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Noelle took a breath of crisp morning air as her hooves clacked against the pavement of the sidewalk, trying to shake out her jitters. She just had to get through one client presentation at work (which she refused to think about too much beforehand lest she panic and be rendered unable to speak clearly), and then she would be free for the weekend. Tonight, she would finally get to see her favorite rock band in concert! She had had to stay up all night when the tickets went on sale a couple months back, but it had absolutely been worth it— she had even gotten front row seats!
Just imagining seeing the Delta Warriors in person gave her goosebumps.
She couldn’t keep thinking about that right now, though. Hands only shaking marginally at the thought of stern faces staring at her as she went through her presentation this afternoon, she made the split-second decision to detour into her usual coffee shop— the Under Grounds.
Bells jingled merrily overhead as Noelle opened the door, her favorite barista putting in her usual order before she even said it. She took a seat at a small, two-person table by the wall to wait.
Noelle scrolled through her Undernet feed, seeing a mix of life updates from old friends back in Hometown and news about the concert tour, of which tonight was the last show. The band’s account page was teasing that a big announcement would be coming soon. She flipped to her message thread with Berdly and asked if he’d like a coffee.
Who would’ve thought that after all these years, they would end up at the same office?
Across the room, the bells above the front door jingled, then jingled again as a raspy voice cursed under its breath.
Noelle looked up.
In the door, a tall reptilian monster stepped back before ducking under the bells hung on the frame. She made her way to the counter with heavy footsteps before examining the menu.
The monster had on a long, dark purple coat that hung loosely over her large figure and a pair of baggy ripped jeans. Her dark hair was messy, flowing like a mane down her back. She was wearing a pair of combat boots with thick soles, but even without them, she was tall.
She ordered two drinks, then returned to staring at the menu as if trying to make a decision.
“Your peppermint mocha,” the barista called, looking at Noelle.
She rushed over to grab it, asking the barista to add a cappuccino to her order once she was done with the other woman’s drinks. She slid a five dollar bill across the counter to cover the cost.
Noelle took a sip of the latte before reaching for a lid, only to choke when the woman leaning against the counter asked, “Peppermint, huh? Is that any good?”
Searing golden eyes studied her closely as she cleared her throat, face burning.
“Oh— Oh yeah! It’s my favorite… like a hot chocolate but with caffeine,” she laughed nervously.
The other nodded seriously. “Sounds like something my friend would like. Make that third drink the same as what she had.”
Noelle returned to her table to wait for Berdly’s drink, rifling through her bag to make sure she had everything for the presentation.
A pair of scuffed boots came into view.
“Is this seat taken?” A low voice asked.
Noelle jolted, glancing around. All the other tables were full.
“If so, I can just stand. It’s alright.”
“No! I mean, no. Feel free. No one’s sitting here.”
“Sweet,” she sighed in relief as she sank down in the chair.
After a few moments of silence, Noelle said, “So, the weather today is… good, right?”
The dinosaur let out a snort before bursting out with a rough laugh. It was half-covered by the loud conversations of the crowded coffee shop, but she found that she really liked the sound.
“I was never any good at small talk, sorry, but yeah, the weather’s pretty nice, aside from nearly freezing my face off. I’m not used to this cold, though I guess you’ve got all that pretty fur, so it probably doesn’t bother you, does it?” She shot her a grin full of dagger-sharp teeth.
Noelle’s brain was still stuck on the word pretty but she nodded frantically anyway.
“It never has… but I’d still rather be in one of my fuzzy sweaters than…” She gestured to her suit.
The dinosaur nodded, her gaze turning to the window, where humans and monsters alike rushed back and forth on the sidewalk and cars whizzed past.
“Is the city always this confusing?” she grumbled. “Got lost like, seven times just trying to find this place.”
“Yeah, pretty much,” Noelle shrugged, examining the way that the girl’s violet scales glistened in the morning light. “I’ve been here two years, and while you’ll learn your way around, it never gets any less hectic.”
“Me and my friends only got here last night. Thankfully the apartment came furnished, ‘cause I did not want to spend the next week lugging furniture up and down stairs.”
“Well, I—”
The barista called out a black coffee, caramel macchiato topped with whipped cream, and a peppermint mocha, and the dinosaur stood, cracking her back as she did so.
She gave her a salute as she went to retrieve the cardboard carrier. “Guess I’ll see ya around.”
“Wait!” Noelle cried out, a little too loud.
She dug a pen out of her purse, scribbling out her number on a napkin in what must have been a fit of momentary insanity.
She held it out to the woman, trying hard not to blush. “In case you need anyone to show you around town.”
The dinosaur seemed frozen in surprise for a moment before she took the note.
“Noelle,” she read, glancing at her with a lopsided grin that should’ve looked scary, but somehow wasn’t. “Suits you.”
She tucked the note into her pocket and waved as she walked out the door.
Noelle was certain her nose must be glowing.
“Cappachino!”
Noelle watched her leave. She thought she saw… no, she had to be imagining things. She thought she saw the woman pour the entire steaming black coffee in her mouth, and then… eat the paper cup, too?
Surely she just saw that wrong.
Then, she was gone.
“Cappachino!” The barista called out for the third time, and Noelle shook herself out of her stupor, gathering her bags and taking the coffee.
She checked her watch.
“Oh gosh, I’m gonna be late!”
She ran out the door, bells clanging in her wake.
—⋆⭒˚｡⋆ —
“Ack, I’m so embarrassed.” Noelle ran her hands down her face in the break room several hours later. “Why did I give her my number? I probably just made it awkward and it’s not like a girl like her would actually want to text me.”
“Like her?”
“Cool, Berdly. She looked really cool, and pretty, and alternative, and I just stammered about the weather and how I dislike pantsuits!”
“Ah, my deer Noelle,” pausing to see if she caught his joke. “Even if this one doesn’t work out, there are plenty of fish in the sea. I’m sure when you find the right one, you’ll know just what to say.”
“Aw, Berdly, thank—”
Berdly threw a wing over her shoulder. “Because by then you will have received Berdly’s patented guaranteed-never-to-fail, lessons on how to woo the monster of your dreams.”
Noelle groaned. Even if he had mellowed out over the years, he was still Berdly, after all.
“I really don’t think that’s—”
“Noelle, who is the one who has a partner here? I know what I’m doing.”
From inside the purse set on the other side of the table, her cellphone buzzed once, then a second time. Berdly didn’t seem to notice, and just continued to pontificate about his strategy for getting Noelle a date.
She shoved Berdly off it vibrated again and dove for her bag, fishing out her phone. From an Unknown Number there were three texts.
Unknown:
Hey noelle
Thnks for the coffee rec. My friend went wild over it .they love hot chocolate
Shit I just realized I didn’t introduce myself.
As she watched, three bubbles appeared, which were quickly replaced by another message.
This is Susie, from this morning.
Noelle felt like her heart was going to stop. Susie had texted her! Her! Had she not totally blown her chances? She had to desperately hold back a screech of joy, because she suddenly remembered she was in the office break room. Still, she yanked Berdly over, who had just recovered from her earlier shove.
“It’s her! What do I do?”
“Text her back, duh!”
Noelle:
Hi Susie. This is Noelle.
Wait, she already knew that.
Like I could forget you— It’s nice to finally be introduced properly :)
I’m glad they enjoyed it.
Susie:
So
Were you being serious about showing me around? We could get dinner after.
“Oh my angel. Am I reading too much into this… or did she just ask me out?”
“Wow, my flirting lessons worked quicker than expected!”
“Berdly! You did nothing!”
Noelle calmed her breathing and typed a quick message.
Noelle:
Sure! That sounds fun!
She had originally planned to stay in all day Saturday to rest after the late night concert, but she wouldn’t miss this for the world. Noelle floated through the rest of her day, intermittently ducking into the bathroom to respond to Susie’s texts. They tended to be full of typos, which Susie blamed on smartphone screens not agreeing with her claws, but she could still understand them fine. Plus, it was kind of endearing.
They eventually decided that they would meet up at Susie’s apartment before lunch and head out from there. She wondered if she should bring a housewarming gift. She could make a batch of cookies.
Not even the presentation could ruin her mood— she only stumbled once!
Her papers were packed up in her file organizer by five o’clock sharp, and she slung her bag over her shoulder, already humming the tune to the chorus of one of her favorite Delta Warriors songs.
Once she arrived home, she ran to the closet, pushing aside both her work attire and sweater collection to reach the dark clothing huddled in the back corner. She picked out an outfit that would surely make her mother faint— Thankfully, she wasn’t here, and therefore couldn’t prevent Noelle from going ‘grimdark’. Noelle picked out a choker, decorated her hair with an assortment of hairclips in the band’s colors, and hurriedly applied eyeliner before grabbing a granola bar on the way out. She wanted to get through the line early enough that she could get merch from the tables before the show.
The venue was dark by the time that Noelle made her way down the aisle, a shirt, poster, and new CD tucked safely into her tote bag. She had to squeeze past a dozen people to get to the middle seat, squeaking out apologies as she inevitably bumped into them. Just as she got all her things settled and sat, the speakers crackled to life around her.
A voice boomed out:
“Once upon a time, a Legend was whispered among shadows.
It was a Legend of Hope. It was a Legend of Dreams.
It was a Legend of Light. It was a Legend of Dark.
The world was at its darkest, when its people were so deep in the depths of despair that they might shatter.
Only then, shining with hope, three heroes arrive at World’s Edge.
Only they can restore the balance of Light and Dark, and save the world from Destruction.
Delta Warriors! Won’t you accept your destiny!?
Cheers rose up from the crowd like a wave as they stood, pressing as close as they dared. All of them watching, waiting, for the heroes to appear. Black lights powered up all around the perimeter of the stage. Fog poured across the ground. A spotlight flipped on, pointed to the right side of the stage, illuminating the band’s lead singer— the Dark Prince. Dark Prince was a monster with fluffy white fur and sporting a bright green mohawk. He wore a leather vest and black jeans adorned with silver chains.
A large skull pendant caught the light as he shifted into a dramatic pose, yelling into his microphone, “Good Evening Castle Town!! Are you ready to ROCK?”
Another surge of wild screams rocked through the crowd, and Noelle could already tell her voice would be strained by the end of the night.
Next, center stage was illuminated, where the Knight was already striking a glamorous pose. The band’s guitarist was a human whose skin glowed a bright cyan under the blacklights. Their dark hair was swept over their eyes, only interrupted by a streak of silvery-white in the bangs. A white bedazzled coat swept around their figure like a cape, its collar a bright pink that stood up around their neck, and they wore a pair of boots with heels so high that Noelle was certain she would slip and fall in almost instantly. A heart carved from what looked like ruby dangled from around their neck on a golden chain. The Knight played a quick riff on the guitar that sent a whole section of people wearing “I <3 the Knight!” shirts into hysterics.
Finally, the third spotlight lit up the left, where a set of black and pink drums emblazoned with the delta rune had been set up. Sitting on the drummer’s stool was the Dragon, a large reptilian monster with pinkish scales. Her hair hung loose and wild over her face, magenta fading into bright orange at the tips. Her jacket’s sleeves had been ripped off at the shoulder to create a leather vest studded with large golden spikes, revealing muscled arms, and she wore a pair of fingerless gloves with smaller spikes along the knuckles.
“You weren’t nearly loud enough the first time, so I’d better ask again,” Dragon said, and suddenly, her voice sounded familiar. “Are you READY to ROCK?” she growled into her mike.
Then, she looked up, and Noelle caught sight of yellow eyes and a sharp-toothed smile.
“Susie?!” she gasped, but her voice was completely drowned out by the crowd, and she quickly found herself caught up in the excitement as the opening chords to ‘Raise Up Your Bat’ began to play.
—⋆⭒˚｡⋆ —
Noelle blinked awake in the late hours of the morning, her eyes feeling dry and gritty. A single shard of sunlight had broken through a crack in the curtains and reflected on the mirror across the room to shine directly on the bed. She really, really, just wanted to stuff her face back into the pillow and sleep the rest of the day. Then, she caught sight of the clock on her nightstand and bolted awake.
She was going to be late to meet Susie!
Her phone, which had died halfway through the concert, was now fully charged, and when she picked it up, there was an unread message.
Susie:
Yo, is it OK if we meet aftr lunch? It was a late night.
The message had been sent just a few minutes after the concert ended.
Noelle was still reeling from her realization.
Susie was the Dragon. She had watched her up on the stage all night, entranced by the way she played, comparing the her up there to the one she had talked to the morning before, and she was stunned by both.
Would Susie be upset she had found out her identity? The Delta Warriors hadn’t ever revealed their names to the public, after all. Maybe she would wait till the two of them were out on their maybe-date to bring it up.
Dragging herself to her feet, Noelle responded.
Noelle:
Sure! I overslept too fahaha!
She splashed some water on her face in the bathroom, scrubbing off the remnants of eyeliner she had missed last night. She took a long shower and put on her favorite sweater with a pleated skirt that swung whenever she moved. She scrolled through her Undernet while drying her hair. It seemed that the Delta Warriors big announcement was that they had finally signed with TV World Studios, a record agency right here in the city, and they would be on break from touring for the foreseeable future as they worked on their next album. That tracked with what Susie had told her about moving in recently.
She took a glance at the oven in the kitchen. Well, she had time to kill, and she needed something to take her mind off things.
A couple hours later, she found herself in front of a white door on the top floor of an apartment building. The lobby had been almost intimidatingly pristine in a way that didn’t match the Delta Warriors’ vibe, and especially not Susie’s, but she assumed that their new agency would probably have insisted on a place with good security like this. After standing there looking confused for too long, the receptionist asked if she was here to visit someone, and it seemed that Susie had put her on some sort of guest list, because they let her go up right away.
It took her a minute to work up the courage, but she finally raised up her hand and knocked on the door.
It swung open to reveal a fluffy white monster with pinkish horns that Noelle immediately recognized as the Dark Prince, but gone was the leather, chains, and mohawk. Instead, he wore a soft green dress and a matching pair of round glasses. He smiled at her warmly.
“Oh, hello! You must be the one Susie told us about. I’m Ralsei.”
“Susie… told you about me?” Noelle asked.
“She hasn’t been able to stop talking about you,” he laughed. “Silly me. Come in, come in.”
“Thank you. Are you… enjoying the city so far?”
“It’s quite lovely,” Ralsei said. “We haven’t had much time to get out and see everything yet, but even just the view from up here is stunning, and the apartment is perfect. It has bedrooms for all three of us, and such a big kitchen. I love to bake, you see.”
Noelle nodded along as he led her down a hallway. “Speaking of baking, I brought you all a little housewarming gift.”
She handed him a big container of her favorite christmas cookies, her dad’s secret recipe.
“Aw! That’s so kind of you, Noelle. I’ll set these in the kitchen. Susie should be in the living room; it’s just around the corner there.”
The hallway opened into a medium-sized living room lined with floor-to-ceiling windows. The city skyline sparkled in the early afternoon light like a beacon. An old CRT that seemed a little out-of-place in such a modern apartment played silently in the corner, and a retro gaming console sat on the shelf beneath it. There was a small, upright piano in the corner. Susie was sprawled out on the couch, snoring loudly and using the other occupant of the furniture as a pillow. Said other occupant was a human with shaggy dark hair cut into a mullet. They were tapping idly on their phone with the slightest hint of a smirk on their lips. They wore an oversized green and yellow sweater.
At the sound of her hoofsteps on the hardwood, they looked up.
Noelle caught sight of crimson eyes, which immediately widened.
“K-Kris?!” she managed to squeak out.
“Noelle??” Kris yelled, immediately shoving Susie off their lap.
Center of balance disturbed, Susie crashed to the floor.
“Kris, what the hell! You could have just woken me if you wanted to get up!” She roared, and then, seeing Noelle in the doorway, softened. “Oh, hey, Noelle. When did you get here?”
Noelle was frozen, staring at Kris as if in a daze. She never would’ve thought, after all these years… On top of that, she would have never guessed that Kris was…
“Kris is the KNIGHT??” she blurted out.
Kris leveled an unimpressed look at her. Noelle threw her hands over her mouth. That was definitely not what she had meant to say. Meanwhile, Susie just looked back and forth between them, looking confused and still half asleep. Ralsei’s face popped in from around the doorframe.
“Susie, did you spill the beans?” he accused.
“What? No way! I’m not a snitch,” Susie retorted. “Maybe Kris did it. It seems like they know each other.”
Kris shook their head, hair flopping around their shoulders as they did.
Noelle finally broke herself out of the trance she had been in to wave her hands and say, “Oh, Jingles!” Noelle cursed under her breath, “I’m sorry. No one told me! I just… figured out who Susie was when I got to the concert last night. I was going to tell you later, but I was just so surprised to see Kris here. I didn’t recognize them yesterday since you look so different on stage, and—”
“Don’t you know humans don’t actually come in blue?” Kris said.
“Yes, I know that!” Noelle said. “I meant that I haven’t seen you in ten years, not that you were blue!”
Kris snickered.
“Anyway, is it… alright that I know?”
The three friends glanced at each other for a long moment before Kris simply shrugged and leaned back into the couch.
“Guess it makes things easier for me. I won’t have to worry about hiding my super cool secret double life,” Susie laughed.
Ralsei smiled. “If Kris and Susie trust you. Just, please promise you won’t tell anyone. We go by stage names for a reason.”
“I promise,” she swore.
“Now that that’s settled,” Susie pushed herself up off the ground. “Mind if I get changed? Someone was supposed to wake me up a half hour ago.”
Kris stuck their tongue out at her, and Susie returned the gesture.
“O-oh, of course not. Take all the time you need,” Noelle replied.
“Cool.” Susie gave her a smile that set her heart beating too fast to be healthy.
Noelle stood awkwardly in the center of the room.
It was just her and… Kris.
Kris, who she hadn’t seen in years, who used to be such a dear friend, who was still just tapping at their phone as if nothing about this was weird in the slightest. They looked so different from when they were in middle school, but in a way, they were just the same.
Kris looked up. Noelle realized she had been staring.
They gestured to the couch, and she sat.
“So,” they said, voice flat and a little gravelly.
“So,” she returned. “How have you been?”
She hadn’t been alone in a room with Kris since Dess had disappeared. Everything had happened so fast, but in her memory those months dragged on and on for eons. After Mr. Dreemurr was removed from the force, and the ensuing divorce, Kris, Asriel, and Miss Toriel had moved away from Hometown to escape from the memories that had threatened to suffocate them all.
She had never seen Kris again, only heard about them from Mr. Dreemur whenever she was sent to pick up flowers from his store. Even when Dess had returned, stumbling out of the woods a year later, missing a hand and with no memories of what had happened, the rest of the Dreemur family had never come back.
“Things have been good,” Kris said. “At least since the band took off.”
They were staring at her now, and she realized that meant she was supposed to talk.
“I’ve been doing well. Mom’s still… Mom, but Dad’s out of the hospital now, and Dess is doing a cross-country road trip. Mom wasn’t too keen on that, but Dess wouldn’t take no for an answer, fahaha! She’ll be passing through here soon. You know, I think she’d be really happy to see you, if you wanted.”
Kris looked where their electric guitar was perched on a stand in the corner by the piano. “Yeah. Could show her my guitar.”
“She’d love that,” Noelle said. “I’ll give you her number… as long as you don’t use it to prank her.”
“No promises,” they mumbled as they put in the contact info.
A moment later, Susie emerged from the bedroom, wearing a partially-unbuttoned button-up and dark jeans. She had a thick coat thrown over one shoulder, and her hair was still delightfully rumpled from sleep. Noelle felt her face heat as she scrambled up.
“Ready?” Susie sent her a smirk.
Noelle nodded vigorously, suddenly feeling so flustered that it was like she was in high school having her first crush all over again as Susie led her towards the door by the hand.
As they passed the kitchen, Ralsei called out, “You two have fun! And thank you for the cookies. They’re delicious!”
“Wait, cookies?” Kris suddenly vaulted over the back of the couch, rushing to grab several handfuls of sugar cookies. “Fuck, yeah! Classic Holiday family recipe!”
“Hey! Don’t eat them all. I wanna try one when I get back,” Susie said.
“Losers weepers,” Kris singsonged,
Once they were in the hallway, Noelle pulled out a smaller bag.
“I figured with two roommates that might happen. These are for you.”
Susie’s face broke into a genuine grin as she tasted one. “Angel, these are good! You made them yourself?”
“Mmhm,” Noelle hummed cheerily.
Noelle took Susie to all her favorite spots, showing her where the good coffee shops and restaurants were and how to get to the parks dotted around the city. All the time, she and Susie talked about everything and nothing. She told Susie about her work and her interest in video game glitches, how she dreamed that one day she could code her own game. It turned out that both of them were huge horror fans, and Noelle ended up inviting Susie to visit her apartment for a monster movie marathon. She was afraid that she had been too forward for a moment, but then Susie nodded vigorously, asking if she had a copy of Godzilla. Then Susie told her about her musical pursuits. Aside from drumming, Kris had begun giving her piano lessons recently.
“How did you and Kris meet?” Noelle asked, curious.
She had been following the Delta Warriors since her last year of high school, back when the only way to listen to their music was from grainy Youtube videos shot in back alleys and dive bars, but she had never heard how the band got started.
“Ah, well, it’s kind of a long story,” Susie said, scratching at her hair. “I’ll give you the simple version…”
---
Susie had been passed from house to house in foster care. No matter what she did, she always managed to ‘mess something up’, and she was moved. Every time she started to feel at home somewhere… it never worked out, so at some point, she had stopped trying… Trying to be good enough to get to stay, to make friends, to pay attention at school, because it never seemed to matter anyway.
Until she got transferred to Kris’ school. Their relationship didn’t start out very well, to say the least. She had even been cruel to them at first. But one day, the two of them got sent on an errand for one of their teachers, and as a prank, another student had locked them in the supply closet, hoping that it would provoke Susie into a fight with Kris, prompting yet another expulsion.
Instead, trapped in there for almost the whole school day until the teacher found them, the two had become friends. They had argued at first, but when they realized they weren’t getting out, their fighting had turned to playful jabs and eventually an actual conversation. Then, they had progressed to concocting various hairbrained schemes to try to break the door down, including but not limited to trying to throw Kris at said door. After that day, the two became inseparable, and when that latest set of foster parents turned out to be massive jerks, Miss Toriel had volunteered to foster her instead.
…
It was when she was waiting in the music room for Kris to finish their afternoon piano lessons that Susie discovered the drums. Dusty and covered with an old sheet in the corner of a storage room she probably shouldn’t have been in, the drum set probably hadn’t been used in years, She picked up a set of sticks and went wild. Looking back on it now, she would probably cringe at how it sounded, but in that moment she had felt… exhilarated.
The band teacher heard the racket she was making and came to investigate. He had been prepared to punish whoever was trespassing, but when he saw Susie’s wide grin, he had offered to teach her instead.
…
It wasn’t until junior year that Ralsei had appeared, having recently escaped from a cult of the Angel that had raised him from childhood. Toriel had readily taken him in as well, letting him use Asriel’s old room. The boy had been quiet, afraid to ask for or do much of anything. Afraid to do anything that had been deemed against the angel’s wishes. It had taken them months to even begin to break him out of his shell, especially when he insisted that he didn’t… shouldn’t have any opinions on what they did.
Then, when Kris was practicing their guitar in the living room as Susie idly tapped out a tune on the drums, they heard it— a barely audible voice, singing along. There were no words, only a melody, that only just carried through the shut bedroom door.
Susie burst in with a ‘Dude! Why didn’t you tell us you had pipes?”
Ralsei, surprised at their sudden entrance, looked away, apologizing profusely for being too loud. He had always enjoyed singing, but the church had told him that the only thing he should be using his voice for was praising the Angel.
‘Ralsei, that’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,’ Susie said. ‘You’re worth more than that. If singing makes you happy, you should do it, regardless of what you’re singing about. You’re… like… really good!’
‘Really?’
Kris gave him a thumbs-up and a smirk.
---
“When we first started out, Ralsei kept replacing the lyrics Kris wrote with censored versions on the fly,” Susie laughed. “He thought that singing about scary things was a sign of evil or something. I wasn’t sure how to feel about him when he joined. He was a total teacher’s pet, and I couldn’t do anything without him lecturing me about the ‘correct’ things to do, or the ‘safe’ way to do it. Wouldn’t even let me and Kris eat moss we found in the forest…”
Noelle suddenly wondered if she hadn’t been hallucinating when she saw Susie eat that coffee cup.
“Anyway, we fought about it a lot at first, but one day I scared off some bullies that had cornered him in the hallway, he made us a cake as a thank-you. We came to an understanding. I taught him that sometimes you need to stand up for yourself, and there’s more to life than being perfect all the time. He taught me that being soft doesn’t mean you’re weak. I even like tea parties now. …Do you like them? Tea parties?”
Noelle nodded.
Susie leaned down to grin at her “Good, I’ll tell Ralsei you’re my plus one next time.”
Noelle’s heart beat fast at the proximity, and she couldn’t do anything but look away.
Lights twinkled in the corner of her vision, soft and warm. She hadn’t realized how far they had walked while they were talking.
“Susie, have you been to the holiday market before?” She asked excitedly.
“Our old city didn’t have one, ‘Sides, I’d’ve probably gotten myself banned if I went. Just like Free Ham Sandwich Day…” she muttered wistfully.
Noelle mustered up the courage to take Susie by the hand.
“I guess I’ll just have to keep you out of trouble, then.”
Susie’s eyes widened, her cheeks flushed.
“I guess you will.”
Their fingers interlaced as they made their way into the sea of booths. Noelle bought them hot cocoa. Susie immediately threw back the entire cup, heedless of the fact it was still steaming. Noelle promptly burned her tongue when she tried to follow suit. The entire square was packed with people looking for gifts, eating baked goods, or just walking and enjoying the scenery.
“Oh! An ice skating rink!” Noelle said, pulling Susie over to the fence. “Would you like to try?”
“You… go on ahead,” Susie said, trying to look nonchalant. “Last time… Let’s just say it didn’t go well.”
“I’m not going to leave you behind. Besides, I prefer to bring my own skates. They don’t usually have ones made for hooves on hand.”
The two leaned against the railing, watching as couples skated hand in hand while kids going much too fast weaved around them and newbies clung to the wall for dear life. A figure in a green sweater made their way across the rink, performed a perfect toe loop, and then skated past them.
“How’s your date going?” Kris singsonged at Susie, making a heart with their hands.
“What are you doing here?” Susie dodged the question.
“What does it look like? Skating. Not everything I do has to do with messing with you, you know?" Their eyes cut over to Noelle. "Noelle, make sure you get her home by 10 p.m.”
“Um, sure?” Noelle said.
“Kris!” Susie reached out to grab them, but Kris just stuck out their tongue as they skated away.
In their haste to escape, they promptly slipped and fell on their backside. Susie laughed so hard she couldn’t breathe. Kris flipped her off as they tried and failed to get back onto their skates.
“C’mon,” she grabbed Noelle by the wrist. “Let’s split before they come over and get back at me for laughing at them.”
They soon found themselves at the other end of the fair, where the crowd was thinner and the noise wasn’t as overwhelming. At the edge of the street was a public piano, and Noelle gratefully sank down onto its accompanying bench, happy to rest her feet after walking so long. Susie stood beside her, hands shoved in her pockets, even though there was plenty of room left to sit. Noelle ran a finger gently over the surface of the keys
“Do you… play?” she asked.
“Oh, no,” Noelle said. “We always had a piano in the house growing up, but my sister seems to have gotten all the musical talent in the family. I couldn’t ever manage anything much harder than Chopsticks, faha… But I’ve always loved listening to others play. I used to sit in the next room while the notes echoed through the house for hours, just listening. There’s something almost magical about it. You can tell a lot about a person by how they play. You know, if Kris was on the keyboard instead of the guitar in your band, I would’ve recognized them much sooner!”
Susie nodded. “Yeah, they’re… amazing.”
“Wait, you said Kris was teaching you, right? You should play something!”
Susie looked away, bangs shifting to cover her eyes. “I… don’t know. It’s only been a couple months.”
Noelle backed off. “It’s alright if you don’t want to, but my sister always said music is about expressing yourself, not how good you are at it. So if that’s what you’re worried about, I really don’t care whether it’s ‘good’. I’d still be happy to listen.”
“Okay,” Susie said.
She glanced to the left and right as if to check if anyone was watching, then sat next to Noelle on the bench. Eyebrows furrowed in concentration, she plinked out a couple notes to find her place, then settled her hands on the keys. Haltingly, she played the melody of a song from the Delta Warriors’ first album. When she came to the end of the first verse, she paused.
“That’s… as far as we got with that one.”
“That was wonderful!”
Susie had been hunched over slightly, but she straightened up when she heard that.
“Really?”
“Yeah! Have you learned any other songs?”
“Bits and pieces,” Susie said. “There’s this one.”
Susie played a merry tune that Noelle recognized. Kris had played that one at her house when they were kids. Then, she switched to a snippet of Jingle Bells, then another Delta Warriors song.
“And that’s all I got.”
Noelle clapped excitedly.
“You… really like it that much?” Susie seemed surprised.
“I do. I know you’re a beginner, but I can tell there’s a lot of passion behind your notes, just like when you’re on the drums!”
Susie smiled, and it felt like the world lit up around her. Noelle couldn’t help but smile, too. It was just barely beginning to snow, and a few small flakes had settled in her dark hair.
Somewhere in the distance, the massive tree set up in the city square began to light up, casting them in a soft kaleidoscope of lights. A snowflake landed on Noelle’s nose, and Susie reached up to brush it away. Her hand drifted to brush through her hair, and Noelle found herself drifting forward. Susie met her halfway. Their lips brushed for a moment, and it felt like an electric current ran through her at the contact. She let out a quiet sigh as they parted.
“That was…”
“Wow,” Susie breathed.
“Yeah, that,” Noelle laughed, placing her hand atop Susie’s.
She ran her thumb lightly over the woman’s knuckles, then took her by the hand once more.
“Susie, you’re freezing. We should get you inside.”
“What? No. I could stay out here all night!”
Just as she said that, a particularly hard gust of wind blew across the square, making her shiver.
“And besides, I promised Kris I’d have you home by curfew,” she joked.
“Can’t be letting you break your promise, I guess,” Susie relented.
With that, the two made their way down the snow-dusted streets towards home, their hearts warm despite the winter chill.