would expect from her. Fake blood dribbled from Susie’s mouth, and a dramatic cape hung off her shoulders. Noelle tore her eyes away from S usie’s body. She looked good .

“Noelle! What’s up?” Susie said loudly, she brushed off the volume of the other girl, too excited about her gift.

“Look what I found!” she brandished the sword, and Susie’s eyes widened significantly. Noelle was self-aware enough to know that she was holding it wrong and probably was violating several sword-handling rules.

“Holy shit,” she said, Noelle grinned and handed the sword to Susie who took it, her stance was confident and much more sensible than Noelles did.

“I was thinking about giving it to you since I have no need for a sword-”

“HELP MEEEE!!” a shrill voice screamed. Noelle recognized it as the town’s librarian, Berdly. She should probably help him.

“Oh, I have to go! Have fun,” she ran off, leaving the sword in Susie's hands. Susie tried giving it back but had already disappeared from view. What a woman Susie thought to herself.

Chapter Text

“We should all start to live before we get too old. Fear is stupid. So are regrets.”

― Marilyn Monroe

Noelle didn’t want to believe the town’s gossip. But she heard from Sans at the Deltarune, who heard from Asgore during the moon jellies and from Susie at the shop, that there were gems in the nearby mines. Logically, Noelle knew mines were dangerous, but she was just so bored . Susie was kind of avoiding her; the farm was cold, there was nothing to garden, and she had no TV yet. So, this brought her to standing in front of the old mines, bundled up in Susie's jacket and armed with a flashlight, a sandwich, a notebook, and pure boredom. She’d made sure to tell Queen where she was going just in case she got hurt or something, so she was all set. 

Noelle made her way into the mines with a pep in her step, hoping she’d find some cool crystals; it’s been a while since she’s tried her hand at making jewelry again. She started once when she was little, but eventually school and then work took over, and she had no more time for things like arts and crafts. Now, though, some days felt as fast as cold molasses, and all she had to do was craft. 

She turned on her flashlight as the light from the mine’s entrance slowly dissipated. The rock was a dark brown, and if she had to take a guess, she’d say it was some kind of limestone. There were arches on the straight path, made of old, weathered wood and filled with tiny holes from termites. Great to know the walls could collapse any second! She thought to herself as a fork appeared in the path. Noelle took out her notebook and started her map. She’d done a tiny bit of research, and YouTube said to make a map so she wouldn’t get lost. Taking a right, Noelle continued. The mines were filled with twists and turns, stairs and ladders, but Noelle still hadn’t found any kind of crystals, which wasn’t very surprising since the mines were made of limestone. 

Just as she was about to give up for the day, she noticed something glinting off the light of her flashlight. Intrigued, she does the same movement, showing off a dull white shine. She quickly approached the shine, a clear spike poked out from the wall. Noelle grinned as she used the back of her flashlight to dig out the crystal. It was a small piece of quartz, not worth much and not very pretty, but she’d found it herself . She smiled stupidly as she put the quartz in one of her pockets. Maybe she could stay down here-

Something slimy touched her leg. Something. Slimy . Touched. Her. Leg. Noelle slowly turned her head and her flashlight to look down. There was a green goop, eyes floated around in its head, as it touched her again. 

“WHAT THE FUUUUUCK?!?!?” she shrieked before kicking the goop off her and darting away. She pulled out her map with shaky hands, trying to keep some distance between her and the Goop. This seemed to work as it stayed in place. But it was in her way. Noelle eyed the Goop, then her map, then the Goop again. It didn’t seem aggressive. She looked around for something, there was a piece of fallen wood beside her that Noelle banished like a weapon. She slowly inched closer to the Goop, it stayed still. Finally, she stepped over it. She just about dropped in relief when it didn’t move. She glanced back just in time to see it fucking lunge Noelle startled so far back she dropped her map right into the Goop. oh she was so fucked. She let out another scream as she sprinted away from the goop. Like the time before, this time it was following her. It didn’t have a brain? How did it even have the capability for violence? Noelle threw a hazardous glance behind her back, which wasn’t a good idea because she ran face-first into a bat. She felt her heart stop as its leathery skin touched her face.

“EW!!!” she yelled, causing more and more bats to awaken, clutter and dart off the mine’s ceiling. Now, Noelle was trying to run away from a sentient slime and mad bats. What the fuck. She made random twists and turns in the mine. Not paying attention to much as she tried to get away from everything. She was covered in scratches from the Bat’s claws, her hair felt like a tornado, and there was still some-

“SHIT!” she tripped and fell right down some rocky old stairs. At some point, the limestone had turned into actual bedrock, so she fell hard. As she rolled down the stairs in a way that had the nurse side of her brain wincing, she thought about how she got here. Never again would she listen to gossip from Sans. The bottom of the stairs felt like a belly flop into a pool. The bedrock hitting her hands without any remorse. She tried getting up, but that fall must’ve made her twist her ankle or something because a sharp pain shot up her leg. Noelle groaned in pain as she took a closer look at her foot. Yup. That was so twisted. She looked at the top of the staircase, where The Goop flopped down the stairs like a slinky. A terrifying slinky. The bats were still flying around, but that was the least of her concerns. She scooched back on the bedrock with the help of her hands as The Goop reached the bottom. She’d never look at slime the same after this. Wait. Slime . Noelle felt hysterical laughter bubble up in her throat, although that could’ve been a concussion. She couldn't tell if she hit her head or not. She was terrified of something made of mostly water. God she was a dumbass. The Goop slid to her in its silent glory, only to be stomped to death by her good foot. She now focused on the bats. They weren't much of a problem, considering that before moving out here, she got her rabies vaccines just in case. She silently thanked her past self as the bats calmed down. She wasn’t exactly screaming for her life, so that probably helped. Now what? Her map that she grabbed from The Goop's corpse wasn’t all that helpful now that she was lost. Oh, she was lost. Oh shit. She was swearing a lot today.

“HELP ME!!!” 

It was another ordinary day for Susie, avoid Noelle’s usual haunts, plan out some orders, go to the mines to get some metals-

“ Help me! ” A small sound echoed from the caves. Noise wasn’t all that uncommon, this place was filled with monsters after all, but actual words? Someone was definitely lost.

“ HELPPPPPPP! ” The sound happened again, it sounded vaguely feminine, and Susie decided that she’d do her good deed for the day. Time to go help some tourists out of the caves. She followed the sound of screaming, the voice slowly got louder, but also more familiar as she got closer. It was weird, most didn’t get past the limestone layer, but this voice was definitely down with the bedrock. 

“ Please, someone help! ” She couldn’t quite place it yet, but that voice was so familiar. Susie's eyebrows pinched as she heard a pained noise come from down the stairwell.

“Hello?! Is someone there?!” Noelle yelled. Wait. The pained voice was Noelle's. Noelle was hurt. Noelle was hurt in the mines that were filled with monsters. Oh shit. 

“Can you yell again?!” Susie yelled back, rushing down the uneven and borderline hazardous stairs. There was a soft sound, like someone had gasped.

“Uh, over here!” Susie turned a corner to be met with the bright flash of a flashlight.

“Susie! Oh, thank god!” Noelle felt herself sag in relief. She wasn't going to die alone in a mine!”

“Noelle, you look like shit,” Susie said gruffly. Oh, she was probably pissed. If Noelle was her she’d be pissed too, but she was just too filled with relief to care.

“I was chased by some weird goop, and then there was a shit ton of bats, and i fell down that staircase and I- I just hurt everywhere ,” Noelle would say she had a high pain tolerance, but right now, after being lost in the mines and chased by monsters, and beat to shit, she couldn’t help the tears that fell from her eyes. She needed to stop that, she wasn’t five anymore. She hurriedly rubbed at her eyes, trying to get rid of the tears, but they were just covered in dirt and scratches, so she put herself in even more pain. Susie appeared to freeze for a split second before rushing over to her.

“It’s uh, it's okay. Let's get out of here,” said in a stilted tone, but Noelle could hear the notes of concern behind it,

“I- I think I- twisted my ankle,” Noelle said in between sobs. Why was she so emotional right now? Get a grip, girl!

“Oh shit, here lemme-” Susie ducked towards her, one of her arms, the one with the dragon tattoo that Noelle stared at way too much, rested on her back as the other one went to rest under the knees of her legs. Within one second, Noelle was being carried effortlessly by Susie. Noelle didn’t even have the energy to blush at the action. 

“Thanks,” she said quietly as Susie walked away from Noelle's spot. Noelle would assume that Susie knew this place like the back of her hand, and she was right, seeing as Susie somehow appeared at the cave entrance in less than 10 minutes. She relished the sun's rays as they fell on her face, even if they were weak as the sun set. She let her eyes close for a second before Susie nudged her.

“Don’t sleep, you might have a concussion,” Susie said as they headed in the direction of Noelle's house, or well, what Noelle assumed as her house. Susie's house was closer, and she had a car, so maybe they might stop by there-

“Is it okay if we stop at my place? I have a med kit, and it’s better if we treat you sooner.” 

“Fine by me,” Noelle agreed easily. Guess she wasn’t quite wrong after all. 

The walk to Susie's shop, house, or… place was long and silent. Noelle didn’t talk because she knew Susie would start scolding her for being dumb, and Susie didn’t talk because, well, she actually didn’t know why Susie wasn’t talking. The other girl was silent as a mouse, but not in her usual broody way. This time, it felt a little bit suffocating. 

Susie pushed the door open using her back, and the warm, familiar air of the shop hit her like a freight train. She didn't realize just how cold she was until now. Susie deposited her at her desk before disappearing upstairs. Noelle watched her go. Her whole body hurt, and she just wanted to go home, take a warm shower, and pass out, but she had to take care of her ankle first. Susie appeared again, this time with a decently sized first aid kit. Susie knelt in front of Noelle and started taking off her shoe. Noelle felt a furious blush take over her face. And who said chivalry was dead?

“I can take care of it,” she mumbled, but Susie didn’t stop. She instead glared at Noelle before snatching a roll of bandages from the kit and methodically wrapping her ankle. 

It wasn’t perfect, especially under Noelle's nurse eyes, but it would do the job for a bit. Noelle briefly thought back to the bike incident. Looks like Susie actually followed her orders. 

Susie finished and, far gentler than she expected, started redressing her foot. Noelle watched with a slight awe-filled gaze, never in her time at the valley had she seen Susie act so soft . The other girl's attention turned to Noelle's hands, which were covered in little scratches and dirt. She sighed and reached for the disinfectant. Noelle felt her heart leap.

“Uh, we should just use soap and water. Rubbing alcohol might kill the skin cells,” she said. Susie looked at her with those dark eyes that Noelle wanted to get lost in forever. 

“Oh, my bathrooms upstairs,” That was all the warning Susie gave to Noelle before she was lifted into the air. God was Noelle would give to have strength like that. It would make her farm chores so much easier. The stairs creaked as they went up to Susie's bathroom, and Noelle tried really hard not to stare at where Susie lived. She really did try, but it was so rustic and homely that she couldn't help herself until she was shoved onto Susie's sink. Noelle got the memo and tested washing and offered her hands as Susie went to grab the first aid kit. The soap smelled like fresh laundry, a far cry from Noelle's scentless soap. Fragrance could irritate a wound, but Noelle didn’t have the desire to tell Susie that.

The other girl walked in and set the kit beside Noelle, already rifling through it for some Band-Aids. Susie's search was successful, and she brandished a few decorated bandages. Noelle giggled a bit as she made eye contact with a hot pink one. Suie grumbled as she gently applied them over Noelle's beaten-up hands. They still hadn’t really talked; instead just doing things around each other. 

Noelle's face was also a little beaten up, and as Susie went to help with that, Noelle put her foot down; she could not deal with Susie’s face that close to her own. She’d do something she’d regret.

“I'm good Susie, I can do those when I get home,” Susie had started to grumble and move to pick Noelle up again, “I'm also good to uh, walk,” that seems to put Susie's mood down even more, but Noelle had to have some dignity left. With that, Susie followed her limping figure out of Susie's shop. Now that Noelle was thinking about it, she didn’t even know the name of Susie’s shop. As the other girl herded Noelle to her truck, Noelle asked her a question.

“Does your shop actually have a name?” Susie looked at her like she was a little bit stupid, which, like, yeah, maybe, but there was no sign or anything. 

“It's called Maverick’s. It's my family’s name,” she remarked while hopping into the car. “There’s a mantel over my desk saying that.”

“Cool, cool,” Noelle said awkwardly. Of course, there was a sign. Leave it to Noelle not to have read it. The rest of the car ride was silent and awkward. She must’ve hit a sore spot without knowing it. 

Susie's house wasn’t that far from Noelle's in a car, just about a max of five minutes. This meant that the familiar sight of her farm in the now dark moonlight had her sagging in relief. The truck pulled up onto the dirt road without any trouble. Noelle wanted to sprint into her house and slam the door behind her to avoid embarrassing herself any further in front of Susie, but her sprained ankle put quite the wrench in her plans. Instead, she had to hobble out with Susie’s help and limp over to her front door with Susie's help again . After that rough maneuver, Susie hovered around Noelle as she got settled on her couch. She could sense the unasked question. 

“I'll be fine, I used to be a nurse, you know,” Susie scoffed at that.

“And yet you still got into this predicament. Why were you even down there?” Susie was glaring down at her prone form spread out on the couch.

“Sans told me there were crystals. All I found was some lousy quartz,” she pulled the crystal from her pocket to show Susie. It was tinted brown and rough around the edges. Susie looked at the crystal and then at Noelle with thinly veiled disbelief.

“And you listened to him?” Noelle groaned. Susie must think she was an idiot.

“Yeah,”

“That’s the stupidest shit ever,” Noelle in a brave moment of borderline deliriousness, flipped the other girl off. Susie barked out a laugh.

“Okay, I'm kicking you out now,” she mumbled, and Susie snickered as she left Noelle's house. 

A week later, there was a beautiful red gem in her mailbox, no note came with it; but only one person knew her favorite color was red.

Chapter Text

“It's either the flu or love... The symptoms are the same.”

― Charles M. Schulz

Autumn came and went like the breeze that made those colorful leaves fall from the tree. All too fast and with a bit too much excitement. Noelle was counting down the days until Christmas. Well, she had been since last Christmas, but that’s besides the point. The point was that there was snow on the ground; in one big, untouched, fluffy, white blanket. It had Noelle dragging her snow gear from a closet and throwing it on without much care. Her ankle twitched with slight pain as she tugged on her boot a bit too hard. Right, she had to remember to take it easy while out there. After shrugging on her jacket, which was actually Susie’s, but hers in everything but name now, she bolted out the door and threw herself into the deep snow. It was at least a foot tall, which was weird because the forecast said nothing about snow.

If anyone asked, Noelle would tell them she only spent about half an hour playing in the fresh snow before starting to shovel. But she spent two hours rolling around, building snowmen, and acting like a teenager again. It had been far too long since she last enjoyed a good snow day. But there were things to do on the farm. It would take her at least until the afternoon to shovel everything out, usually it would be quicker, but her ankle was a little bitch that wouldn’t heal as quickly as she wanted. Oh well, as long as she doesn’t catch a cold; she's fine. 

“Achoo!” The sound blasted across Noelle’s apartment, causing her ears to ring and jumbling up her sick senses. She groaned while fumbling for her phone. There was no way she’d be able to do her chores today. Letting the phone light assault her eyes, Noelle found Ralsei's contact and hit call. It rang twice before a beep sounded.

“Noelle! Why are you calling so early?” Ralsei sounded half asleep, yet so energetic?

“I’m sick, and I need someone to take care of the girls,” Noelle explained. Her throat felt so sore, and it was unbearably scratchy coming out.

“Jeez, you sound sick. I’ll be right over with some soup later,” Ralsei’s heavenly voice came from her stupid little phone. 

“Marry me?” Ralsei cackled at her mystery before hanging up. Now all she had to do was wait and suffer. Although a hot shower sounded really appealing right now…

Ralsei just about kicked down her door with how hard he knocked on it. Noelle was suffering on her couch with a cup of tea, cursing her past self for being an absolute idiot.

“Com-*cough* COme iN,” her voice cracked and withered at the loud volume, sending a sharp pain down her throat. She took another sip of her tea. Ralsei came in yapping with Susie about the Deltarune and some interesting carrots she found-

“Susie?!” Noelle’s shocked and very strained voice had the two heads turn in her direction. Susie was wearing a dark blue flannel and no jacket; meanwhile, Ralsei was still bundled up in a dark green jacket and what looked like a black hoodie underneath, with a large Tupperware container in his hands.

“Noelle! I brought soup. Can I use your microwave?” he asked, bright as ever, completely ignoring her question. Susie avoided Noelle’s eyes while towering over Ralsei. She nodded dumbly and without a second to spare, he darted into her kitchen, leaving Susie standing in her mudroom.

“You can, uh, come in and stuff?” she croaked. The other girl nodded and started taking off her boots. They looked less like winter boots and more like something you’d see a combat soldier wear. Not the best of the weather, but also not the worst.

“Ralsei wasn’t exaggerating. You’re like, sick, sick,” Susie said conversationally. Noelle groaned in response. Her head felt like it was going to crack open, her throat was filled with glass, and her body couldn’t decide what temperature it wanted to stay at. She wouldn’t tell them that last part; the fever was between her and God. 

“Need anything else?” she asked her, and if Noelle didn’t have diagnosed anxiety, she’d have asked the other girl to hug her. She really wanted a hug. Instead, she held out her now-empty teacup.

“Some more tea would be great,” the sound of her microwave beeping had both their heads turning. Susie shook it off and walked over, grabbing Noelle's cup and heading to the kitchen, leaving just Noelle and her shivering hot body by herself. She snuggled under her blankets with another groan. Gods, did she hate being sick. Soon enough, she wasn’t alone; Ralsei gave her a hot bowl of soup. Susie placed her tea on the couch's side table. She wanted to cry;, they were so nice to her. Noelle reached out for the tea from her blanket pile and allowed the liquid to smooth her throat.

“Wow, you look like complete shit,” Ralsei said as he sat next to her on the couch, Susie followed his lead and sat on a nearby armchair. She glared at him as she disturbed her haven of blankets.

“Great observations there, Ralsei,” Noelle winced at her raspy voice, which made Ralsei give her a devious grin. Why did she even call him again?

“Hmmm, are you shaking?” oh shit, 

“No,” he’d never leave if he found out about her fever.

“You’re totally shaking,” Susie piped up. Noelle felt herself wither a little more. They were so going to tag team her, weren’t they? Ralsei reached up to put a hand on her forehead, and Noelle moved her head away from him, which, in hindsight, only made him more suspicious. Ralsei narrowed his eyes at her for that;, she was so done for.

“Noelle…” he warned her before trying again, and this time she let him check her temperature. She already knew what the verdict would be. 

“Oh my god, you’re burning up!” Ralsei exclaimed before darting off the couch and back into her kitchen. She didn’t care enough to listen to what he was doing, and judging by the confused look on Susie’s face, it was probably something Ralsei thought was helpful for a fever but actually wasn’t. The quick creaks on her hardwood floor brought her back to. There was a giant slice of watermelon in his hands. 

“Here! This should help.” Noelle gave him an incredulous look, and in a moment of lucidity, her nurse side came out.

“That’s an old wives' tale-” a strong cough ripped itself through her chest, “It’s not scientifically proven,” she croaked. Ralsei frowned at that before his phone caused all of them to jump. He swore under his breath.

“I have to leave now, Susie, you need to watch her until the fever breaks.,” Susie went to argue, but Ralsei was already out the door, yelling at someone on the other side of the phone. Noelle stared at Susie silently as the other girl glared at the door, then it hit Noelle.

“Trashcan!” Noelle’s hand went to cover her mouth, and Susie’s eyes widened before she ran around Noelle’s kitchen like a headless chicken. This was gonna be a long few hours.

“I seriously cannot understand how you watch these movies,” Noelle rolled her eyes at Susie from her pile of blankets. After she’d thrown up, Susie being somewhat logical, used the power of google to see what she should do. After grabbing ice packs and water for Noelle, they settled down for a movie marathon, or as the internet suggested, resting. 

“Debbie downer,” was all Noelle responded with, causing Susie to grumble about cheesiness and unrealness. 

Now, Noelle was sickly and felt like she was dying. But she was also barely 3 inches away from Susie on her dingy but surprisingly comfy couch, so excuse her if she was too focused on Susie's hands and their various calluses.

“-Noelle?” Noelle snapped her head up to see Susie’s concerned face. Thankfully, her face was already red from the fever.

“Yeah?”

“I asked why you like Hallmark movies so much.” Noelle blinked at her slowly, the words processing in her sick brain.

“Oh, it reminds me of when my family liked each other.” The words came out without her even noticing the vulnerability behind them. Susie stared at her slack-jawed. Noelle paid attention to the movie with a small smile, unknowing of the absolute bomb she just dropped on Susie. 

“Ooooh, he’s totally going to get caught,” Noelle remarked at the TV. Susie nodded along slowly, deciding to just leave that for later. 

That night, when Noelle’s body laid limp against Susie’s shoulder, the purple haired girl’s fingers softly combing through her hair, Noelle dreamed of brown and purple hair side by side and loud laugher. 

Chapter Text

“You had to be willing to fight in order for a love story to last a lifetime.”

― Cristina Marrero

Sure! She said, I love Christmas games! She told Queen. She should’ve known the older women would plot against her. The black text on the small piece of paper in her hands proved it. Susie was her Secret Santa.

After the whole getting sick fiasco a few weeks ago, Susie has surprisingly… talked to her more? Be it at the store or Noelle just walking by the shop, Susie always had something snarky but charming to say. It seems she wasn’t the only one to notice it, though.

Well, there wasn’t much she could do; she might as well get her the best gift she could. The other girl liked swords, right? It shouldn’t be too hard to find a good blacksmith that wasn’t Susie… right?

New flash, Susie was the ONLY blacksmith in town, instead she had to take the bus an hour away to a nearby town called “Stardew Valley” which, according to Google Maps, actually had an adventurers guild that she could get a cool weapon from. The smell of sweet fruit greeted Noelle as she stepped off the bus. So she just had to take a right-

“‘Scuse me!” a long-haired brunette wearing a dark blue button-up shirt bulldozed past her, a plate of spaghetti held above her head. Noelle watched this strange girl run off in the direction she was supposed to turn, half with awe, half with confusion. Why was she running so fast? What was the spaghetti for? Whatever, she was on a mission, weird people or not.

The shiny purple blade stared at her, and she stared back at it with admiration. It was the most beautiful axe she’d ever seen. The blade was a dark purple, like Susie’s hair, and the wood looked like mahogany, with the handle covered in a nice-looking black leather. It was perfect

“How much?” Noelle turned to the Guild leader, an old-looking man with an eye patch named Marlin.

“Depends, what’re you using it for?” he asked as he looked at her skeptically. Right, he probably thought she was getting it for decor or something, seeing as she looked like the least monster-fighting person to ever exist.

“It’s a Christmas present for my… friend, Susie,”

“Maverick?” a spark of familiarity in his eyes.

“Yeah, I got her for Secret Santa,” Noelle explained further. The older man smiled a bit and nodded.

“That’ll be about $120.” Noelle didn’t even hesitate to whip out the money from her wallet. Susie was going to love it. 

The party was loud , all the townspeople seemed to squish into Queen’s tavern, there was alcohol, and Ralsei was running around with plates of food and a goofy smile. Kris was in a corner of the room, their bright green wings decorated like a Christmas tree, which Noelle thought was just fantastic. Most everyone was wearing Christmas-themed outfits, so Noelle decided to just go with a white collared shirt, a long flowy red skirt from her closet, and a cute brown belt. It was long-sleeved, but the number of people in the tavern made her roll up her sleeves; she probably could’ve gotten away with a t-shirt.

“Noelle darrrling!” Queen's voice crooned from inside the crowd. Noelle searched for her until she saw Queen pop in front of her in a Santa Claus dress.

“Hey Queen!” Noelle laughed as the older woman swooped her up in a hug before letting go. “Say, where can I put these presents?” Queen grinned before pointing in the direction of the biggest Christmas tree Noelle had ever seen in her life.

“Wow,”

“I know, right? Asgore and Asriel dragged it down last night for the party!” Queen exclaimed before a shout of her name came from somewhere in the crowd.

“Sorry! The big dinner will be out in like, half an hour? If you get hungry, Ralsei is taking small orders!” and just like that, Noelle was alone in the loud crowd, a bag filled to the brim with presents. She smiled fondly before making her way over to the tree. There were already a ton of presents under the tree, but thankfully, there was still space for her to put her presents under there as well. There were two places under the tree, one for Secret Santa and one for whoever. Susie’s present took up waaaay too much space. With that done, it was time to mingle in the crowd. In any other party, she’d head out the alcohol, but after trying Queen’s mixture last time, she didn’t want a part two. She still never got an answer from Ralsei about what happened that night…

“Noelle!” A small voice said from beside her, Noelle looked down to see Queen’s son, Lancer. The 11-year-old who had swindled her.

“Hey, Lancer, how’s your Christmas going?”

“Good! Don't tell my dad, but Susie taught me how to pick locks,” he whispered to her, his eyes glancing around the building. Noelle followed his gaze to see Susie, and her breath hitched. Susie wasn’t exactly dressed up, but the red flannel she was wearing and the non-coal-stained jeans sent butterflies to her stomach. Susie’s dark purple hair was also in a half-up-half -down style that made her want to steal that stupid grin right off her face.

“Why are you staring?” Lancer snapped her out of it, and a strong blush overcame her face.

“Was not,” she retorted as she messed with his hair, making him squawk and swat at her hand.

“Were too! That's how Mom looked in those pictures she has of that one girl!” That caught her attention.

“What girl?”

“Something like Tess? Ress?”

“Dess?”

“Yes!” That made Noelle pause briefly. Why was Queen looking at Dess the same way she looked at Susie? Oh . A large smile overcame her face as Lancer yapped about something. She was going to give Queen so much shit about this. 

Lancer's yapping was interrupted as a voice, probably Asgore’s, yelled through the crowd.

“FOOD’S READY!” Just like that, Lancer disappeared. Must be genetic. Like a normal person, Noelle walked towards the long table with what must’ve been a hundred seats, maybe more. She spotted an open spot next to Susie and Ralsei and promptly snatched it. Susie looked over at her with that stupid grin she’d grown to love too much.

“Hey,” 

“‘Hey’ yourself,” Noelle responded with a goofy smile. Susie took a large sip of what looked like eggnog.

“So, I heard you taught Lancer to pick locks?” Noelle rested her chin on her hand as she watched Susie.

“Hmmm, you gonna snitch?” her voice drawled.

“Nah, he’ll only use it to sleep with the chickens at night,” Noelle joked, causing Susie to snicker into her drink. 

“Ugh, stop flirting!” Ralsei said from his spot on her other side, Susie flipped him off, causing Kris to laugh quietly from across them. Noelle ignores the red blush covering her face in favor of grinning at Ralsei.

Noelle was practically vibrating as the Secret Santa presents were getting handed out. Hopefully, Susie would get hers soon, and she would be able to see just how much the other girl would like it! Noelle’s eyes stayed glued to Queen as she handed out presents. She smiled at the appropriate times when someone got their gift, but she was most excited for-

“Noelleeee!” Queen handed her a poorly wrapped present in bright red with little deer on it. Oh, it was her turn? Noelle inspected the gift before placing her thumb under the tape and carefully unwrapped the present. A few people called out her weird way of opening presents, but she ignored them. A note came first, she did the polite thing and read it before continuing to open the gift.

Noelle,

Hey, I didn't really know what to say here, but I hope you like your gift. Merry Christmas

            - Susie 

Noelle looked up at Susie, who was nervously looking at the floor. She continued to unwrap the rest of the present with the same amount of precision as before. Soon enough, the gift came into view, and it took her breath away. A mix of colored glass, all orchestrated to show Dess in the center of it. Noelle felt her eyes get watery without even meaning to, so she carefully set the art piece aside before darting up and tackling Susie in a hug, causing the other girl to lose her balance and take a few steps backwards, arms full of Noelle, messily sobbing and smiling.

“It's wonderful!” she exclaimed between sniffles. Susie was just frozen in place, her face trying to decide between flustered and adoration. 

“MISTLETOE,” Queen's voice cheered from behind them. Simultaneously, they both looked above them, and sure enough, there it was. Noelle looked into Susie's dark eyes with a bright red face

“You don’t hav-” Susie ignored her and crashed their lips together. She tasted like eggnog, but Noelle didn’t mind as she savored the kiss with closed eyes. Susie’s arms rested on the small of her back as loud cheers came from those around the room. They separated with blushing faces and matching grins.

Chapter Text

“Each relationship between two persons is absolutely unique. That is why you cannot love two people the same. It simply is not possible. You love each person differently because of who they are and the uniqueness that they draw out of you.”

― William P. Young

Noelle blinked once, then twice, before letting her head drop onto Susie's shoulder to hide her blushing face. There was still some cheering from their friends, but Susie seemed unaffected as she snickered, probably finding Noelle's embarrassment funny.

“We have more presents to open!” Lancer yelled from across the room, clearly not caring about the romantic moment happening between them. Noelle quickly took the opportunity he gave them to go over and sit back down for Secret Santa. Noelle took a brief look away from Susie to see Ralsei and Kris with shit-eating grins on their faces. They were never going to let this go, were they?

“And here’s your present, Susie!” Queen exclaimed as she handed her the perfectly wrapped sword that Noelle had gotten her. It was far larger than most of the presents that had appeared so far, so the girl eyed it wearily. She then proceeded to rip the wrapping paper off like a rabid animal. Quickly, the beautiful purple blade came into view.

“Holy shit,” Susie whispered under her breath, Lancer gasped loudly from somewhere, probably jealous that Susie got such a cool gift. 

Without any effort, Susie stood up, got some distance away from everyone, and swung the axe around like it was made for her. A few people oohed and aahed, and finally, Susie looked around the room, trying to see who her gifter was. Queen made an obvious gesture towards Noelle. She turned to look at her with those deep, dark eyes, eyes filled with something akin to affection and excitement.

“This is literally perfect,” She grumbled, still admiring the axe. 

“Mom! Can I have an Axe?” Queen looked alarmed by Lancer's questions, floundering for a way to tell him that, no, he was too young, but judging by the wicked grin on Susie’s face, and Lancer decidedly not paying attention to Queen, everyone knew that boy would have an axe by the end of the week.

“We’re so fucked,” Kris whispered beside her, when they got there? No idea. Wait, Kris?! Noelle slowly turned her head over, Kris acting like they didn’t just speak for the first time in front of her. Great, she decided to just leave it alone. 

“Onto the next gift!” Queen said with a strained smile, definitely aware of Susie and Lancer scheming in the corner of the room. This was going to be a long night.

“I’m just saying, axes are like, a need for a 11-year-old,” She defended her choice. Noelle just shook her head with a fond smile. Sometimes she realized just how weird people growing up in the middle of nowhere can be.

“He’s twelve , Susie, I'm pretty sure he hasn’t even started algebra yet,” The other girl huffed in response. They’d been bickering about this for longer than she wanted to admit, and it was nearing 12. 

“I got my first weapon at 8! He’s by far old enough to have an axe,” Noelle sighed. If she ever met Susie’s parents, she was definitely having a word or two with them. 

“Whatever, it’s too late for me to argue about this.” She’d leave the argument alone this time, but something told her they’d argue about it again, and she’d win next time, guaranteed.

“Shit, what time is it even?” Susie started looking around for a clock, making Noelle notice the lack of people there. At the start, the whole place was packed, but now there were only 12 people in the tavern. 

“Too late for me, I’ve got to be up early to tend to the farm tomorrow.” Noelle sighed. One thing she wasn’t able to leave behind in the city. 

“Want me to walk with you?” Susie asked, and Noelle felt her response before her mind thought of it.

“Oh, it’s fine, you don’t have to!” Even if Noelle wanted her to walk, to admire the way the moon’s light reflected off her hair and feel the snow crunched under their boots, Susie probably doesn't care for such things-

“But I want to, and I'm going that way anyway,” I want to…

I want to

I want to

I want to

When was the last time that happened?

“Uh, okay then,” Noelle let out an awkward laugh, still reeling from Susie’s blunt words. The other girl smirked at her before heading over to the exit. They quickly bundled up in their winter gear before braving the cold night. The wind wasn’t howling, but it also wasn’t quiet either, filling the comfortable silence between the two of them. Noelle stole a glance at Susie, the purple girl was glowing in the moonlight, just like she thought she would. Susie caught her eye and grinned. 

“Whatcha starin' at?” Noelle was glad the cold was already making her cheeks cold. 

“Nothing,”

“Uh huh, and does nothing just happen to be in my direction?” Noelle rolled her eyes.

“I was admiring the moon,” she defended.

“Right, well I guess I'll have to admire the sun the next time we hang out,” Noelle could tell Susie was joking with her, and she felt her heart string pull a bit, not quite sure if Susie was calling her the sun. Instead of asking, Noelle just looked away, her fingers cold from the wind. She should’ve remembered gloves.

Susie laughed, her ungloved hand brushing against Noelle’s before latching onto it. Noelle’s eyes widened as she gazed at their hands, and then Susie, who started to rant purposefully about metal. 

Eventually, Noelle’s home came into view, and their walk and talk session came to an end as Noelle climbed up her creaky stairs. Susie followed her but stopped at her door. Noelle stopped as well and looked at her in those beautiful onyx eyes. They stayed silent like that until the biting wind became a bit too much.

“Thanks for walking me home,”

“No problem, didn’t want you losing a fight to a squirrel,” 

Noelle narrowed her eyes, “Just because you have a cool axe, doesn't mean you're hot shit Susie,” the other girl let out a full belly laugh that had Noelle wanting to kiss her. 

“Seriously, though, it was no problem,” Susie remarked as she grinned at Noelle. Noelle smiled back fondly.

“Bye, Susie.” Just as Noelle had turned to go inside, the other girl spoke up,

“Uh, how would you feel about maybe going to the Deltarune, together?” Noelle felt herself freeze. 

“As a date?” she asked without thinking. Susie nodded slowly. Gods, they were so awkward.

“YES!, uh, I mean, sure thing!” Noelle fumbled over her words. 

“How does Friday at 8 sound?” 

“Great!”

“Great!” They stood just staring at each other again, before Noelle launched forward and put a gentle kiss on Susie's lips before retreating into her house. Susie stood frozen on her porch. Noelle was so fucking whipped. 

Chapter Text

“I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life's a bitch. You've got to go out and kick ass.”

― Maya Angelou

“Come on, Susie! At least put some pep in your step,” Noelle chided her. The other girl grumbled.

“Tell me why I agreed to wear a dress again?” Noelle huffed and gently hit Susie’s chest.

“Because you love me, and can’t say no to my cookies.” At that, the other girl rolled her eyes, mumbling something that sounded like an argument. Noelle just rolled her eyes as they spun around the open field. Other pairs moved around then as well, and folk music filled the area. It was by all means the same as last year, but somehow with the added cackling of her dad on the sidelines, and Susie finally dancing in her arms, it felt surreal. 

It didn’t take long for Noelle’s dad to hear about Susie, and the man had insisted that he come meet her. That was a month ago, and at this point, she thinks he might never leave. She hadn’t asked, but she could tell Carol had done something to upset him. 

“You’re thinking too hard again,” Susie whispered in her ear. She just sighed and placed her head on Susie’s shoulder. 

“I think we should visit Dess tonight.” Their dancing slowed a bit before Susie nodded, kissing Noelle's forehead gently.

“Zinnias and Forget-me-nots?”

“Yeah,”

“Noelle!” Her dad’s voice yelled from across the field, causing her head to look up. He had what looked like a thousand flower crowns adorning his head, neck, and even arms. Lancer and a few other younger kids surrounded him with mischievous smiles. She snorted and let go of Susie.

“We should probably go save him.” She remarked, but Susie didn’t let go; instead, she twirled Noelle extravagantly, pecking her lips before letting her go. Noelle laughed at the display of affection, and she heard Queen wolf whistle from somewhere in the crowd. For the first time in her life since Dess, Noelle felt complete .

In Dess’s professional opinion, death wasn’t that bad. Sure, the only person she could talk to was Seam and any other dead person not ready to let go hanging around, but Noelle’s little romcom was entertaining. She remembered Susie from when she was living; the younger girl stuck to her grandfather's side like glue every summer. She’s seen him a few times floating around Susie as she worked in the forge. 

After Dess died, she had hunted down Noelle, it took her months, but she did it, and when she found out that her lawyer was an incompetent bitch that forgot to inform her family of her death, she fumed silently as she followed Noelle around. And finally, when that letter came, Dess begged the non-responsive Noelle to go, get away from the city that was slowly killing her. Dess had watched the two girls’ love bloom over those months and may have promised a favor to Seam if he could meddle for them. Dess patted herself on the back as she watched all their reactions. Queen might have well been channeling her as she constantly pushed them together, but Dess knew that Queen just knew what she’d want, Queen always knew… 

 Dess watched with a fond smile as her dad Noelle, and Susie stood at her headstone, it didn’t explain how she died, but Noelle didn’t need to know about that blood filled night, didn't need to know the promise Queen had made to her and kept, because she was happy now, and so was Dess.