CHAPTER 3

"Of course!" he declared.  "After all, we're best friends, right?"

She gave the peak of his head a little rub.  "BFFs, forever and always."

She set him down as Ralsei edged forward sheepishly, holding his envelope to her, clearly blushing under his black fur.  "I, uhhm... never know what to get anyone, so... here.  I hope you like it."

"Oh, I'm sure it'll be sweet," she beamed at him, expecting something just as cute, maybe a pretty birthday card.  But she didn't expect to see this, and gasped in amazement.  "A seventy-five dollar gift card at Fallon's Fashions?  Oh... Ralsei!"  She set it down so she could grab him up in a warm hug, and gave him a sweet kiss on his muzzle.  "Oh my heavens... thank you!"

He alighted on his feet, giggling and really blushing now as he set his hat on his head properly.  "I... guess you do like it!  I, uhm... wanted you to get something nice so you could look pretty for your guy."  She gazed up at her with a happy smile.

"Well, with this I sure will--" she began, then had to wonder... something in his voice made her think he knew which guy was special to her.  But then, even if that was true, he was very good at keeping secrets.  "I really appreciate it!  This is--"  She squeezed his shoulder, but noticed Lancer eyeing her.  "My second best present yet."

The imp folded his arms, looking smug.  "See?  Money isn't as special as something from the heart."

She enjoyed a good laugh as she stroked their cheeks.  "They're both very special.  Just like you two.  Thank you."  Her heart began to quicken as her brother came forward, a faint smile on his face.  "Okay... now I'm going with Kris to enjoy the rest of my birthday.  Sister Bertrille, could you collect everything and put it in the entrance of the Monastery so I can get them later?"

"Of course, girl," she replied, waving.  "Enjoy your special day."

As they left the Monastery grounds to walk to the front gate, she said to Kris, "I hope you can match this."  She showed him Lancer's card.

He snorted out a laugh, handing it back.  "I can't promise that.  What did Ralsei give you?"  He reached over her hands as she tried to fend him off, crying out in protest as he took the card, and blinked at it.  "Wow!  Well, I can--"

She snatched it back in faux outrage.  "Don't you dare.  You spent twice that much on my hair dryer!  Just giving me a good meal would make me super happy."

"You always have that," he reminded her, "but I hope you like what I got you."

"I'm sure I will," she said, smiling, and bumped hips with him playfully.  Since they had grown used to their sexual tensions, for the most part, life felt good again.  This was turning out to be her best birthday ever.

They waved back to their parents who were waiting for them at the entrance in Toriel's SUV, and since it was hers, she was driving, so it was up to Asgore to welcome them.  "Hurry up, Susie!  You don't want to be late to your own birthday, do you?"

"Gorey, honestly," Toriel laughed.

"You could wait till we get there!" she called to them, then turned to her brother.  "I think they want us to hurry."

"Oh.  Well..." he began, then bolted for the truck.  "Race you!"

"Why you--!" she growled, then chased after him, unable to keep from laughing.  And even though he was usually faster than her, she managed to reach the vehicle at the same time, thudding against the door with him.  "You didn't win," she declared, half-victorious.

"We're both losers," he joked, and though it was funny, she wondered at the pessimistic wording.  Was he struggling with something lately?

"You are both going to lose some skin on your behinds if you scratch my car," Toriel said warningly.  "It's bad enough when Asgore doesn't watch his claws."

He said to her deflectively, "Now now, I don't do that--"  He recalled something, looking out the open window to the door handle, and a few scratches in the paint.  "Well, much..."

She rolled her eyes to the ceiling with a resigned giggle.  "Why did I bother buying a new car... well, get in, you two.  I've been looking forward to this day all year."

Kris opened the door for her, bowing grandly.  She entered with a little blush, graciously.  Then gave his hair a tussle.

Sanctuary wasn't a big town, so it wasn't a long drive to their home.  Since they lived by themselves, their house wasn't all that large, but they did have an upstairs with four bedrooms in case of visitors, such as their children.  And one bedroom set aside in case their missing son ever appeared.

A very special aroma reached Susie's nostrils when she got out of the vehicle, and she made a mad dash for the front door.  "Is that what I think it is?" she blurted out excitedly.  "Your special homemade pizza, loaded with meats and cheeze?"

The parents looked to Kris admiringly, and Toriel said to her, "He spent all morning on them.  They're practically lasagne!"

She grabbed her brother in her arms, swinging him around with glee.  "This is already the best birthday ever... thank you!"  She refrained from giving him a hug, though he surprised her by grabbing her in his arms and giving her a kiss on the cheek.  But on a day this special, why not?  So she embraced him back warmly, returning his kiss, and whispered in his ear, "You're the best."

"Not today, I'm not," he murmured, and she blushed as he squeezed her into him intimately.  Well... she wouldn't say no to a bit of that either...

They welcomed their children inside, and Susie gasped at the boxes of presents in the living room.  "Oh, you guys..." she said excitedly, "you make this feel like Christmas!"

"We only get to spoil our childred twice a year," Toriel said to her, beaming, "so we take advantage of it."

"I hope you like all the loot," Asgore added, grinning.  Toriel gave his shoulder a swat at his choice of words.

"Ohh... thank you mama, daddy," Susie murmured, grabbing them both in either arm, and hugged them warmly, giving each a kiss.  "But first things first - I'm hungry.  Is the pizza cool enough to eat?"

"It might be."  Kris beckoned to the dining room where one large pan of it sat on the table, a single candle lit in the center.  They followed the Human tradition of having a birthday cake, but he thought the candle would be a nice touch.  "I think you'll need silverware to eat it, though."

"Sounds good to me!" she exclaimed, taking her place at the table.  She forgot another tradition, and began blushing as they all began singing Happy Birthday to her.  And of course they waited as Kris gave the benediction over the meal, a sweet prayer like the one a few weeks ago at their home.  Her heart beat quick and warm as she felt the love of her family tangibly in her heart.  Even with the loss of her real parents and Asriel, she had been truly blessed in her life, and she murmured to them, "You are the best family... I couldn't ask for a better one."  She also couldn't hold back a giggle, adding, "Enough of that sentimental stuff.  I'm famished!"

She blew out the candle, making a silent wish for Kris to loosen up a bit more, and then dug in.  As her mother said, it was very thick, truly a pizza pie, and they all used silverware to devour it.  As Susie was a true carnivore, it was loaded with meats as well as lots of sauce and cheeze.  Even the crust was delicious.  It was so good, and so messy, that the usually dainty Toriel ended up with sauce on her muzzle, causing everyone to laugh at her.  She was embarrassed, but took it in good fun.  As she wiped her mouth with a hanky, she reminded everyone, "Save room for desert, now.  Kris has a special birthday cake - actually, two of them."  They all knew how Asgore and Susie both could devour food like they had been starving for days.

Susie ate her last bite of pizza and decided to wait till supper for seconds, and wiped her own mouth off.  "Oh, right!  But what is it?  I didn't see a cake."

"That's because..." Kris said, going to the kitchen, "they're too special to leave out."

She heard the refrigerator door open, and something put on a cart.  When he wheeled it in, she practically squealed with delight.  "Ohmygosh... Nice cream cake and chocolate cheesecake?  Kris... I can't choose!  So I won't, I'll have one of each."  She looked at the number of candles between the two cakes, chuckling, "And I'm not thirty-eight either."

"Actually, it's forty," he said, smiling.  Well, forty-one."

"Hey, I was kidding about being nineteen.  Don't make me an old maid yet," she grumbled, but couldn't restrain a smile as the others laughed.

He added, "Besides, blow 'em both out and you get two wishes."

"Well... can't argue with a bonus like that," she said, grinnning.

She used a straw to focus her breath, and managed to blow every candle out in one long try, though it left her wheezing for a moment.  She basically had one grand wish: that God would manage to give them the right to be together, somehow, and they have a long, happy life in their union.  It was definitely a dream-wish, but what was the point of wishing if you didn't dream big?

In his wisdom, Kris cut smaller pieces than they wanted, knowing that his pizza was very rich and succulent, and dessert might not go so well with it.  They thanked him for his choice of servings later.  But even with a set of slightly upset tummies, they all raved over his cooking.

And then it was time to give Susie her presents.  Being a typical girl, she had never been shy of her delight at receiving goodies, or loot as many kids put it, and so she opened her gifts with unbridled glee.  Some were useful, like Asgore's workboots.  "You know how you can go through those pretty quick."

"I know, dad," she said to him, grinning, and gave him a hug.  "And these look really well made."

"Steel toed, too!" he chuckled.

Some were more appropriate for a young lady, and she got a few toiletries and perfumes.  "I hope you like the fragrance," Toriel said to her a bit pensively.

"Oh, it's wonderful," she replied with a smile, but rather hoped that Kris found it pleasing.

She opened his last, and she hoped they understood, but she couldn't give them the true reason.  She opened one, noticing a furtive smile on his face, and it was infectious.  She smiled back, murmuring, "Well, I wonder what this--"

She gave a little yelp of astonishment as something white shot out of the box and smacked her right in the snout.  It stung and caused her to throw herself back in shock, sending the chair over backwards and her with it.  The parents cried out in alarm as her head struck the floor, fortunately on the rug, but the shock of it still stunned her for a few seconds.  Over the chaos, she could hear Kris roaring in a fit of laughter, and collected herself with Toriel's help.  She grumbled, "What the hell was that?"  She picked up the ball of fluff and saw that it was a spring loaded doll in a caricature of a white fluffy dog.  Around its neck was a big dog tag marked Toby.  She shook it irritably at her still laughing brother.  "Ha-ha.  Good going, Joker!  I should make you eat this thing."

"I - I'm sorry, but...!"  He couldn't get more than that, as the look on her face set him off for another round.

Toriel looked at him disdainfully.  "Are you two still pranking each other like children?  Honestly!  And... oh,  my chair is broken..."  She inspected it sadly, as the back had been cracked in two where it took the brunt of Susie's fall.

That shut him up immediately, and he muttered, "Uhhm... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"Famous last words," Susie grumbled, rubbing the furry little toy in his face.  "What the hell is a Toby, anyhow?"

"Oh... he's a Human that makes video games," he replied meekly.  "That's his mascot.  I got a game too.  I, uhmm... hope you like it."

"It better be one hell of a game, buster," she muttered, giving him an irritated stare.

Asgore looked the chair over, telling his wife, "Ohh, I think I can fix that right up.  Maybe..."

​

"You had better, or someone is replacing it."  She fixed her son in a stern gaze.  "Kris, you should know better.  I know you carried on like this when you were young, but you're an adult now, and the high priest of the Church!  I expect you to have more sense than this.  Now, if there are any more boobytrapped presents, you can open them yourself."

"Yeah," Susie muttered through a clenched smile, though she thought to herself that one good bad prank deserved another...

Fortunately, there were no more surprises like that, and Susie opened the rest of her presents with her usual birthday delight.  She was particularly awestruck by her last two.  "An iPod!  Oh my gosh, Kris... and after that hair dryer... and a laptop?  Oh, Kris, you shouldn't have!"

Asgore began, "We chipped in--" but Toriel elbowed him quiet.

She giggled, overcome with joy at her amazing presents.  "Well, whoever chipped in has my eternal thanks.  This is just..."  Her gaze swept over the table at her collection of gifts, and it was truly breathtaking.  "I love you all so much.  And I was saving up for a couple of things, so I could help out with your chair.  And so could someone else," she added dryly.

Kris had a feeling he shouldn't mention chairs or pranks for a good long while, nodding.  But he had one last present, drawing it from behind the sofa in the living room.  "I have one more little gift."

"Oh, really... it's not a pipe bomb, is it?" she drawled out dubiously, and began opening it with care just in case.  She mentioned pipe bombs because it was long and rather skinny, but as she unwrapped it, she saw that the box held a long felt jewelry case.  As she opened it, her breath caught in her throat.  It was a golden heart-shaped locket on a chain, resembling the one that Asriel kept since childhood, though it was very thick as if it was meant to hold tiny trinkets.  "Ohh... Kris," she whispered almost reverently.

"Here," he said to her, reaching to it and flipped a tiny switch on the side.  Everyone held their breath as a familiar tune began to play.  It was originally on a music box Asriel owned.  "I had a jeweler make this for you..."

His voice trailed off as tears began running down Susie's cheeks and along her jaw.  She couldn't believe how much she could still hurt inside like this from the loss of her brother.  But as painful as those memories were, and how much that music made her cry, it was the most wonderful gift she had ever received.  Kris was confused, as was everyone, and waited for the girl to say something one way or the other, but she remained silent, listening and weeping, her eyes closed.  He grew uneasy, he had to say something.  "Uhm... if you don't like it, I could always take it back--"

"Oh, you idiot."  She jumped up, blubbering, and grabbed him in her arms, burying her face in his thick hair.  "I - it's wonderful... I'm keeping this forever... if it falls apart... I'm saving the pieces... thank you..."  Her parents gathered around them, placing their hands on her shoulders, and murmured soothing words to her as she cried.

Kris nuzzled along her jaw, under her hair beside her earpads, and whispered, "I'm glad I could give you a happy birthday like this... I love you."

She sniffled and whimpered out, her heart bursting with emotion and affection as she squeezed him tight, "I... love you too, Kris... always and forever..."

The rest of their time there was more pleasant.  She got phone calls from their friends Undyne, Alphys, Mettaton, Sans, Papyrus, Grilby who offered her a free meal, Muffet who also offered her some free food, and a couple of the guards who were friends of the family.  Undyne asked if she wanted to take her up on the offer to go clubbing, though Susie turned her down with a blush.  The way Kris was acting, she had a faint hope for a surprise that evening when they went home.

They chatted for a while as their parents caught up with the goings-on at the Church, and how they had been doing over the past several months.  Susie noted that Kris mentioned nothing about his late night research at the reclusive library, but was happy to let memories of all that go, and enjoy the time with her parents.  And though it made her melancholy, she listened to the musical locket a few more times before putting it back in its soft felt case.  They had leftovers for supper, as Kris' cooking was so good and well prepared that it kept its flavor well, though he added a salad, and dessert was delicious.  Toriel made a point to remind Kris of his prank gone wrong by setting a little fold-up card at the place of the broken chair, which read: Naughty Kris.  Everyone enjoyed a laugh at his expense, and he tried to take it in good fun, but he felt bad about the ruined chair.

Then it grew late, and there were two more days of Church servitude till Saturday, so they packed up all of Susie's gifts and shuttled them home.  Toriel drove them all back to the house behind the Chapel and helped them bring the load of gifts up to Susie's room.  Asgore looked the place over, a bittersweet look on his face.  Kris reached up to place a hand on his tall father's shoulder.  "You miss it, don't you."

It was more an observation than a question, and Asgore nodded.  "I do.  But... I still can't face the ordeal of trying to have faith when I'm still so broken inside."

"I wish you'd reconsider someday," Kris sighed.  "You were the best."

He chuckled at that.  "Ohh, but you brought a fresh, young perspective that I'd never have.  All that insight... you're a great priest!"

"Not like you," Kris said mopefully.  "The weird priest..."

"Well... you could maybe be a little more like the other guys," Asgore mused, reaching for his face.  "Cut away that mop of hair for a start--"

Kris swatted his hand away, causing his father to blink in surprise.  "Sorry... I guess... in a way I'm just like you.  Losing my brother still hurts.  I guess... I can't really face the world either."  While this was true, there was a definite reason he had to hide his face.

"Oh.  Well... uhm..." Asgore muttered, floundering, "I sure can't argue with that.  But, if you need any help, or just want to talk, you have our numbers."

"I know," he murmured in a mousey voice.  "I miss you 'n mom... I need to see you more often."

"Just bring some glue and leave the pranks at home," he laughed, then gave his son an appologetic look as he sulked.  "Hey, I'm just kidding... you know your old man--"

He cut himself off as Kris threw his arms around the massive Caryna and hugged him almost desperately.  "I know... I hope I'm a good son for you..."

Hey, you are, you are," he murmured as he stroked the lad's head soothingly.  "It's been a strange life, but you made it so much richer, you 'n Susie both.  You're a blessing to us.  You always were and you always will be, so don't worry about that."

He buried his face in his father's broad chest, breathing in his musky male fragrance.  "Thanks, dad... you're the best."

He couldn't resist another joke.  "Tell your mother that once in a while."  They both enjoyed a good laugh at that.

Susie was having her own mother-daughter talk in her room.  She clasped hands with Toriel, looking at her admiringly.  She was a beautiful woman in both body and SOUL, and the attention brought a slight blush to her cheeks.  "Thanks, mom... it was an awesome birthday.  With this much loot, it almost feels like you're sending me off to college."

"Well, to be honest, we had saved up for both of you to attend a university, or a seminary," she admitted, "so, we had some extra money for gifts for you two over the years."  Susie fell silent, gazing at her mother wistfully.  She wished she could be honest with the woman about everything, but knew that confessing feelings for her brother would cause an unpleasant reaction.  Who knew how she would take it?  Toriel wondered at her daughter's silence, asking, "What is it, my child?"

"I was just thinking... what an incredible mother you are," she half-lied.  "So wise... you always seemed to know just what to say or do for us when we needed you."  She had to laugh.  "I don't know how you had the strength to put up with us for all these years.  We were so much trouble."

"Ohh dear... it's lamentable how the unfortunate things stick in the mind and overshadow the good.  But you and Kris are truly a blessing to us, and we've been so happy, having you both in our lives."  She had to smirk, adding, "Though the furniture and our patience did suffer, on occasion."

Susie burst out laughing at that, recalling a few unhappy incidents.  "I... I'm sorry about that.  Poor Kris... I know he meant that in good fun.  We always did."

"I know, dear, don't give it another thought.  Just enjoy the last of your birthday, but don't forget to give us a call or visit from time to time.  I would be more than happy to come get you.  Or it's not really all that far, you could walk.  I miss seeing you two."  She gathered the girl in her arms, embracing her warmly.  "Oh well... never mind that, my darling daughter.  Happy birthday to you, and many more to come."

She lay her head against her mother's, caressing cheeks with her, and sighed, "Yes... many more to come, with you... thank you, for everything, mama..."

They watched their parents drive away with warm hearts as the day had been absolutely wonderful, other than Kris' little disaster.  Susie's tummy fluttered as she accompanied Kris back inside, and she wondered what was going on in his SOUL.  She knew it was crazy to hope for such a thing, but maybe... just maybe... he would open his heart to her?  She was almost afraid to ask, but thought she would open a door for it.  "Wow.  Quite a day.  So... now what?"