Archive of Our Own ^beta

For some reason, when Kris wandered back to Susie from the police station, they had a box of chocolates in their hand. Expensive-looking chocolates. Susie raised her eyebrow at them.

“The chief just forced them on me,” Kris mumbled, awkwardly. “She wants me to give them to our teacher.”

“Jeez. Is this what passes for community service these days?” Susie squinted at the attached greeting card, then snorted. “And isn’t this a bit over-the-top for an apology present?”

Kris only shrugged. “Guess it’s better than flowers,” they muttered.

Susie chose not to comment on how weirdly bitter they sounded. Instead, she examined the box of chocolates next. It was the type that came in assorted flavors, where each chocolate was a different shape to match their individual fillings.

Her stomach growled.

“Hey,” Susie said, smirking mischievously at Kris. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

The corner of Kris’ lips lifted. “That chocolate’s too good to pass up on?”

“Damn straight.” Susie bumped their shoulder approvingly. “And if the police chief gets cranky at us, well. Eating’s not against the law.”

“It’s just the cost of delivery,” Kris added, as they pocketed the greeting card.

They both trekked to the lake, where they could enjoy the chocolates in relative privacy, before they melted in the afternoon heat. Sunlight sparkling on the water surface, long grass swaying in the breeze, a whole box of chocolates between them as they sat—it was all too perfect.

“First come, first serve!” Susie declared, and she snatched up the first chocolate her claws landed on: one shaped like a heart. She snapped it in half to reveal an appropriately red filling. Susie tossed one half into her mouth, savoring the sweetness of both milk chocolate and strawberry filling that burst across her tongue. “Now this is the good stuff.”

Kris checked the inside of the box, then picked out a simpler shape for themself—an unassuming dome—and popped it into their mouth. “Nice,” they commented. “Coffee.”

“Thought you hated coffee,” Susie said, through her mouthful.

“It’s okay with chocolate.”

Susie’s next choice was another simple shape: a diamond, this time. This one didn’t have a filling; biting it in half revealed it was milk chocolate all the way through. She wasn’t complaining, though.

“Hey, doesn’t this remind you of the candy we ate in the Card Kingdom? Wonder if that’s a coincidence.”

Kris shrugged. They picked out another piece without looking—a plain square—only to recoil as soon as they bit into it, face scrunching up. “Gross. This one’s mint.”

Susie laughed. “Seriously? You’ll eat the coffee one, but not the mint one?”

“Mint and chocolate do not go together,” Kris insisted, sticking out their tongue. “Also, I hate mint.”

Susie made a grabby-hand in the chocolate’s direction. “Give it here, then.”

Smirking, Kris raised the chocolate in a familiar gesture. Susie opened her mouth, and Kris pitched it into her gaping maw with perfect accuracy. She slurped it up eagerly, just to annoy them.

“Well, I’m glad you’re such a fussy eater,” she teased, licking her lips. “Means more for me.”

Kris’ only reply was a wordless huff. They made sure to check the inside of the box again before plucking out a star-shaped chocolate. They didn’t hesitate to toss it back, like they were drinking from a bottle of brandy.

“Which one was that?” Susie asked, as she squinted at the box. Why did they have to print the text on these things so small?

“Caramel,” Kris supplied.

“Hey, I wanted that one!” Susie exclaimed, indignant.

Kris smirked. “First come, first serve.”

Susie fumed as she peered over the selection. Then she noticed something. “Huh. They’ve got a diamond and a heart, but no spade? That’s discrimination.”

“No clubs, either,” Kris pointed out.

“We oughta file a complaint.” Susie wondered what a spade-shaped chocolate should have as a filling. Blueberry? Salsa? Cookie dough? She’d have to ask Lancer, the next time she visited Castle Town. In lieu of a spade, she picked out an oval-shaped chocolate and broke it in half like a candy bar. “Hey, want this one? It’s white chocolate, I think.”

“Nah,” Kris said, as they helped themself to a flower-shaped chocolate. Rose-flavored, according to the box. “You can have it.”

“Don’t like white chocolate, either?”

“It’s not real chocolate.”

Susie rolled her eyes. “God, you’re such a snob.”

As if to prove their point, Kris nabbed a dark-chocolate triangle. “It’s called having taste.”

“Oh, fuck off,” Susie grumbled. She pinched a seashell that turned out to be salted caramel, and all was right with the world again.

Kris tentatively nibbled at a flat chocolate embossed with a swirl, then furrowed their eyebrows. “How about this one? It’s orange.”

Susie opened her mouth. This time, Kris leaned over to place it on her tongue, their fingertips just slightly brushing against her before they retracted their hand, and Susie snapped her jaws shut like a venus flytrap.

“Heh. Thanks,” she said, licking her lips again. The orange was a refreshing burst of sour to contrast all the sweet.

She didn’t miss the red tint coloring Kris’ freckled cheeks before they ducked their head, examining the contents of the box again, then selecting a honeycomb hexagon. Susie kept smirking as she grabbed another chocolate, only looking at what she’d picked when she’d already plucked it from the plastic. It was a bow-shaped chocolate. She grimaced on reflex, then smiled again.

“Hey, this one’s fudge,” she said, shaking it in Kris’ direction. “Want it?”

Kris opened their mouth wide. Susie chucked the chocolate, but her aim was terrible, and she would’ve hit the grass if not for Kris snatching the chocolate out of the air, catching it precisely between their teeth without biting it in half.

She snorted. “It’s just like tossing a dog a treat.”

Kris proved her comment by snapping the chocolate into their mouth and devouring it hands-free. “Woof.”

“Yeah, yeah. Good dog,” Susie said, half-teasing, half-insulting. She reached for the box again, fingers outstretched to dig out a rectangular chocolate…only, Kris surprised her by swiping it right out from under her claws. “Hey!”

Kris wagged the chocolate at her, grinning devilishly. “Come get,” they taunted, before they lifted it to their mouth to hold it by one end.

Heat rushed to Susie’s face, but she refused to back down from a challenge. She leaned over, carefully taking the other end of the chocolate between her fangs without breaking eye contact with Kris through their hair. Kris took the opportunity to shuffle forward, pressing their lips up against Susie’s for a moment, before backing away…and biting down, taking half the chocolate with them.

Susie had been expecting them to pull a trick like this, though, and her hands flew up to catch Kris’ cheeks, holding their head in place. Kris’ mouth opened in surprise, eyes widening, and Susie dove forward to shove her tongue inside. She pulled out with both halves of the chocolate safely in her mouth, while Kris stared at her with round eyes, their face almost as red as their irises.

The filling was vanilla nougat, and hardly worth the fuss. Still, Susie swallowed it down and then tilted her head back and forth, as if in consideration.

“Y’know, it’s hard to tell,” she drawled, unable to stop herself grinning smugly, “but I swear the human saliva makes it taste sweeter.”

Kris whipped their head aside, pressing their hand to their mouth. Susie couldn’t hold it back any longer; she laughed, half in smug victory, half in sheer disbelief at what she’d just done.

“God, you’re such a bad influence,” she said, when she’d caught her breath.

Kris’ face was still flushed, but Susie caught them smiling through the gaps between their fingers. Her own face mirrored theirs as she picked out the last chocolate in the plastic tray, a ruffle filled with hazelnut praline.

“C’mon, I’ll give you this one if you get over here,” she teased, before popping it in her own mouth.

Kris stared a moment, then shuffled over on their knees, wrapping their arms around Susie’s shoulders before leaning in. As soon as their lips touched Susie’s, Susie opened her mouth, parting Kris’ at the same time, and she passed the chocolate to them. Kris backed away a few centimeters to chew and swallow properly, eyes half-lidded and warm breath tickling Susie’s snout.

“Well?” she asked. “Taste any better coming from my mouth?”

Kris’ smile was less mischievous, now, and more seductive. “Gotta make sure,” they murmured, shifting a hand to lay it flat against the nape of Susie’s neck, before they leaned in again.

Predictably, they tasted like chocolate. It was something different to the usual, faint flavor of butterscotch, underlaid by the acrid taste that came from a lack of brushing their teeth. Not that Susie could talk; she hardly cleaned hers, either. Still, Kris tasted sweet, and she eagerly let them in.

They abandoned the emptied chocolate box to make out for a while, uncaring if they stained their clothes from rolling around in the grass. Susie crushed Kris against her as she devoured them like another chocolate, indulging in how soft and smooth their skin was against hers. Kris dug their blunt nails in, clinging to her like she was their only anchor in a storm, and they drunk up her heat and contact as if it was fine wine.

Neither kept track of how much time they spent trying to eat each other’s face, but eventually, they parted and then stayed that way. Susie sighed and folded her arms underneath her head, while Kris laced their hands together over their stomach.

“Good eats,” Susie declared, if a little breathily.

Kris sighed, letting their eyes slide shut. “Think my guts are gonna hate me later,” they mumbled.

“Worth it, though?”

“Worth it.”

“Then that’s all that matters.” Susie turned her head to smile at them, relishing the almost sleepy look on Kris’ face, still flushed a gentle pink. “Y’know, it’s not so bad, being your friend. I get to go on fun adventures and eat free chocolate.”

Kris hummed. “And make out,” they added, a ghost of slyness haunting their voice.

Susie snorted. “Yeah. That, too.”

They both lapsed into a comfortable silence, watching the clouds pass by as the breeze brushed over their clothes, rippled the grass around them. Susie was content in a way she hardly ever was, and she knew Kris felt the same.