Chapter Text
“You’re not getting us lost, are you?” Susie asked with a mixture of teasing and annoyance. A week had passed since their prior date, and today, it was Kris’s turn to plan their outing. Rather than heading to the city again, Kris said they wanted to do something more casual near home. So now, they’d been walking through the woods for twenty minutes, Kris silently leading the way while wearing a large backpack.
“Almost there,” Kris said, moments before breaking through the tree line. Susie looked around to see what appeared to be the start of a cul-de-sac. The center was paved, but the road leading away quickly became just gravel. Parts of foundations were dug out, but none of the houses had even started being built.
“The hell is this place?” What Susie wanted to ask was why Kris brought her here for a date, but she held her tongue.
“Town expansion. Ran out of money.” Kris sat down on the unfinished sidewalk and opened the backpack. Two pairs of roller skates, two helmets, and some knee pads were pulled out and placed on the ground. They grabbed the larger skates and helmet and held them out for Susie, “Here, put these on.”
“Skating? I told you before—I can’t skate.” Despite her objections, Susie sat down next to Kris and started putting on the pair offered to her.
“Also said you wanted to ice skate this winter. Easier to learn roller skating first.” Once Kris had their own gear on, they checked to make sure Susie’s skates were tightly laced up. “Ready?” Kris asked, holding out their hand.
Susie stood up with Kris’s help, and immediately began to topple forward. Had Kris not supported her weight on their shoulders, she’d have likely fallen completely over. She grumbled a little in embarrassment, already starting to think she wasn’t cut out for this.
“Sorry, pulled you up too fast.” Before her thoughts could get more negative, Kris took the blame for her stumbling. They gently helped Susie get upright on her skates. With no extra momentum on her, she was quickly able to get herself balanced. “Doing great,” Kris said while smiling, “now we start moving.”
Kris grabbed both of her hands with theirs, and slowly started skating backward, pulling Susie along with them. She nearly fell over again at first, but it didn’t take long for her to get used to it. “Letting go now,” Kris said while releasing her hands from their grip, “stay calm and steady.”
Susie instinctively braced herself for a fall, but found herself gliding forward smoothly. Kris turned around and started skating forward, keeping slow enough to stay close. She started mimicking their movements, and before long, the two of them were skating slow laps around the abandoned cul-de-sac.
“Hey, I’m getting good at this!” Susie beamed as she got more comfortable, now skating side by side with her partner. When she looked down and saw a little smirk on Kris’s face, she rolled her eyes a bit, “Okay, fine.” She ruffled their hair. “Go show off, dumbass.” Kris nodded and picked up speed.
Susie kept up her steady laps, watching Kris go in circles around her. They spun and jumped around in ways she didn’t think were possible on the skates’ thick blocky wheels. They were so graceful that she almost felt embarrassed; she called herself ‘good’ at something Kris was so much better at. A long time ago, she would have felt resentful at the sight of this. Now, she just loved watching Kris, knowing that someone so talented had eyes only for her.
“You’ll be doing all this soon too.” Kris caught back up to Susie and returned to skating in front of her, turning to face her. “Ice is different. Can take you to an indoor rink upstate to get you used to it before winter.”
“Are you that worried I’ll embarrass you if suck?” Anxiety crept into Susie’s voice, worrying a little why Kris was so intent on teaching her.
“Just want to show off how cool my girlfriend is.” Kris said with a grin as they sped up again. Suddenly, they started falling backwards. They had misjudged where the sidewalk was, and the back of one skate had slammed into the curb.
Susie lunged forward and grabbed Kris’s flailing arms so tightly there would be faint bruises there later. She used the curb to brace her own skates, keeping the two from calling. Carefully, she started pulling Kris up, placing her hands on their back to keep them stable. She would have teased them for messing up like that had she not seen how flush Kris’s face was.
Kris stared up at her for a moment, their expression unreadable. Both of them looked at each other silently for a moment, until Kris finally spoke. “See?” They whispered, then put their arms around Susie’s neck. “So fucking cool.” Kris pulled themselves up and kissed her. Susie wrapped her arms around them tightly, not wanting the moment to end too soon.
The pair continued skating until nearly sunset. By then, Susie had improved a lot. She wasn’t able to do quite the same spins and jumps as Kris, but no one would have guessed today was the first time she ever skated. Finally, they stopped and packed up their gear, wanting to give ample time to get back to town before it got too dark.
Instead of going back the way they came, Kris picked a different spot to enter the woods. “Detour. Something to eat.” They led Susie to an apple tree a few minutes off the path they took to get to the cul-de-sac. Kris pointed at the lowest branch, about ten feet off the ground. “Can you toss me that high?” They asked, as they put the backpack down and stood in front of her.
“Pfft, with one hand.” Susie laughed, though she still used both hands to get a stable grip on Kris. It took little effort for her to get Kris high enough to reach the branch, at which point they vanished into the tree. A moment later, an apple fell at Susie’s feet. That apple, and the next two that fell, were quickly devoured by the hungry lizard.
“Save some for me!” Kris shouted down, their voice somehow still oddly deadpan even when yelling.
“What, are you a cannibal now?” Susie called back, picking up the backpack. She held it open in front of her face, in anticipation of the fastball that zoomed down a second later. “That could have seriously hurt anyone who wasn’t me, you know!” She shouted up at the human that was now sitting on one of the branches.
“Good thing it’s you then.” Kris gently tossed a few more apples down, which Susie caught easily in the backpack. Once the last apple was caught, Kris started laughing. “Jumping down. Catch,” they called down, then pushed themselves off the branch.
“Shit!” Susie quickly tossed the backpack aside and ran forward. Her arms barely reached out in time to catch Kris, and she nearly fell over herself from the impact. “What the fuck, dude?” She scolded her idiot, curled in her arms and smiling up at her. “You could have seriously been hurt!”
“Knew you’d be there.” Kris plucked a leaf out of their hair, and held it out for Susie like it was a peace offering. She accepted and ate it, but still looked slightly pissed. After thinking for a second, her scowl changed into a sly grin.
“Well, I’m not letting go. You’re mine now, dumbass.” Susie gave Kris one of the smuggest looks they’ve ever seen. She adjusted her grip to hold them in one arm, leaning them against her shoulder. Kris gave a small, playful bit of resistance, causing her to tighten her grip. “No point fighting it,” she laughed, “I’m keeping you until we’re back to town.”
It only took a minute of walking for Kris to doze off in their captive state. Susie adjusted their position so Kris’s head was better supported on her shoulder, their forehead pressing into her neck. She glanced down to check on them, and noticed the leaves stuck in their hair still. As she snacked on the leaves, she made her way back to the path. She walked back to town at a relaxed pace, listening to the sound of her partner snoring lightly.
“Hey, nap time’s over.” Susie gently slapped Kris a couple times. When that didn’t work, she dropped them onto the soft grass in front of their house. Once they finally opened their eyes, Susie reached a hand back down to help them to their feet. “We’re back at your place. Figured you’d want to drop off the skate gear before whatever else we do.” Kris nodded and went inside while Susie waited.
After a couple minutes, Kris returned. The backpack on their shoulder now only contained the remaining apples from earlier, and an unmarked folder. They said nothing, only motioned for Susie to follow back through town.
While the pair walked, Susie reached into the backpack and pulled out an apple. She bit down on it to hold it in her mouth, then leaned down toward Kris. They put their own mouth onto the side of the apple, biting off a large piece of it, before Susie devoured the rest of it whole.
Eventually, Kris led them to the church. When they tried to open the door, it didn’t budge. “Closed up early,” Kris grumbled, then dug in their pockets for a set of lockpicking tools. They got to work on the door with a practiced calmness that suggested they’d done this many times before.
Susie hunched down over them, out of some instinctual feeling she should be hiding them from view while they did this. “Dude, breaking into a church? I know their religion doesn’t have hell, but pretty sure they’ll invent one just to send you to.”
“It’s fine. Used to do this a lot, when I couldn’t play at Elly’s or the hospital.” Kris finished unlocking the door and swung it open.
“Play? We’re here for the piano? You write something new you’re gonna play for me?” Susie asked as they sneaked inside. The duo peeked in the office for a second, making sure Alvin wasn’t there, before heading to the supply room.
“Not quite. The score I gave you a few weeks ago. Did you practice it?” Kris pulled the folder out of the backpack, and started lining up sheets of paper on top of the piano.
“Huh?” Susie thought for a second, “Oh, yeah, that one. Learned it at Noelle’s while you were visiting your brother. Wasn’t too hard, but it didn’t really sound like a whole song.”
“It’s half a duet.” Kris sat down on the right side of the bench, patting the empty space to their left. “Let’s play it together.”
“You sure?” Susie joined them, but couldn’t hide a bit of anxiety, “I mean, I don’t think I could keep up with your playing.”
“I’ll match your pace,” Kris leaned into her affectionately, “it’s more about putting your feelings into it than how good it sounds.” Susie was always caught off guard by how much more firmly Kris spoke when it came to piano playing. Their usual mumbly speech got more clear whenever music came up.
“Ok then, yeah, sure! Let’s play.” Susie shifted her weight against Kris for a moment, returning the gesture, then started to focus. Slowly and nervously, she began playing. Kris started playing their part, matching her tempo as promised.
While Susie played, she became a bit more agitated with every pause and missed note. Being next to someone so much better, it was clear how much of a novice she still was. Had she known Kris wanted to play with her, she’d have practiced a lot more. She looked over at them, certain they’d be feeling just as frustrated at having to play down to her level.
All of Susie’s anxiety and frustration vanished at the sight of Kris’s face. In as long as she’s known them, had they ever looked that happy? She never knew Kris’s face was even capable of smiling that widely. Of course they were happy, she realized. It wasn’t about how well she played; it was about them sharing this part of themselves with her.
“Hey,” Susie stopped playing for a moment, “can we start over? I think I’m fully warmed up now.”
“Of course,” Kris looked at her with that same cheerful grin. Susie turned back to the piano, worried if she looked at them any longer, she’d be too flustered to keep going.
This time, Susie still played slowly, but her hands were much steadier. Each note was hit with a confidence that was lacking the first time. Again, Kris played down to her pace. As the song went on, however, Kris started increasing the tempo, forcing Susie to match. To her own surprise, she had no difficulty matching them, even once they had fully sped up to how the song was intended to be played. It was like Kris’s playing was guiding her own.
When the song finished, Susie just stared down at her hands for a moment. The last minute of the performance, when they had reached full tempo, was the most beautiful sound she had ever heard. Was she really a part of creating something so wonderful? She fully understood now, why Kris had such a passion for music. Susie turned to say something to Kris, but it was them who spoke first.
“Fuck, you’re amazing.” Kris’s eyes shined like actual rubies as they gazed into her own. She knew that they had the much tougher half of the duet, yet Kris looked at her as if she had done it all herself. Before she could respond, Kris threw their arms around her so passionately, that it caused the couple to fall right off the bench.
“Hey, I don’t think we’re supposed to do this sort of thing in a church!” Susie protested, but didn’t stop Kris from kissing her repeatedly. Once they pulled away to catch their breath, Susie smiled at them. “Hey, before we go somewhere else, play another song for me. Only downside to playing together is that I don’t get to look at you.”
Kris gave an enthusiastic nod, and after the two of them helped each other up, they sat back down on the bench. Susie watched them begin a solo piece. Their music was beautiful, as it always was, but the sight enthralled her more than the sound. Kris normally moved with a strange sluggishness that betrayed how graceful they could be. In front of a piano, however, it was like they were a different person. Animated and vibrant, Kris’s hands struck the keys as if they were putting their whole soul into every note.
Susie couldn’t watch for long, before she was no longer content to just spectate from a distance. She stepped forward until she was inches away from Kris, then leaned down. Her arms draped over Kris’s shoulders as she bent down far enough to kiss them on the neck. “Hey,” she whispered in their ear, “we should go somewhere, um, more private and less sacred.”
“Yeah,” Kris turned around and kissed her back, “got one more thing planned. Let’s go to the lake.”
On the way up to the lake, Kris made one more stop, this time at their dad’s store. They went inside for a couple minutes, then came back out carrying a large covered basket and an electric lantern.
“We having a late night picnic?” Susie asked, looking down at the basket.
“Yeah. Good with that?” Kris replied while turning the lantern on.
“Hell yeah. I’m still starving from carrying your sleeping ass through the woods.” Even if Susie wasn’t famished, which she was, she’d never be anything less than ecstatic at getting a nice meal.
Kris led the pair down the path to the lake, then started walking along the shore. “Better spot a minute this way. More private.” They said as Susie followed behind them, making sure to watch her footing in the darkness. Once they reached the small clearing Kris was referring to, they stopped and set down the lantern and basket. They took the quilt covering the basket, and spread it out next to a tree that was wide enough for their girlfriend to comfortably sit against.
While Susie flopped down on the quilt, Kris set out everything else. A few sandwiches, some sodas, and a large cinnamon-butterscotch pie were arranged around her. “You never got to finish making that pie the first night you stayed over,” Kris said when they noticed her staring at it, “so baked one myself. Hope it turned out okay.”
“Smells delicious, dude. Thanks for all this,” Susie couldn’t help herself from wrapping her arms around them in a tight hug. She planted another kiss on Kris’s neck before releasing them. “Okay, we good to dig in?” The instant Kris even started to nod she grabbed both a sandwich and a handful of pie.
As hungry as they were after the long day, it did not take them long at all to get through the whole spread. After the couple finished eating, both of them covered in crumbs and pie filling, Kris moved to sit between Susie’s legs. They leaned back against her and pulled their phone out, pulling up a horror movie for them to watch together.
Susie put her arms around her partner, and rested her head on theirs. She nuzzled her snout into their hair, breathing in the familiar apple-like scent she loved so much. “Thanks, Kris,” she said quietly, “today was amazing.”
“Really?” Kris asked, tilting their head up a little. “Was kinda worried. Mostly did the stuff we could have done any other day.”
“Nah, it was fun,” Susie said, smiling even though Kris couldn’t see her face. “Gotta ask, though, what made you decide on skating and stuff?”
“Wanted to do things we would have done if we met sooner,” Kris rubbed their hand along one of the arms wrapped around them. “Make up a little lost time.”
“Shit, dude.” Susie turned Kris around to face her, and pulled them up on her lap so they were face to face. She was about to kiss them, but once again Kris took the lead. After a moment, she pulled back just long enough to say “I love you,” before letting them continue. Susie held onto them with such a firm grip that her claws tore through the back of Kris’s sweater, but they were both too drawn into the moment to even notice.
“I love you,” Kris replied the next time they separated to catch their breath, “so fucking much.” They pressed their lips to hers again, then dragged them both down onto the quilt. “No one in town knows this spot. No reason to hold back.” They whispered.
Susie grinned and pulled Kris tightly against her, knowing only the stars would bear witness to what they did that night.