Season's greetings, everyone. For those waiting for the next update to my current story, The Strength of Courage, it's taking a little longer than expected to get things ready to upload. To make up for it, I tried to make a Legend of Zelda one-shot in time for Christmas. Unfortunately, I didn't believe that I could make something that felt the same as my usual work. So I decided to make... something else.

The following is a non-profit fan-fiction. Undertale and Deltarune are both owned by Toby Fox with credit to the contributing artists. Please support the official release.

It's Kind of Hard to Say No

Class dragged on like a slug. It was the same old routine for Susie. Alphys would stammer in front of the chalkboard, Susie wouldn't care to listen. Too many other things floated in her brain. Biggest and ugliest among them were the cries coming from Susie's stomach.

Susie had gone without breakfast again that morning. That wasn't anything unusual. Who needed food that early in the day, anyway? Annoyingly, though, hunger hit her like a bus long before lunch. All that Susie had really eaten were a few sticks of chalk that she swiped from Alphys' drawer, as well as half of a sandwich from her friend, Kris. For the record, Kris hadn't 'given' Susie the sandwich. They were simply sitting on the same bench in the cafeteria. Kris left one side of her lunch between them before walking off for the restroom. Neither of them said a word when Kris returned and the leftover sandwich was gone.

Susie stared lazily to the human sitting in front of her. 'Friend' was still an uneasy word for her; one that felt like barbed wire on her tongue as she said it. There had been plenty of times where Susie had used that brown-haired melon for spit-ball practice. Yet now that they were 'friends' – something that Susie was still getting used to – she had to stop herself from shooting the paper in her mouth after chewing it.

That wasn't a difficult habit to fix. If the spitball couldn't go out the way it came, it could always go down and sort out a different problem.

Alphys nattered on and on over a bunch of numbers and letters. Susie didn't get half of it, so she didn't bother to learn the rest of it. If she ever needed to find 'X' in her life, she'd become a pirate. Susie smirked at her own wit.

She checked the time on the wall. Stand up and raise your hands, it was almost three-o'-clock. Soon she would be out of this dump and could start looking for something to eat. Should she swipe some cash for Ice-E's? Susie didn't feel like shaking anyone up anymore these days, though. Maybe the milk in the alley would still be fresh? She considered it, but Susie loathed drinking from a pet bowl.

Susie glanced back to the clock. It was five-minutes-to-three. Alphys kept yammering on. Susie looked back to the clock. It was now four-minutes-to-three. That Noelle girl stuck her hand up to answer a question. 'Nerd,' Susie thought on reflex. She looked at the clock. Why was the long hand pointing to the eleven again?!

Suppressing a snarl, Susie dumped her attention back to the front of the room. Seeing Kris, Susie thought about the last session they had in the abandoned classroom. Time seemed to run away whenever they played. Susie tried coming up with something for the next part of the campaign. Maybe that would speed the world up. Unfortunately, coming up with good stories was Kris's expertise. Susie couldn't think of anything better than smashing the biggest, nasties villain that she could imagine. Doodling in her tatty notebook, it sort of looked like Officer Undyne.

At last, the bell rang. The other kids were already getting out of their seats. Alphys freaked a little. She always did when she was interrupted during a spiel. Today, however, she grew enough of a spine to speak over the dragging chairs.

"Be sure to w-work on your p-projects at home. The reports are d-due by the end of school on F-Friday, and you'll all be p-presenting your work next Monday." A few groans answered Alphys. She shrunk a little more as a result. Susie didn't care, though. Kris was reliable enough to get their project done on time.

As usual, everyone else ran off before Susie made it into the hall. It wasn't like she was ever in a hurry to leave school. There wasn't much for her to hurry off to, anyway. Susie decided to swing by the cafeteria before heading off. Maybe she'd luck out and the staff would leave the leftovers from lunch lying around.

Her stomach was giving her a lot of grief. Susie struggled to keep her mind focused and almost walked into someone. Anger rose through her. "Hey! Watch it!"

"Oh? I'm sorry." It was then that Susie realised Ms Dreemurr was standing in front of her. She hadn't had her as a teacher for years. A tiny shock hit Susie's system to find them alone together in the hall.

"I didn't quite see you there, Susie," Ms Dreemurr apologised. In her hands was a box of papers. "I was in a rush to get these to the car. I don't usually like to keep Kris waiting."

Like that, the anger and surprise both went away. It didn't really make sense for Susie to hold either of those against her friend's mom. "It's alright," she mumbled, turning away.

"You're working on a class project with Kris, am I right?" Ms Dreemurr asked. "How would you like to come over to our house this afternoon? The two of you could work on your project together there."

"Thanks, but I'll pass." The words were out of Susie's mouth before she could consider them. She began sauntering towards the front gate. Raiding the cafeteria was going to end up as a bust, anyway.

"Oh… That's alright." Damn it, why did Susie have to see the old goat so sadly in her mind? "I just thought I'd make the offer. I won't hold you if you're busy, though."

Yeah… Busy… Nothing more demanding than loitering around town until sundown forced Susie to make her way home.

Susie almost made a clean getaway when her stomach yowled like a dirty traitor. She froze in place. Her snout burned as Susie hoped that Dreemurr hadn't hurt.

"Are you sure that you wouldn't like to visit?" Frick. She had. "You could have some pie while you and Kris study."

Susie turned around. She glowered at the old woman. All her life, Susie hated being looked down on. She hated other people pitying her. She didn't need any of it. Pride bubbling inside, Susie was a thumbtack's length from telling Dreemurr where she could shove her damned pie.

Still… This was Kris's mother she was talking to. Susie didn't have any other friends, and although she'd never admit it, she was afraid of doing something to make her one friend hate her.

Susie also remembered back to when she was in Ms Dreemurr's class. She had always been a nice person to everyone. Some days she would let the class goof off during the last fifteen minutes of school. And occasionally, Ms Dreemurr brought in cookies for the kids to share. It was among the few times Susie felt she could accept food from someone else without feeling embarrassed or doing something rotten first.

With that in mind, Susie took a better look at Ms Dreemurr's face. Most people looked at Susie with fear, disapproval or, worst of all, pity. Yet Ms Dreemurr only looked at her kindly. That smile was welcoming. Her eyes were innocent of any ulterior motive. It felt like she genuinely wanted Susie to say yes.

And it was kind of hard to say no.

"Well…" Susie began saying slowly. "It's not like I'm doing anything important today… So, if you really want me to come over… I suppose I could…"

"Wonderful!" Ms Dreemurr beamed. There was no escape for Susie now. "I'll just load these into the car, and we can be on our way. Kris should already be waiting for us."

Walking towards the gate, alongside a teacher, Susie started praying that no one else was hanging around the school grounds. "Do you need to let your parents know where you'll be, Susie?" Ms Dreemurr asked.

Susie snapped out of her thoughts with a start. She then turned her face away. "No. It'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" When Susie nodded, Ms Dreemurr finally let it go.

They lived in a small town less than ten blocks in any direction, so most kids just walked to and from school. There were also very few adults who worked there. As a result, Ms Dreemurr's car was the only one in the tiny parking lot. Susie remembered once trying to scratch the paint off with a key. That was before the principal showed up and Susie had to bail for class at the last moment.

Kris was indeed already there. She had her back against the rear door, head bowed and hands in her pockets. As dismal-looking as usual. Kris glanced up at their approach. She became visibly surprised to see Susie there.

"Hello, dear," Ms Dreemurr greeted cheerfully. She asked Kris to open the trunk for her. Once the box of papers was placed inside, Ms Dreemurr moved up to Kris and enveloped her in a hug. Susie found it slightly uncomfortable to watch.

"I've invited Susie to visit this afternoon," Ms Dreemurr explained to Kris. "The two of you can work on your project together. Won't you enjoy that?"

Kris turned to Susie. Dodging her gaze, Susie shuffled in place. Then Kris looked back to her mother and was quiet for a moment. "Okay…"

A part of Susie wanted to run as they entered the car. The radio played some sort of country music. It wasn't at all to Susie's taste. However, she didn't feel like speaking up about it. Ms Dreemurr reversed carefully out of the bay. Then they were driving down along the street.

"How was school today, children?" Ms Dreemurr asked casually.

"It was okay…" Susie and Kris both mumbled.

"Did you learn anything fascinating from Ms Alphys?"

"I learned that she marks schoolwork to the theme song of that Mew Mew show," Susie said drily.

Ms Dreemurr stopped suddenly at the corner. Up ahead there were a couple of cars jammed in each other's way. Susie could see Officer Undyne at the scene. She didn't seem to be paying much attention to the traffic, though.

"Oh. That's… interesting," Ms Dreemurr responded. She probably expected a different answer, but Susie really didn't take in much during class.

As they drove down the road towards the old Grillby's, Susie ducked underneath the window. She had spotted that dork, Birdly, and didn't want to be seen riding in Dreemurr's car. If he did, he'd tell everyone before the morning came. They'd probably think she did something so bad that she had to spend detention at a teacher's house.

Thankfully, Susie didn't see anyone else from school the rest of the way. They soon arrived at Kris's house. Ms Dreemurr told them to go on ahead while she unloaded the car. Susie dragged her feet as she followed Kris inside.

The place was nice and clean. It was far better than anything Susie had. The armchairs weren't stained or riddled with holes, and the television set seemed to have been made in this century. Susie kept her stare from lingering on any one place for too long. Why had she agreed to come here?

The front door closed as Ms Dreemurr walked in. She brushed past with her box in hand, setting it down on the kitchen bench. A pie had been left to cool on the windowsill. Ms Dreemurr took a slice and placed it onto a plate. Then she moved the rest of the pie onto the table.

"Help yourselves to as much as you'd like," she said. "I'll be upstairs marking these reports if you need me." Balancing her plate atop of the papers, Ms Dreemurr took the box upstairs, leaving Susie and Kris alone.

Susie didn't hesitate. She took an obtuse slice from the pie and ate it in both hands. Cinnamon and butterscotch overwhelmed her with sweetness. Even though the food was dead cold, her tongue and cheeks grew warm and tender. Kris, instead, took another plate before serving herself. The slice that she cut was not much smaller than Susie's.

"Loog ah you, gedding stug ino id," Susie remarked with crumbs spilling from her full mouth. Kris stared down at her food, turning glum. She hadn't meant 'getting stuck into it' as an insult. Sheesh…

Between them, the rest of the pie didn't last long. At last, Susie felt sated. She still wondered if there was any more around. It seemed like too much of a drag to go looking, though. Kicking her feet onto the table, Susie shook the hair from her face.

"So… Wanna do another few rounds of Deltarune?"

"Have to work on the project first," Kris murmured. "Toriel won't be happy if we don't." She reached down for her backpack leaning against the table leg, taking out a notebook and pencil.

"Toriel?" Susie tilted her head. "You don't call her 'mom' or something?"

Kris didn't answer. The kid was super weird like that. In any other circumstance, she hardly ever said more than two words unless she had to. Then when they started playing Deltarune together, her personality spun on its head. A slough would come from Kris's mouth, painting scenes and stories that were so vivid that Susie became absorbed in them. Then once it was over for the day, Kris sank back into herself.

It puzzled Susie with how that all worked. A lot of times, though, it bugged her, instead. "Well?"

"I do when she's around."

Susie grumbled as she had to pick that apart. It was the only way to figure out any real meaning from her friend. Kris stuck out like a sore thumb, being the only human in a town of monsters. It didn't take a genius to know she was adopted. Maybe what Kris meant had something to do with that?

While Susie was thinking, Kris was already reading from a textbook. They've been at this project for a week now, as Susie still made Kris do all the work. Normally, Susie didn't care. It wasn't like she was good at reading or had anything useful to give. Yet something about sitting in this house made Susie feel gross about it. She could somehow feel Ms Dreemurr sitting upstairs, eyes burning through the floors and walls between them, watching her. It was creepy and Susie couldn't shake it off.

"So…" she began uneasily. "How's the project coming along?"

Kris only grunted. How enlightening. Rubbing her face, Susie took her feet down. "What are we doing, again?"

Glancing up, Kris pushed her notebook over. Susie read 'What it would be like to live as a goat' on the top of the page. That's right, she recalled. Alphys was making them write a report on being some kind of animal. It sounded like some stupid 'empathy' and 'compassion' crap; hence why Susie didn't want to do it in the first place. The whole thing made even less sense since everyone in class but Kris looked like an animal.

Susie swept a whimsical eye over her partner's scribbles. Some of the notes were obvious; eating grass; butting heads; climbing stuff. Then as she read further down, some of the things that Susie found became… less than expected.

"Wait…? You're telling me that goats really eat tin cans because they hope that will make them play metal music better?!"

Kris gave a nod, tapping at the open page of her textbook. Susie snatched it, sifting through until she found the passage stating so. She turned to the front cover.

'Do goats have hopes and dreams? An empirical study of caprine sociology.' The book was written by 'Bill E. Gote.'

"You've got to be freaking kidding me…" Susie gaped.

She began flicking through the rest of the pages. As she continued reading, Susie failed to notice Kris watching her, silently waiting to get her book back.

"Geez, would you look at what's in here?" Susie remarked. "Goats grow corn to appease the stars… Kids in pyjamas were a marketing tactic to increase goat wool sales… And a rivalry with sheep thousands of years ago is the reason why people eat mutton! Seriously! What is up with that?!"

Susie looked up to find Kris scrawling more notes. Reading a bit more, Susie believed each new 'fact' less and less. Why the heck did Kris even need books about goats? Wasn't her whole family…?

Jigsaw pieces suddenly snapped into place. Dumbstruck, Susie stared at Kris as though seeing her for the first time. Was that the entire reason that she chose this topic for their report? That was just… Susie couldn't…

"Hello, children. Is everything alright down here?" Ms Dreemurr appeared in front of the stairs out of nowhere. Susie jolted.

"Y-Yeah… Everything's cool," Susie stammered weakly. "Uhhh… The pie was totally good, Ms D."

Ms Dreemurr glanced at the empty pie dish. A surprised smile washed across her face. "Why thank you. Goodness… And I thought Kris had an appetite."

Face flushing, Kris turned as far away from her mother as possible. That, Susie understood clear as day. It stunk when people pointed out how you eat in front of others.

"Is there anything else that I can get you two?" Ms Dreemurr asked. "Fruit? Cocoa? Orange juice?"

After the pie, Susie's throat felt dry. "Cocoa would be great, thanks."

Ms Dreemurr went back upstairs once the cocoa was ready. Its scalding heat was the only thing keeping Susie from guzzling hers. That was for the best, she supposed. She didn't usually get to drink cocoa.

Going through the textbook again, Susie read aloud every weird fact that she came across. Meanwhile, Kris kept on writing. Before they knew it, the sky outside had grown dark. Ms Dreemurr soon returned, yawning loudly before checking the clock.

"Gracious! Is that the time? When are your parents expecting you home, Susie?"

Susie looked up at the clock as well. It was ten-minutes-past-six. The sun was almost completely set. "Crap… Guess I better get going." She was less happy about the prospect than she made it sound; not that Susie's tone had been that enthusiastic anyway.

"I'll give you a ride," Ms Dreemurr said, quickly fetching a coat and her keys.

Susie flinched. "You don't have to do that… I can walk."

"Nonsense. No parent would want their child walking around at this late hour." With Ms Dreemurr marching to the door, it was kind of hard for Susie to say no again. "Kris, I won't be gone long. As soon as I return, we'll start preparing dinner."

Kris didn't answer her. Instead, she looked to Susie, giving a small, short wave goodbye. As she got up, Susie planted a hand on her friend's shoulder. The little thing could fit easily into her palm. "See ya later, Kris." Susie then made her way through the living room.

"Bye…"

A twitch ticked the corner of Susie's muzzle. Quietly, she followed Ms Dreemurr to the car. This time she took the passenger seat. She didn't think anyone from class would be about this late. If they were, it'd be too dark for them to tell it was her.

"Thank you very much for visiting, Susie," Ms Dreemurr said as they drove.

Susie shrugged. "You're the one who offered. I didn't do anything."

Like a fool, Ms Dreemurr giggled. "That is true. Still, I'm very grateful that you and Kris are friends."

"Grateful's a funny word for it. We're just friends."

"Perhaps, but that's simply the way that I feel." The car stopped at the intersection. Another one drove across them, horn honking in thanks.

"You see… You might have noticed at school, but Kris doesn't have a lot of friends," Ms Dreemurr said solemnly. "She… tends to keep to herself rather than interact with others. And since her brother, Asriel, went to college… I've been worried that Kris has become more withdrawn than usual. As a mother… I've felt unable to help her."

Susie listened with interest. "Kris hasn't said anything about her brother before. Usually we just mess around in the empty classroom when we get the chance."

"Is that where you both disappear to?" Ms Dreemurr laughed. "I'm sorry. It's just funny because that's where Kris and Asriel used to play together, as well. I suppose that it was a… safe haven for them… during the divorce."

Damn it. Susie did not ask to walk through this minefield of touchy subjects today. She felt it best not to reply. Unfortunately, her mind went into overdrive trying to picture everything she had just learned.

"You know, I was cross with Kris when I heard that she skipped class the other day," Ms Dreemurr continued. "But when she told me that she was with a new friend, I was so relieved. I was happy that Kris had finally found someone whom she could connect with. That's why I'm so thankful that you've come into Kris's life."

Suddenly, Susie's face felt hot. "It's not that big of a deal," she mumbled.

Ms Dreemurr laughed again; awkwardly, this time. "No. Perhaps not. Perhaps I'm just being a sentimental old woman. Don't pay me any mind."

Sooner than Susie liked, they rolled up close to her house. Staring at the place, she let out a terse breath. The time had come to leave sweet daydreams behind, and step back into cold, harsh reality.

"Thank you very much, again, Susie. Please know that you may visit anytime that you like. Kris and I will be more than happy to have you."

Her throat tightened. Susie messed around through her hair as she struggled to make eye contact. "Well… If you really want me to visit… I guess I could… sometime or whatever…"

"We'd love that," Ms Dreemurr smiled.

Closing the car door behind her, Susie made two steps towards the house before glancing over her shoulder. "Hey. Thanks for the pie and stuff, Ms D."

"You're most welcome. I'll be sure to bake a little extra for you next time that you visit."

"Sure. Do whatever ya want," Susie shrugged. "See ya later."

As Ms Dreemurr drove off, Susie looked to the house in front of her. Slowly, she shook her miserable head. Today had been a once-off. It shouldn't become a regular thing for her. If you start to enjoy yourself too much, life was going to stomp on in and take it all away from you. That was just how things were for people like Susie.

Still, though… Thinking back to when Ms Dreemurr first invited Susie to her home – and again, just now, when she invited Susie to visit a second time – the old woman had been sincere. She genuinely wanted Susie to go with her.

It was a stupid fantasy. Letting her guard down like this was just setting herself up for a beat down. Yet, when a nice person invites you to their home, offering pie and cocoa, and tells you that you're welcome there whenever you want…

… It's kind of hard to say no.

The relationship between Kris and Susie may seem a little one-sided here, but I feel as though that's a result of Kris' usually withdrawn nature as described by the townsfolk at the end of Deltarune Chapter 1. The friendship itself was a slow burn leading up the the ending. If I get more inspiration from upcoming chapters, I might expand on this one-shot as a short story.

Although it is never specified what Kris' gender is, I've seen enough fan art and comics to get it into my head that Frisk was of a more female identity, and so similarly I portrayed Kris as a girl. That being said, people assuming Kris as a boy is completely valid, as is no-specific gender at all. At this point I feel like if I strip away any more from Kris' character than he/she/they already have, I'd be left with little more than a cardboard template. This would be ironic considering how Frisk and Kris are technically just game avatars. (At least until that last scene in Chapter 1...)